Melanesian Trustees gives out K2.5mil-plus

Business

By MARK HAIHUIE
MORE than K2.5 million was distributed to Pacific Balanced Fund unit holders yesterday by the Melanesian Trustees Services Limited (MTSL).
MTSL chief executive Kennedy Wemin said unit holders would receive payments before the end of this month.
He said it had been a challenging financial year for its investments.
“The board has chosen to make a contribution of K2,647,435 to the unit holders so that they can once again benefit,” Wemin said.
“It is not a dividend distribution but just as a distribution. Our mandate is to distribute the returns that we get from our investments to our unit holders and it is based on a 20t per unit.
“Our biggest unit holder, Nasfund, is going to end up with a little bit over K500,000, as they hold about 20 per cent.
“We are not a superfund like Nasfund and Nambawan Supa as we don’t collect consistent income.
“And their net asset base is supported by contributions that members make.
“We totally rely on dividends that we collect from our investments.
“We are regulated by the Securities Commission and totally independent.
“Our risk appetite is also higher than others regulated by the Central Bank.”
Wemin said the investment valuations had declined this year due to the economic downturn. But he remains optimistic on growth prospects.
“We have invested in some strong and profitable investments and projects that we have entered into for 2016 and 2017. We believe that on the back of that you, will see an upsurge in the funds growth going forward despite the downturn.
“We will continue to enjoy the growth enjoyed over the years.”