Kuala Lumpur – Human Resources Development Corporation (HRD Corp), also known as Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB), has accumulated a profit of RM389.95 million, confirming the company’s stable financial position according to the Auditor General’s Report.

PSMB has consistently recorded pre-tax profits, amounting to RM25.82 million in 2020, RM12.06 million in 2021, RM29.79 million in 2022, and RM97.5 million in 2023.

These profits are derived from investments, service charges, and other strategic initiatives.

The audit report highlights PSMB’s investment returns of RM71.74 million in 2020, RM58.44 million in 2021, RM76.52 million in 2022, and RM106.33 million in 2023.

In 2023, investment profits accounted for approximately 98.7% of PSMB’s total investment portfolio, valued at RM3.85 billion.

Despite disputes over PSMB’s ability and necessity to invest levy funds, and the high risks these investments might pose to employers and the government, PSMB has complied with the Human Resources Development Act 2001 (Act 612).

This Act outlines the roles, responsibilities, powers, and operational limits of the organization, including investment activities.

For instance, Section 27(1) of Act 612 allows PSMB to invest the Human Resources Development Fund (KWPSM) not immediately required.

Permissible investments include securities, shares, and debentures in public companies listed on Malaysian stock exchanges, or other investments as decided by the Investment Panel.

PSMB conducts thorough due diligence for each investment through a rigorous process overseen by the Investment Panel and the Board of Directors.

Detailed assessments ensure the overall portfolio’s risks are minimized and investment capital is protected.

In 2023, 84% of the investment portfolio was in low-risk assets such as cash and deposits, bonds, sukuk, and trust accounts.

Over 30 years of operation, PSMB has never faced a situation where it could not pay training grant claims to employers due to efficient liquidity risk management.

Additionally, the disbursement of levy funds to employer training programs has been satisfactory, with PSMB recording levy utilization rates of 63% in 2020, 32% in 2021, 42% in 2022, and 71% in 2023, meeting the KPI target of 70% for 2023.

If approved but unpaid levies (paid after training) are considered, the utilization rate for 2023 reaches 83%.

Although levy utilization depends on employers, the increased disbursement is due to PSMB’s proactive efforts to raise employer awareness about the importance of using the levy for employee training.

Additionally, PSMB has expedited and simplified the training grant application and approval process to 24 hours, successfully processing 354,562 applications within this timeframe in 2023.

PSMB has also introduced various training programs and initiatives that offer employers more options for utilizing their levies. Since 2021, this has included allowing the use of levies for remote online training programs, which was particularly helpful when employers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and could not conduct physical classroom training.

Additionally, PSMB launched the e-LATiH learning platform, which offers both free and premium (paid) subscriptions. Registered employers can use their levies to pay for the premium subscriptions. -MalayaDailyToday