Return of TH assets currently held by UJSB to be finalised in Q1 2025 - Mohd Na'im

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar said the government, through the department, would ensure that the return of TH assets from the special purpose vehicle (SPV) would be done in an orderly manner and would not have financial implications on TH and its depositors.

"In line with the Prime Minister's announcement on Sept 29, 2023, TH has commenced discussions with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and UJSB involving the matters of the sukuk redemption and the impact on the value of UJSB's assets.

"In this regard, TH is still looking into the best option in their discussions with MOF and UJSB, which are expected to be finalised in the first quarter of this year. This is to ensure that it will benefit depositors in general and TH in particular."

The minister said this in reply to Datuk Idris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) regarding the latest developments in the proposal to return TH's assets that were transferred to USJB, as well as investments made by TH.

On investments, Mohd Na'im said TH has always looked at investment opportunities in sectors that help generate sustainable and stable returns.

"The interests of depositors will always be taken into account in the context of investments and actions taken by TH," he said.

In reply to Idris' original question on the reform measures taken by the government to ensure that TH will continue to be efficient and competitive, Mohd Na'im said TH would introduce a medium-term plan, namely FAITH27: TH Strategic Plan 2025-2027, with the continuation of several initiatives from HIJRAH24 along with new initiatives towards the intended goals.

He said the objective of the plan was to steer TH towards achieving financial sustainability and making it a superior and high-performing Islamic financial institution to continue to serve based on the mandate given.

Mohd Na'im said the HIJRAH24 strategic plan, which was launched in 2022, contained 24 initiatives that had been implemented over the three years from 2022 to 2024.

The strategic plan revolved around the five core objectives, namely to ensure excellent haj management, generate sustainable returns and asset surpluses, increase stable savings, nurture the best human capital and implement the principles of Maqasid Syariah.

"Alhamdulillah, thanks to the hard work of all its employees, TH's financial position continues to remain strong.

"For four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, TH has announced a profit distribution rate of 3.10 per cent, which is higher than the 12-month savings rate of Islamic banks.

"The size of deposits and the number of depositors have also increased from RM75.9 billion and 8.97 million depositors as of Dec 31, 2020, to RM91.7 billion and 9.54 million depositors as of Dec 31, 2024, reflecting the high confidence of the Muslim community in TH," he added.

-- BERNAMA