PNB ANNOUNCED 5.20 SEN PER UNIT OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION FOR ASN
December 23, 2009

Kuala Lumpur :- Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) has announced an income distribution of 5.20 sen per unit for Sekim Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) for the financial year end December 31, 2009.

The income distribution will involve a total payment of RM81.52 million compared to RM79.9 million paid for the financial year end 2008.

PNB Chairman, Tun Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid in his speech said that based on the net asset value (NAV) of ASN for the financial year up to December 22, 2009 which is RM0.7586 per unit, the yield derived from the income distribution of 5.20 sen per unit is 7.36 percent meanwhile the price return of ASN for the same period is 25.75 percent. Therefore, based on the rise of the net asset value of ASN from RM0.5619 per unit on December 31, 2008 to RM0.7586 per unit on December 22, 2009, the total return recorded by ASN is 35.01 percent.

Up until December 22, 2009, ASN has recorded a gross income of RM87.91 million. Of the amount, the profit from the sale of shares contributed RM55.46 million or 63.09 percent followed by dividend income which contributed RM23.75 million or 27.02 percent while RM8.70 million or 9.89 percent is derived from short term investment instruments.

The income distribution of ASN is calculated based on the units held on December 31, 2009, which is the last day of the ASN financial year end.

The income distribution payment will be re-invested into additional units of ASN and will be automatically credited into the unit holders’ accounts based on the net asset value of ASN as at December 31, 2009.

The payment will benefit 1.19 million unit holders which currently holds more than 1.57 billion units of ASN.

All transactions for ASN at the ASNB headquarters, ASNB offices and agents will be suspended beginning December 23, 2009 to January 3, 2010. The suspension is to facilitate the calculation of income distribution for the year 2009 as announced earlier.

Unit holders will be able to update their ASN accounts beginning January 4, 2010 at any ASNB offices or ASNB agents nationwide.

ASN is a growth fund launched on April 20, 1981. The objective of this fund is to generate reasonable level of income distribution and capital appreciation to the unit holders through a diversified portfolio of investments.

As a growth fund which is transacted at variable price, ASN’s performance in terms of its total returns and yield can be compared to other instruments with similar features and risk levels.