AG Report: PHB Meets Mandate, Asset Gaps Noted
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) has largely fulfilled its mandate, supported by growth in underlying asset value, a rising number of Amanah Hartanah Bumiputera (AHB) unitholders and its stable returns.
According to the Auditor-General’s Report 1/26 tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, several assets that do not meet the criteria as collateral have reduced the value of collateral assets and limited PHB’s ability to expand its unit offerings.
As at Dec 31, 2024, PHB owned 26 buildings valued at RM7.85 billion. Of these, 21 buildings, or 80.8 per cent of assets injected into AHB have a collateral value of RM5 billion in 2024.
"Five buildings were not injected into the fund, namely Menara Aras Raya, Icon City Car Park, Tower 6 Skypark, Elevate Medini and Mayang Mall.
"Mayang Mall was not designated as a collateral asset as it began operating on Dec 5, 2024, while Menara Aras Raya, Elevate Medini, Icon City Car Park and Tower 6 Skypark have not fulfilled PHB’s criteria as collaterals," it said.
These five buildings remain subject to ongoing asset quality management and close monitoring by management.
Meanwhile, PHB’s fair value of properties increased from RM6.98 billion in 2021 to RM7.86 billion in 2024, reflecting a total growth of RM878.2 million or 12.6 per cent over four years.
However, several office assets, including Menara Hextar, Tower 6 Skypark and Elevate Medini, recorded declines of between three and seven per cent in value due to lower occupancy rates and weaker demand.
According to the report, the number of AHB unitholders rose 13.1 per cent to 82,382 in 2024 from 72,826 in 2021, driven mainly by growth in individual investors, which increased from 72,812 to 82,363 over the same period, while institutional unitholders rose from 14 to 19 institutions.
“Total units subscribed showed a consistent upward trend from 2021 to 2024, rising from 3.78 billion units in 2021 to 4.86 billion units in 2024, with the subscription rate reaching 97.3 per cent in 2024.
“Total units in circulation increased from 3.85 billion units in 2021 to five billion units in 2024, in line with the value of assets injected into AHB,” it said.
In terms of returns, AHB’s annual return remained stable at five sen per unit from 2022 to 2024.
“The total annual distribution ranged between RM172.80 million and RM231.54 million.
”Bonus payments from PHB to unitholders ranged from 0.40 sen per unit to 0.67 sen per unit, while PHB’s hibah contribution to AHB increased from RM10.2 million in 2021 to RM27.9 million in 2024,” the report said.
-- BERNAMA