Final Results

Aberdeen Asian Smaller Co's Inv Tst
03 October 2002

ABERDEEN ASIAN SMALLER COMPANIES INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF UNAUDITED RESULTS

for the year ended 31 July 2002



Highlights

•Increase of 19.3% in net asset value, compared to a fall of 3.5% in
the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index.

•Proposed final dividend of 2.65p per Ordinary share, compared to 2.0p
last year, a rise of 32.5%.

•The average P/E ratio of the stocks in the portfolio, based on 2002
estimated earnings, is 11.6. The average Price to Book Value of the stocks in
the portfolio is 2.1 with a Return on Equity of 15.9% and a dividend yield of
5%.

• The Manager continues to identify companies with solid earnings and strong
balance sheets.

•Valuations remain very attractive in the region, highlighted by the
presence of numerous good-quality and well-run companies that work to create
value for shareholders, offer good dividend yields, and are not highly
leveraged.







Chairman's Statement

In the year to 31 July 2002, I am pleased to report an increase in the net asset
value of 19.3%, which compares to a contraction of 3.5% in the MSCI AC Asia
Pacific ex-Japan Index. This is an excellent result and rewards the strategy
pursued by our Manager, which is based on detailed analysis to identify
companies with solid earnings and strong balance sheets.

The year under review has been very difficult with the falls in the U.S and
European stock markets and a mixed outlook for Western economies. However, Asia
and our own investments, in particular, have done well.

The reasons are two-fold - one economic and the other to do with valuations. On
the economic front, Asia's bubble burst some five years ago. Since then, its
governments, corporates and individuals have been busy rebuilding. Reforms have
been put in place, companies have restructured and balance sheets are now
extremely healthy. When this backdrop is allied to low stock valuations, the
potential for profitable investment is high - and that is what transpired over
the past year!

Going forward, there are still areas of concern. International demand, in
particular that from the U.S., is very important to Asia's growth and our
research indicates it will be another difficult year ahead on that front. Of
more fundamental worry to us is backtracking on the reform process by
governments in the region. Strangely enough we are hopeful that a generally
sluggish economy will keep up the pressure for change. It is this change, and
consequent action at the corporate level rather than an economic pick-up, that
we expect to drive stock prices higher.

During the course of the year the Board established a HK$35 million short-term,
multi-currency borrowing facility and a £6,000,000 revolving credit facility to
allow the Manager judiciously to use gearing judiciously in managing the
portfolio. At the balance sheet date, HK$20 million and Singapore $3.4 million
had been drawn down, which represented a sterling equivalent of £2.877 million.
In addition, the Company had drawn down £2,000,000 of the revolving credit
facility. The Company's gearing ratio at 31 July 2002 was 112.49%.

The Board is pleased to recommend the payment of a final dividend of 2.65p per
Ordinary share compared with 2.0p last year, a rise of 32.5%..



Nigel Cayzer

3 October 2002



Manager's Report

The year under review has been a tough and tumultuous period for global markets.
During this time, the world's two largest economies - the US and Japan -
experienced a further slowdown. The US consumer, who had been the growth
catalyst for the past 2-3 years, showed signs of weariness. Compounding the
problems, accounting riddles involving several major US companies, coupled with
downbeat corporate earnings, took the wind out of Wall Street.


Asia, however, was a relative haven of safety, having experienced its bubble
bursting five years ago and consequent sharp slowdown, from which it is now
steadily recovering. The region's economies also benefitted from favourable
liquidity conditions and the restructuring efforts of regional governments.
Stock markets across the region have, as a consequence, performed well relative
to their more developed counterparts and within the markets the smaller
companies in which we invest have also performed well.


In North Asia, Korea was the success story. A strong pick-up in the personal
sector after years of forced lending, an explosion in credit growth and improved
corporate governance helped spark a rally in the local stock market.
Additionally, the country's ability to leverage on old economy industries like
shipbuilding and autos helped it perform better when compared to Taiwan and its
technology dependent economy.

China's economy continued to be strongest in the region, growing at 8%
year-on-year in the second quarter of this year. Fiscal stimulus, in addition to
strong state-directed investments, is likely to remain the cornerstone of
government policy. At the market level, the China Securities Regulatory
Commission has championed the reform process, including further liberalisation
of the A- and B-share markets, and turning around loss-making state-owned
enterprises.

Hong Kong failed to participate in the rally, however, because of its structural
reliance on property which held back the large index constituents in the banking
and property sectors, although the smaller companies fared substantially better.
Our strategy in China/Hong Kong involved investing in companies that either
derived a bulk of their revenues or had their manufacturing operations in the
mainland. We believed this to be a better way of exploiting China's economic
potential, at the same time avoiding the pitfalls of dealing in the more
speculative B-shares.

In South East Asia, the best bargains were once again found in the smaller
markets of Thailand and Indonesia. Thailand's stock market was the front runner
due to a recovering economy, flush liquidity conditions and good value in the
small- and mid-cap companies. Indonesia clawed its way back, aided by a return
to relative political stability, and progress by the government in the
privatisation of the state sector. In Malaysia, a committed approach to
corporate restructuring has helped propel the country's stock markets into one
of the best performers during 2002.

In the Indian sub-continent, even as tensions remained high after
nuclear-capable India and Pakistan traded bellicose statements over Kashmir,
economic growth stayed on track due to progress on the privatisation process and
improved corporate profitability.


