KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): Late last month, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) announced a 5.25% dividend for 2024 — the highest it has paid out in seven years. The total distribution of RM514.2 million made up 87.5% of the armed forces fund’s net profit for the year.

It appears that things are picking up at LTAT following a number of missteps over the years.

At the helm is chief executive Mohammad Ashraf Md Radzi, who took over the top job from his position as the fund's chief financial officer exactly a year ago.

In his first interview since taking on the chief executive role, Ashraf is candid and straight talking. Asked how LTAT has had four chief executives in seven years, he says: “We have had more ministers (of defence) than that (four) I believe."

On how the year at the helm of LTAT has been, he quips: “It felt like much more”, indicating the many challenges of running the fund.

While he may seem jovial and light-hearted, he comes across as serious and focused on the path ahead, as the fact of the matter is that Ashraf has a lot on his plate. He shares his thoughts and his plans on the way forward for LTAT, and if we read it correctly, he is slowly but surely steering the fund in the right direction, towards sustainable earnings and dividends.      

While he is not able to divulge much about LTAT’s new restructuring plan dubbed Project Earth, which is aimed at rebalancing the asset classes, particularly the strategic assets, and solidifying the fund for returns and risk diversification, he did share some of his thoughts on the direction, in particular, for pharmaceutical outfit Pharmaniaga Bhd (KL:PHARMA) and Boustead Plantations Bhd.

Grab a copy of The Edge Malaysia weekly today to read more on this week's cover story.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.