DANAVEST

Public Bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Public Mutual will launch its first regional telecommunications and infrastructure fund, Public Far-East Telco & Infrastructure Fund (PFETIF) on 8 July 2008 (Tuesday). PFETIF enables investors to participate in the rollout of infrastructure services to meet the growing needs of the Far-East region.

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow said investing in regional telecommunications and infrastructure stocks enables investors to benefit from the resilient prospects of these sectors. To ensure that infrastructure services are adequate to support their growth, Asian economies will continue to invest in the infrastructure sector over the medium to long term. Based on a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report, “Ramping Up Asia’s Infrastructure Stimulus, March 2008”, Asian countries are expected to spend an estimated US$1.8 trillion on construction of roads, railways, power plants, telecommunications and other infrastructure projects over the 5-year period until 2012.

He added that infrastructure assets also offer positive long-term prospects as the underlying cash flows of concession companies are usually stable and linked to an inflation index through a negotiated pricing formula. Following the retracement in regional equity markets for the year to date, selected telecommunications and infrastructure stocks are currently trading at valuations that are below their long-term average.

PFETIF is an equity fund that seeks to achieve capital growth over the medium- to long-term period by investing in securities, mainly equities, in the telecommunications, infrastructure, and utilities sector in Far-East markets. Up to 98% of PFETIF’s net asset value (NAV) can be invested in selected foreign markets which include South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and other approved markets. The equity exposure of PFETIF will generally range from 75% to 90% of its NAV.

Public Mutual’s Chairman Tan Sri Teh added that PFETIF is suitable for aggressive investors who are looking forward to participating in the long-term growth potential of a portfolio of regional stocks in sectors which include telecommunications, construction, building materials, expressways, transportation, water works, infrastructure and utilities.

The initial offer price of PFETIF is at RM0.2500 per unit during the 21-day initial offer period of 8 July 2008 to 28 July 2008. During the offer period, a special promotional service charge of 5% of NAV per unit is extended to the purchase of units of PFETIF by investors. Investors who opt for Direct Debit Instruction with PFETIF during the offer period will enjoy a special promotional service charge of 5.25% of NAV per unit for as long as the Direct Debit is active. Terms and conditions apply. The minimum initial investment for the fund is RM1,000 and the minimum additional investment is RM100.

PFETIF is distributed by Public Mutual’s unit trust consultants. Interested investors can contact any Public Mutual unit trust consultant or call our Customer Service Hotline at 03-6207 5000 for more details of the fund.

Public Mutual is the largest private unit trust company in Malaysia and currently manages 62 funds for more than 1,800,000 accountholders. As at 30 May 2008, the total fund size managed by the company was RM28.4 billion.

Via www.publicmutual.com.my