Trust plans to expand regionally

Public-listed unit trust provider Unit Trust of Fiji is in discussions and have put in place ground works as it implements its strategy to assist more regional partners to establish unit trusts in their respective countries.

At present, regional institutions like the Vanuatu National Provident Fund, Samoa National Provident Fund, Samoa Unit Trust and Samoa Parliamentary Fund have already invested in UTOF, to the tune of $35millioin as of last year.

UTOF board chairperson Lavinia Kaumaitotoya said those investments have been successful, and along similar lines, UTOF was going out regionally with Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

She said this work was still in progress for this year going forward.

“But we expect, (for) example with our partnership with Unit Trust of Samoa, to be similar in Vanuatu and Solomons, and of course there is Kiribati and then there’s other Pacific islands who are now putting their hand up,” Ms Kaumaitotoya said in response to a question from this newspaper.

“As an example, here in Fiji that has worked, and we are happy to extend that partnership to our regional partners so that we can help our regional people to also invest and inculcate a savings attitude and behaviour within their countries like we have done successfully here in Fiji.”

UTOF chief executive officer Vilash Chand said the regional strategy aimed to help regional partners not only set up unit trusts in their own countries, but to also encourage superannuation and unit trusts to invest directly in UTOF.

“Collectively, all these institutions have invested around $F35million with us, so again there’s a direct foreign investment into the country,” Mr Chand said.

“And if that happens, it shows the confidence of both institutions they have upon Unit Trust of Fiji as well as Fiji in entirety.”

Discussions for these potential investments are being conducted under the UTOF’s Global Investment Fund, which was created specifically to attract offshore investors and the Fijian diaspora overseas, in particular in Australia, New Zealand, UK and the US.

Last week, UTOF distributed $7million to its 60,000-plus unit holders as its 2024 final dividend payout for the last six months ending December 31.