Avoid debt for ASB investments - Asyraf Wajdi
FARHANA ABD KADIR
SHAH ALAM - The public should refrain from taking on debt to invest in Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) due to the declining dividend rates.
Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the current financing rate for ASB was approximately 4.7 per cent, and the increase depends on the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) conditions.
"Never borrow to invest when ASB dividends are only about 4.6 per cent, and this amount keeps diminishing each year," he said in a Facebook post today.
Commenting further, Asyraf said a fundamental principle of investing was to avoid going into debt to prevent financial burdens.
He added that profits seldom sustain themselves when generated from borrowed sources.
"As the Shariah Committee and Board of Directors chairman of a local commercial bank in the past, I never allowed the bank to offer financing products for ASB investments," he said.
