KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) tasked to acquire underperforming assets of Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) as a means to revive the pilgrim fund, redeemed RM200 million worth of sukuk in January this year.
The redemption, performed on Jan 26, was “to reduce overall sukuk costs to be borne by the government, compared with full redemption at a higher price on the maturity date,” the Auditor General’s Report on the federal government financial statement 2022 said.
While UJSB has made the early redemption, the federal government guarantee for UJSB had risen 4.1% in 2022 to RM22.403 billion, from RM21.526 billion, the report showed.
In 2019, UJSB issued a seven-year zero-coupon sukuk with principal value of RM10 billion and yield to maturity (YTM) of 4.05%. It also issued another 10-year, zero-coupon sukuk with a face value of RM9.6 billion and YTM of 4.1%.
UJSB issued the papers, and cash of RM300 million to TH, in exchange for 29 properties including lands and commercial buildings; one unlisted plantation company; and shares in 106 listed companies; all of which were valued at RM10 billion at end-2018.
The transactions were made to address TH’s financial position shortfall, as it was in a net liability position, which rendered it constitutionally unable to pay dividends to its contributors at the time.
The deal lifted TH’s net asset position, while UJSB was given a 10-year mandate to restructure the acquired assets and maximize asset recovery value, while minimising the impact to the financial ecosystem, resulting in TH’s rescue plan.
According to its website, UJSB’s investment net asset value (NAV) stood at RM7.12 billion at end-2022, while market value of properties under management stood at RM1.22 billion.
In September, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Ministry of Finance will initiate discussions to return the assets currently held by the SPV to TH, “after careful consideration”.
TH’s net assets grew to RM3.297 billion at end-2021, from RM1.055 billion at end-2018. It paid RM2.65 billion in distribution in 2023, up from RM2.46 billion the year before, while maintaining the profit rate of 3.1% — unchanged for the third straight year.
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