The concerns were raised in its annual meeting held at EPF’s headquarters early this week, according to a source.
When contacted by The Malaysian Reserve, MTUC president Mohd Khalid Atan confirmed that a meeting took place but declined to comment on what was discussed.
“It is very confidential. EPF will issue a statement on it soon,” he said.
The source said MTUC is worried over the lacklustre performance of FGVH shares since its listing on June 28, 2012. EPF holds a significant stake in the plantations giant, whose shares have been on a downward trend since July last year, after recording a high of RM5.55 a month after its listing.
FGVH shares at one point fell below its listing price. On Dec 3, it went to RM4.50, below its initial public offering (IPO) price of RM4.55, but managed to stay above RM4.60 in the following months.
Yesterday, it closed at RM4.50, down four sen.
Since the listing of FGVH, collectively EPF had bought 46 million shares, bringing its total shares to 275 million. As at Feb 5, EPF held 281.74 million or a 7.72% stake in FGVH, according to its filing to the local exchange.
Felda settlers, who are considered an important vote bank for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, also hold stakes in FGVH.
They have been actively courted by the opposing Pakatan Rakyat with allegations that the IPO was an exercise that saw them getting the short end of the stick.
In a recent research report, Alliance Research Sdn Bhd had lowered its target price for FGVH to RM3.10 from RM3.53 due to the tepid outlook for crude palm oil (CPO) prices in 2013, thus increasing worry among FGVH stakeholders and Felda settlers.
In September, EPF had said that it was buying into FGVH as it had an extended and positive view on the plantation sector which it described as cyclical in nature.
Meanwhile, another source told The Malaysian Reserve that the pension fund had agreed to pay out a dividend of above 6% for the year 2012, one of its higher payouts in recent years.
It would be viewed by some quarters as a feel good handout in the run-up to the 13th general election which must be held within months.
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