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Kothari Pioneer pays 35

MUMBAI: Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund declared a 35 per cent tax free dividend on its bluechip fund, the highest ever by any mutual fund in India. The fund has over 5-1/2 years, since inception, delivered an annualised return of 25.18 per cent, CEO of Kothari Pioneer Asset Management Company AMC Vivek Reddy said. The scheme has Rs 16-17 per unit as distributable profits and is likely to declare six dividends over the next three years. Leveraging on this performance, the Rs 20 crore fund would grow to Rs 100 crore by end of this financial year. He expects to repeat its performance of last year and double the total funds under management to Rs 1200 crore. During the financial year ended march 1999, the fund doubled its asset base from Rs 260 crore to Rs 560 crore.