FSI Peka Fund donates Rp900 million to Kelola and BOSF foundations | Press Release
(The Insider Stories) — First State IndoEquity Peka Fund (FSI Peka Fund) donates 900 million rupiah to Kelola Foundation and Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOSF) as a form of support to the community and environment. The amount of the donation represents 0.5% of funds managed under FSI Peka Fund.
FSI Peka Fund, which is managed by First State Investments Indonesia (FSI Indonesia) with Citibank Indonesia as exclusive distributor and custodian bank, is the first mutual fund in Indonesia that promotes social responsibility concept.
“FSI Indonesia and Citibank Indonesia purposely set a lower management fee to allow investors to take part in community and environmental development programs in Indonesia without having to impact the performance of the related mutual funds,” said FSI Indonesia President Director, Hario Soeprobo.
Last year, the donation from FSI Peka Fund was utilized by Kelola to support and promote Indonesian artists. In 2013, FSI Peka Fund increases its donation to Kelola from Rp 400 million in 2012 to Rp 500 million and makes an additional Rp 400 million donation to BOSF.
“FSI Peka Fund is always actively searching for community or environmental development organizations or foundations,” explained Harsya Prasetyo, Citi Indonesia Director – Retail Investment & Consumer Treasury Head. “However, we are more focused in finding organizations or foundations that are action-based, instead of campaign-based, because the main goal of our funding is to bring concrete and immediate impacts to the community.”
“Last year, FSI Peka Fund’s donation supported the production and performances of 11 Kelola Arts Grant recipients, reaching over 8,000 audiences in 8 provinces in Indonesia,” said Chair of Kelola’s Executive Board, Linda Hoemar Abidin. “Last year one of the arts groups funded by FSI Peka Fund in 2011, the martial arts-based contemporary dance group from Padang, Nan Jombang, was selected from hundreds of worldwide arts groups to perform around the United States for a month as part of then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s cultural diplomacy program.”
Kelola and BOSF are considered as highly dedicated nonprofit organizations that bring immediate positive impacts to the development of art and culture and the conservation of orangutan in Indonesia.
“Without any action or real changes to the current condition, orangutan is predicted to become extinct within one or two decades,” said BOSF CEO, Jamartin Sihite. “Accordingly, the funding from FSI and Citibank will be very useful for us to help prevent orangutans’ extinction through the development of our conservational areas and operation of two rehabilitation centers in Borneo that are currently taking care of more than 800 displaced or orphaned orangutans.”
“Today, there are more people who care about the welfare of their surrounding communities, and there are also more people who are interested in financial products that not only bring profit to investors but also provide positive contribution to the communities,” added Harsya Prasetyo. “At the end of 2012, the amount of fund managed under FSI Peka Fund exceeded Rp 979 billion, which is almost six times larger than the Rp 166 billion recorded at the end of 2011.”
The increase of fund managed under FSI Peka Fund can be attributed to the success of Citibank in providing comprehensive education about various aspects of investing in equity according to the risk profiles of each customer. Furthermore, FSI Indonesia has also been successful in managing the fund through proficient stock selection that emphasizes stocks’ quality, capitalization and value.
“Both FSI Indonesia and Citibank Indonesia are committed to support and promote the development of socially responsible products, with the hope to increase the number of customers and the positive impacts that can be distributed to the surrounding communities,” said Hario Soeprobo.
