JOHOR BARU: Amanah Saham Johor (ASJ) unit holders who obtained bank loans to invest in the fund are advised to talk to their banks for a possible interest waiver or reduction in view of the closure of the fund.

Pelaburan Johor Berhad (PJB) deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim said several banks were willing to discuss this with unit holders but it was up to the borrowers to approach them.

"Those who defaulted on their loans without informing the banks about their problems would only land themselves into trouble."

Muhammad Ali was speaking after the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) for ASJ unit holders at Persada Johor here yesterday.

Present were representatives from several commercial banks.
He announced the closure of ASJ as 96.7 per cent of the unit holders who attended the EGM yesterday had voted for it. The closure will take effect on June 16.

Muhammad Ali said the buy-back period for ASJ was one month, which meant that time was an important factor for those unit holders who wanted to use the money to offset their bank loans.

Unit holders and proxies representing 5.9 million fund units attended the EGM, with those holding a total of 5.714 million fund units voting to close down the ASJ.

ASJ fund size currently stands at 32.5 million units, with assets of RM16 million.

From yesterday to June 15, unit holders could dispose of their holdings at a subsidised price of RM1 per unit. The current value of the unit is only 50.89 sen.

Muhammad Ali said Johor Corporation had agreed to subsidise the price of ASJ so that investors could recover their initial capital of RM1 per unit.

"So far, the state government and Johor Corporation had subsidised the fund to the tune of RM215 million since the start of the conditional buy-back scheme in 2004," he said.

The ASJ was the first trust fund scheme by a state in Malaysia, known as Johor Investment Fund.

Relaunched as ASJ on May 15, 1992 with the PJB as the fund manager, it plummeted in value as its investment portfolios received a beating during the economic crisis in 1997 and has never recovered ever since.