THE Unit Trust of Fiji (UTOF) has made a record dividend payout of $704, 919 to Government.
UTOF chairperson Shaenaz Voss while handing over the cheque to the Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum yesterday said the payout was a combination of 2016 and 2017.
She said 2016 had a net profit of $585,503 and that the dividend to government was $292,752.
However, in 2017 she said the net profit was $824, 333 and the dividend to Government was $412,167.
Ms Voss said the net profit and dividend increased by 41 per cent compared with 2016.
She said unit holders had increased from 17,309 in 2016 to 18,694 in 2017 — a growth of 8 per cent.
Ms Voss said as of this month UTOF was sitting at 21,000 unit holders.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said many ordinary Fijians were buying units from the Unit Trust of Fiji.
“What we as Government are excited about is the fact that we have seen a huge rise in many ordinary Fijians buying units from the Unit Trust of Fiji,” he said.
He said government was trying to promote the culture of saving.
“Something that is also very significant is having our Pacific Island neighbours having a lot of confidence in the Unit Trust of Fiji.”
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said Unit Trust of Fiji was not just a good investment organisation for Fijians but also for other Pacific Islanders.
Meanwhile, Unit Trust of Fiji is a 100 per cent owned by the Government and reports directly to the Ministry of Economy.
Source - thefijitimes
