RHB Investment Management Launches the RHB Commodities Capital Protected Fund

KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 6, 2008: Investors who want to preserve their capital, to diversify their portfolios to commodities and to enjoy annual distribution that are potentially uncapped, now have a new fund to add to their portfolio – the RHB Commodities Capital Protected Fund (“CCPF”).

The maiden fund by RHB Investment Management Sdn. Bhd. (“RHBIM”), a merged entity between RHB Asset Management Sdn Bhd and RHB Unit Trust Bhd, will invest at least 85% of the capital raised during the Initial Offer Period (“IOP”) in Zero-coupon Negotiable Instruments of Deposit (“ZNIDs”) which will provide the capital protection if held to maturity. The remainder of the capital raised will be invested in an over-the-counter option linked to the performance of futures contracts of 4 commodities.

The main objective of the fund is to provide investors with annual income distribution that are uncapped over the tenure of the fund with capital protected at the end of the maturity , according to the Managing Director of RHBIM, Puan Sharifatul Hanizah Said Ali.

Sale of the units began on 30 April, with a 30-day IOP which will end on 29 May 2008.

The CCPF is the first RHBIM fund to have a capital protection feature and with commodities as the underlying investments. The underlying commodities are chosen after very careful study and analysis of the commodity market and its future trend, taking into consideration the views of the various research houses globally.

Puan Sharifatul Hanizah said the initial size of the CCPF had been fixed at 150 million units of RM1.00 each, adding up to a total of RM150 million. However, she also pointed out that the CPPF was an closed-end fund, thus units are very limited.

“We can certainly enlarge the fund size if the response during the IOP is very encouraging,” she added.

Puan Sharifatul Hanizah said RHBIM would be looking at investing in both the hard and soft commodities via the performance of the respective futures contracts traded globally, with the aim to provide an annual income that is uncapped during the tenure of the Fund, with capital protection if held to maturity.

The CCPF will be managed by RHBIM, a wholly owned subsidiary of RHB Banking Group. “The fund manager already has wide experience managing funds of different nature, and we are confident that investors will benefit greatly from the expertise of the fund manager,” Puan Sharifatul Hanizah said.

She said the CCPF would be suitable for investors who are bullish about the commodities market and who have a moderate risk profile.

“With the CCPF, they will not only enjoy up to 100% participation into the commodities market, but they will also enjoy the added advantage of capital protection through the ZNIDs,” she added.

With the launch of the CPPF, RHBIM now manages 24 different unit trust funds, with close to RM4 billion in total investment assets under management. The CPPF is distributed via RHB Bank and selected IUTAs and its authorised agents.

For more information, please contact RHBIM at toll free 1-800-88-3656 or visit our website at www.rhbim.com.my.

Issued on behalf of RHB Investment Management Sdn Bhd by Group Corporate Communications, RHB Capital Bhd. For more information, please call Adeline Ong at 012-8833345 or Kala Sukumar at 012-7100324.