Govt should assist companies backed by pension funds, says Najib

 

The B40 and M40 communities will also lose out if companies backed by pension funds go bust, says Najib Razak.

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Najib Razak has urged the government to assist companies backed by pension funds that have been facing financial problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While he said that some believe the stock market is a “game of the rich”, Najib said it plays a key role in increasing the wealth of B40 and M40 communities.

Noting how the largest share of B40 and M40 savings in the country lie in funds such as the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Retirement Fund Incorporated (KWAP), Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) and the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), he pointed out how these bodies invest heavily in Bursa Malaysia Bhd in the form of equity or shares.

“The government needs to ensure that companies which are owned by these pension funds, and have not yet recovered from the effects of the pandemic, will receive appropriate assistance such as loan guarantees or soft loans,” he said, noting that some have had problems seeking assistance from local banks.

“Don’t let these companies go bankrupt because their cash flow has been affected,” he added in a Facebook post.

He was commenting on a report that the stock markets of China and Hong Kong soared this week after the Chinese government said the country would support their local markets in a bid to maintain and increase the wealth of their citizens.

Najib also advised the government to issue a statement that they would support the local market and to re-activate ValueCap, the state-owned investment vehicle equally owned by KWAP, Khazanah Nasional, and Permodalan Nasional Bhd, but which ceased operations in September 2020.

Under Najib’s administration in 2015, ValueCap received RM20 billion to invest in the equity market, a move which he described as a confidence booster for the local market which was “very successful”. - FMT