Usually, when a listed company announces a dividend, it will list three important dates, which are Ex-Date, Entitlement date and Payment date.
First of all, Ex-Date is the ex-dividend date, and Entitlement Date is the date when you can get the right to receive dividends. Usually, the difference between Ex-date and Entitlement date is 3 days. This is because Malaysia’s stock trading is based on the Trading + 3 method, which means that the money will be transferred to the other party’s account only 3 trading days after trading a certain stock. However, many companies now use a one-day difference between Ex-date and Entitlement date when announcing dividend details.
Many new investors are confused about the difference between Ex-date and Entitlement Day. Here is an example: Maybank’s dividend Ex-date is March 16, while Entitlement date is March 17 and Payment date is April 14.
When you sell Maybank on March 15, you will not get the dividend because the Ex-date is March 16. As for when you sell shares on or after March 16, you will get the dividend. March 17 Entitlement date is the number of shares you own will be recorded in the system, so basically you can ignore the Entitlement date.
When you hold Maybank before March 16, you will get the dividend on April 14.
Conclusion, when you check the dividend announcement, you only need to pay attention to the Ex-date and Payment, as long as you hold the shares before the Ex-Date, you will get the dividend.
