The PNG National Superannuation Fund (Nasfund) has announced that the drop in interest offering by the banks this year will affect dividend payouts. Nasfund Acting CEO Rajeev Sharma confirmed this in Lae at the 2023 Employers Conference saying the interest offering on Treasury Bills and Government Inscribed Stock was at 7.2% just last year. Mr Sharma says this year, the interest offering fell to 3.5%. This he says means that for the same investment Nasfund makes, it will receive a lesser amount in its interest, meaning the dividend for this year will obviously be low. According to Mr Sharma, Government inscribed stock is issued by the Government, with a maturity of 2 to 10 years. He says Treasury Bills and Government Inscribed stock can be purchased through the Bank of PNG 's public offering. However, Mr Sharma says In PNG there is no secondary market and hence Government Inscribed Stock and Treasury Bills are not traded unlike other markets where demand, supply, surplus, shortage and maturity decide trading price.
He says these Govt securities are subject to International Financial Reporting System 9 provisioning, which in PNG is around 1.25 to 1.5 %. He says this is becoming a challenge for Nasfund at the moment. To make matters worse, bank tax has increased from 30% to 45% which Nasfund Acting CEO Rajeev Sharma says will cut down Nasfund dividend this year by K30 million. Nasfund is now hoping that some government economic investments will get off the ground this year to at least turn the tides. Pictures Supplied by Nasfund Media & Communications Unit FM100 / PNG Business News Also read Businesses In PNG On Verge Of Closing Operations Comments are closed.
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