Bleeping Sod-Offs

These days I often winced every time EPF appears in the news.

As is often the case, the news would be on the nation’s richer institution spending money for something or the other.

Recent ones being the RM2.4 billion for the RRI land, the 20% stake for the RM2 billion Battersea project, and not to forget, the RM1.5 billion for Raja Nong Chik’s housing loans for the KL poor scheme.

And yet another: the EPF has apparently been accumulating shares of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) and now holding close to 7% from 5.4% for the controversial IPO, which price reached a low RM4.57 before noon today.

How much is EPF, urm , exposure vis-a-vis FGVH in pure money terms, I wonder? 

According to fellow blogger SakMongkol, it’s around RM1.2 billion. Another multi-billion venture, if that is so.

In the shareholding business, it’s great to be able to buy low especially if you are holding the shares for a much longer term with the proviso of a company with positive outlook. Is this the case with FGVH?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. This depends very much on who you ask this question to.

The fact remains however that for the FGVH IPO, even the State governments – not the epitome of financial savvy managers – were roped in to, urm, prop the debut price.

There is in place a 6-month’s holding period for the local institution. I supposed this includes the latter.

Query: What happens if the price continues to tumble below the issue price? Will EPF continue to accumulate FGVH shares on the quiet? Up to what point will it continue to do so?

And if the shares continue to tumble, wouldn’t buying them constitute a breach of responsibility on the EPF part in managing its contributors’ hard earned retirement savings for good returns?

Unfortunately, EPF contributors do not have much say on the institution’s investing decisions.

Hence, the go ahead for Raja Nong Chik’s loans for the poor scheme despite some rumblings of how the EPF seemed to be the other favorite purse of the politically-intertwined.

The other being Petronas, of course, but the still-mighty corporation of the nation has made its feeling known over it reservations in being a cash cow for all and sundry.

Cash flushed as it is, the EPF is not a bottomless well of funds and eventually – if everyone were to dip into the piggy bank as if it was their own – the base would be reached.

We certainly have plenty of examples of once cash-rich coffers hence depleted, don’t we?

So, do Sod Off all you grubby hands. Please.

Rainsunshiny Scrooge

“…the first batch of 7,000 people who qualify for the loans would receive the offer letters next month…”

Care to tell us who these people are, RNC?

That’s a big group of people who, for some reason or another, couldn’t qualify for loans from financial institutions who will now be getting one from the our pension fund, the EPF.

By any chance are they folks in Lembah Pantai or there abouts?

So, how much is going to be the first drawdown from our retirement fund? RM315 million, is it, @ RM45,000 x 7,000?

June, July disbursement, eh?

Wait, isn’t everyone who’s no one saying that’s when the General Election's going to be held?

If it is, talk about coincidence and the impact of 7,000 “grateful” people waiting for their “housing loan” to come through, eh..

Of course, this is purely a hypothetical, far-fetched and way subversive an idea.

Nah… Perish the thought! It’s just not ethical to be dipping into public fund as to further one’s political future.

The “sangka baik” thing would be that it’s all for the rakyat, even if a portion of the very same rakyat – say a few EPF contributors - are crying out against the scheme’s use of their hard earned money.

What do they know, right?

Am curious, though, as I didn’t read anywhere about the setting up of the SPV handling the same scheme.

Wasn’t it reported some time ago that the vetting of those applying for the funds will be done by this particular outfit?

I must have missed out on that news item then, and must commend it's staff on the efficiency of their work to be able to clear 7,000 (must be more, right? Can't be 100% approvals or can it?) applications in such quick time.

Work, work, work, come rain or shine kind of work ethic. Very commendable.

Let’s do some maths, shall we: an hour per application @ 8 hour per day equals 40 per workweek or 160 per month per vetting staff.

So it takes around 44 staff working at such breakneck speed to do 7,000 within a month.

Was it a month since the SPV was set up?

Like I said, I missed out on all the excitement.

Worrying about people dipping into my retirement fund to do God-knows-what does that to you.

In the meantime, congratulations to the 7,000 formerly-cannot-qualify-for-loans-but-now-is soon to be proud house owners.

Hope you remember whose money it is you are using.