PRUDENTIAL Fund Management Bhd (PFMB) is bullish on the local stock market performance this year and expects its latest fund, an equity fund, to pay an 8 per cent return annually- The fund manager said the new Prudential MY Focus Fund aims to provide capital appreciation in the medium to long term by investing in a portfolio of up to but not limited to 30 Malaysian securities- PFMB's chief executive officer Lynn Cheah said the local stock market is expected to rise in 2011, riding on the momentum of the Economic Transformation Programme- "These plus the impending snap election may prove to be the catalyst to drive our equity market further," she told reporters at the fund launch in Kuala Lumpur yesterday-PFMB's chief investment offer for equities, Yvonne Tan Hong Yean, noted that large government spending, namely the RM40 billion Mass Rail Transit project, to have a higher multiplier effect and intense impact- "Projects such as these are not only important catalyst for the stock market over the shorter term, but also have enormous socio-economic impact and positive economic spillover over the medium term," she said- "Property prices are expected to go up and the market is anticipated to be more vibrant- In my view, this is the start of a multi-year investment cycle," she added- She also noted that Petronas' plans to spend more to look for oil and gas in Malaysian waters- Riding on the favourable equity market sentiment, PFMB has no plan to launch any fixed income fund this year- "We will focus only on equity funds this year," said Cheah- PFMB, which manages RM16-8 billion as at December 31 2010, plans to launch two more offshore funds this year- Meanwhile, investors can invest into Prudential MY Focus Fund at an initial offer price of 50 sen per unit until March 21- The minimum investment amount is RM1,000 and any subsequent additional investment during the offer period is RM100- ...

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