According to the Malaysian Indian Blueprint, one of the initiatives planned for the Indian community is a special allocation to invest in Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M). This was also mentioned in Budget 2018 speech by Prime Minister. A total of RM1.5billion is allocated via AS1M fund to the community, with a maximum limit of 30,000 units per person. That means about 50,000 people if everyone fully utilise their allocation.

The agency in charge is SEDIC, an unit under the Prime Minister’s Department. You can find SEDIC’s FB post on AS1M here.

To help those in low income category, specifically the B40 group (having household income below Rm4680 as of 2017), the government is given a soft loan of RM5,000 per person. RM500 million is allocated for 100,000 families via interest-free loan for five years (monthly repayment of RM83++ for 5 years). It is expected that the return from the investment will be sufficient to pay for the loan.  However based on the dividend rates for past few years, assuming return of 6.5%, the dividend will be RM325 while repayment for 12 months will be RM1,000.

[click to enlarge]

The procedure to apply for the RM5,000 soft loan will be announced in February and remember it is for the low income category define as in B40 group. However, regardless of being in B40 group or not,  you can start buying the AS1M units starting from Monday 29^th January 2018.

The units can be bought beginning 29 January 2018 from ASNB branches  (click here to see list of branches) or its agent banks (Maybank, CIMB, RHB, POS Malaysia, Affin Bank, Alliance Bank, Am Bank, Bank Muamalat or Bank Simpanan Nasional).

For those already having invested in AS1M before, you can top-up until reach 30,000 unit at the branches or via online at myasnb.com.my .

If you are wondering about the unit prices, AS1M trades at RM1 per unit as shown below (price from ASNB website:

Let’s do a rough calculation for 5 years with 6.5% return per annum:

With RM5,000 investment, you can get RM6,850.43, a return of 37% or average of 7.4% per year.

Its obviously better than FD rates, but face competition from unit trusts which tend to offer better returns (Disclaimer: I’m not promoting any unit trust products).  For those looking to diversify their investments, can consider investing some amount in AS1M or even other unit trusts under ASNB provided you are qualified.

Read the  ASNB Statement on AS1M.

And finally, some info on eligibility:

1. 1. Kriteria Kelayakan
      1. Apakah kriteria–kriteria kelayakan untuk memohon Skim ini?
         • Permohonan terbuka kepada masyarakat India warganegara Malaysia:
           • Akaun Dewasa (18 tahun ke atas)
           • Akaun Bijak (ibu bapa atau penjaga sah yang melabur bagi kanak-kanak warganegara yang berumur 18 tahun dan ke bawah serta mempunyai sijil kelahiran yang sah).
         • Pemohon tidak mempunyai pegangan unit AS 1Malaysia atau telah menjadi pemegang unit namun mempunyai pegangan unit kurang daripada 30,000 unit.
         • Pemohon tidak diisytiharkan muflis semasa memohon serta sepanjang tempoh penyertaan dalam Skim.

1. 1. Cara-cara Memohon
      1. Bagaimanakah saya membuat permohonan untuk melanggan unit-unit tambahan AS 1Malaysia ini?

Pemohon yang berminat bolehlah datang ke Cawangan ASNB atau mana-mana Ejen ASNB di seluruh negara:

1. 1. 1. • Maybank
         • CIMB
         • RHB
         • Pos Malaysia
         • Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN)
         • Affin Bank
         • Alliance Bank
         • AmBank
         • Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad

1. 1. 1. Selain daripada Cawangan ASNB dan Ejen ASNB, apakah saluran lain untuk saya melanggan unit-unit tambahan AS 1Malaysia ini?
         1. Portal myASNB: Pemegang unit sedia ada yang mempunyai baki kurang daripada 30,000 unit dalam AS 1Malaysia dan telah mendaftar sebagi pengguna Portal myASNB boleh menambah pelaburan AS 1Malaysia di Portal myASNB, tertakluk kepada unit-unit yang masih ada untuk dilanggan.
         2. Perbankan Internet: Tambahan pelaburan juga boleh dilakukan secara atas talian menerusi Maybank2u, CIMBClicks, AffinOnline dan RHBNow, tertakluk kepada terma dan syarat serta unit-unit masih ada untuk dilanggan.
         3. Bentuk bayaran: Pemohon boleh membeli unit-unit tambahan AS 1Malaysia menggunakan Tunai/ Bank Deraf/Cek/Banker’s Cheque, tertakluk kepada unit-unit yang masih ada untuk dilanggan.

         Perhatian:

• Pelaburan melalui cek atau bank deraf atau Banker’s Cheque hanya boleh dilakukan di ASNB Kaunter Utama Kuala Lumpur atau cawangan ASNB sahaja.

• Cek pelaburan tambahan hanya diterima atas nama ‘Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad’.

• Pelaburan melalui cek atas nama `Pemegang Unit’ atau Penjaga Berdaftar’ dibenarkan sekiranya cek dikeluarkan oleh yang berikut:

1. 1. 1. 1. • 1. Kerajaan Malaysia
              2. Syarikat di bawah Kumpulan PNB
              3. Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan (GLCs)
              4. Syarikat Penerima Labur PNB (Investee Company)

         Permohonan melalui Cek/Bank Deraf/Banker’s Cheque adalah tertakluk kepada tarikh Cek/Bank Deraf/Banker’s Cheque dijelaskan.

1. 1. 1. 1. Skim Pelaburan Ahli KWSP : Pemohon boleh membeli unit-unit tambahan AS 1Malaysia melalui Skim Pelaburan Ahli KWSP, tertakluk kepada unit-unit yang masih ada untuk dilanggan. Transaksi langganan unit hanya akan disahkan apabila ASNB menerima pembayaran dari pihak KWSP (mengambil masa 7 hari bekerja daripada permohonan pelabur diterima hingga pembayaran oleh KWSP).

Walau bagaimanapun langganan unit-unit tambahan AS 1 Malaysia ini berdasarkan ‘siapa cepat dia dapat’ dan tertakluk kepada unit-unit yang masih ada untuk dilanggan.

Read more at ASNB page.