KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — The Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) saw the value of its 191 stocks decline from RM157.87 billion since late June to RM149.94 billion this Wednesday, a report has said.

According to business news outlet The Malaysian Reserve (TMR), data it had compiled showed the fall in EPF’s equity investment value by RM7.9 billion in between the end of this year’s second quarter and this Wednesday..

EPF’s investment value in shares in banks fell as the shares prices dropped, including its holdings in Public Bank Berhad which declined in value from RM2.8 billion (end-June) to RM2.6 billion (Wednesday) – a drop by RM288.7 million.

EPF share value in Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) fell by RM171.3 million to be RM2.9 billion as of Wednesday, while its share value in CIMB Group Holdings Bhd declined RM149.6 million to be RM1.5 billion, with its holdings in Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLB) eroding by RM168.6 million to be RM1 billion on the same day, TMR reported.

As for EPF’s holdings of Petronas subsidiary Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, the 7.58 per cent stake declined by RM230.3 million to be valued at around RM1 billion, the report said.

These five stocks were where EPF suffered the biggest decline in terms of investment value from the end of June until this Wednesday, with total drop in value coming to almost RM1.01 billion, TMR said.

According to TMR, the depreciation in EPF’s share investments have taken place amid poor performance of Malaysia’s stock market.

Citing Bloomberg data, the report noted that EPF assets in shares currently total RM149.7 billion, with these equities accounting for 39.2 per cent of the pension fund’s total investment assets.

On September 6, EPF said equities or stocks continue to be its key revenue source, contributing RM6.33 billion or 51.4 per cent of its total investment income for the second quarter of 2019.

For the second quarter ending June 30, 2019, EPF recorded total investment income of RM12.32 billion, just slightly less than RM12.39 billion in the same quarter last year.

Despite the weaker performance of the Malaysian stock market, EPF had then noted that its investment income from overseas assets helped to balance out the fall in income from local stocks.

EPF deputy chief executive officer (investment) Datuk Mohamad Nasir Ab Latif had on September 6 spoke of expected challenging market conditions both globally and locally, but said Malaysia’s market conditions would present a good buying opportunity for EPF as a long-term fund.

"Despite this outlook, we remain firmly confident in our ability to deliver above-inflation returns, meeting our objective of preserving and enhancing the value of our members’ savings over the long term,” he was quoted saying by national news agency Bernama.