EPF to up overseas investment to 10%

KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) plans to increase its overseas investment to 10% over the next one to two years.

Its CEO Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said the focus would be on investing further in equities of public-listed companies.

The EPF’s current overseas investment is at about 6% to 7%, he told a press conference at the opening of the Technical Seminar on High Performance in Social Security by Innovation, Change Management and Risk Management here on Monday, March 29.

The three-day event is being hosted by the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the EPF.

“We will be increasing investments in Europe, the US, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Southeast Asia, where we have a current presence,” Azlan stated.

On another note, he said banks in general were receptive to the new scheme to use the balance of the member’s Account Two, as the basis to secure higher loans.

“A member, based on his take home pay, may not be eligible for a higher bank loan to purchase a second property.

“But if the bank has access to the member’s Account Two, which may show a higher balance, it would be encouraged to approve the higher loan.

“Basically, this helps to support the application for a higher loan or increased loan eligibility,” he explained.

Elaborating further, Azlan said banks were currently conducting due diligence on the new scheme and hoped, it would materialise by this year.

The EPF has a total of 12.4 million members of whom 5.8 million are active, with total assets currently at US$108 billion (RM353.2 billion). — Bernama