Portfolio


Our strategy of investing in good quality companies that trade on undemanding
valuations paid off handsomely over the past twelve months. Once again, our
strong performance was driven by good stock selection, which, in turn, dictated
our asset allocation. The average P/E ratio of the stocks in the portfolio,
based on 2002 estimated earnings, is 11.6. The average Price to Book Value of
the stocks in the portfolio is 2.1 with a Return on Equity of 15.9% and a
dividend yield of 5%.

Our biggest positions relative to the size of the respective markets are in
Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and India, while our lightest exposures
are in Australia and Taiwan. By sector, our preferred areas are in consumer
staples like food, beverage and tobacco, while our most significant
underweightings are in banks and electronics. Simply put we like the visible
cheap steady stocks like Unilever, Heineken and BAT (affiliates of all of which
we own), whilst being wary of cyclical electronic manufacturers, particularly
when it comes to small companies, and of smaller financial institutions without
the necessary muscle.


We sold our remaining stock in Australia, BRL Hardy, the producer of Eileen
Hardy and Nottage Hill wines, having held it since the inception of your
Company. We sold not because of anything wrong with the business but simply
because BRL Hardy had appreciated a great deal and we could find cheaper
opportunities elsewhere within the region. We are still actively looking at
Australia, but currently cannot find anything of the right quality that is
cheap.

Our Hong Kong stocks performed well. We added contract shoe manufacturer
Kingmaker, whilst selling software systems integrator Automated Systems Holdings
and topslicing our core holdings like Giordano and Cafe de Coral subsequent to
their strong share price run-up.


In Thailand, our performance was relatively dull. Our cheap, quality smaller
companies were left behind by the larger companies such as banks and cement
stocks. We continue to see the most attractive value in second- and third-liner
stocks, especially those that are leveraged to the ongoing domestic consumption
recovery. We topped up utilities laggard Easter Water and Thai Reinsurance, and
introduced leading regional tran-shipment carrier Regional Container Lines which
is cheap, possesses strong cash flows, and is well-positioned to reap the
benefits of the Asian economic rebound.

Following the previously announced Board decision to raise the Company's initial
market capitalisation limit to US$600 million from US$250 million we were
allowed to introduce positions in Marco Polo, a Singapore real estate company
trading at a steep discount to net value, Hong Leong Singapore Finance, to all
intents and purposes a bank, in Singapore, cement company Grasim Industries in
India and Carlsberg Brewery in Malaysia.


To fund this we took profits in various holdings, as well as tidying up anything
with which we were uncomfortable.


In the latter part of the reporting period, we added two new holdings in Korea:
Hana Tour Service, the country's leading travel operator, and Cheil
Communications, the dominant advertising agency. We have made one further
addition since the Company's year end - Korea Reinsurance, the country's leading
reinsurer. We sold Iroonet, the internet and software services firm, and took
profits in Lotte Confectionery, the consumer products company.


In India, we sold motorcyle and tractor company Eicher, at a loss, and Hughes
Software Systems, with the proceeds used to buy Aventis Pharma. This was in
recognition of the company's strong and focused marketing strategy, and the
discount to its peers in the industry. At the year-end, we also initiated a
position in Godrej, a producer of toiletries, soaps and hair colour.

Outlook

A strong domestic demand story in Asia, coupled with rising capital inflows, has
helped the region's markets de-couple from the sell-off in the US. Economic
growth throughout the region has broadened out, reflecting encouraging trends in
both domestic consumption and traditional exports. Even more encouragingly, the
health of the corporate sector has improved dramatically due to effective cost
cutting and more efficient use of capital resources.

Whilst it is impossible to predict the direction of stock markets, valuations
remain very attractive in the region, highlighted by the presence of numerous
good-quality and well-run companies that work to create value for shareholders,
offer good dividend yields, are not highly leveraged, and are cheap.



Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited

3 October 2002




Statement of Total Return
                                                       Year ended                             Year ended

                                                      31 July 2002                           31 July 2001

                                                       (unaudited)                             (audited)

                                               Revenue     Capital       Total       Revenue        Capital        Total
                                                 £'000       £'000       £'000         £'000          £'000        £'000

Gains/(losses) on investments                        -       6,037       6,037             -        (4,021)      (4,021)

Income                                           1,946           -       1,946         1,673              -        1,673
Investment management fee                        (447)           -       (447)         (445)              -        (445)
Other expenses                                   (321)           -       (321)         (243)              -        (243)
Exchange gains                                       -         105         105             -             38           38
Net return before finance
Costs and taxation                               1,178       6,142       7,320           985        (3,983)      (2,998)

Interest payable and similar charges             (122)           -       (122)         (153)              -        (153)
Return on ordinary activities
Before taxation                                  1,056       6,142       7,198           832        (3,983)      (3,151)

Taxation on ordinary activities                  (342)           -       (342)         (287)              -        (287)
Return on ordinary activities
after taxation                                     714       6,142       6,856           545        (3,983)      (3,438)

Dividends in respect of equity shares            (709)           -       (709)         (535)              -        (535)
Transfer to/(from) reserves                          5       6,142       6,147            10        (3,983)      (3,973)

Return per Ordinary share (pence):
Basic                                             2.67       22.96       25.63          1.84        (13.43)      (11.59)
Fully-diluted                                     2.65       22.78       25.43             -              -            -


The revenue column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the
Company.


The Statements of Total Return presented above are in accordance with the
Statement of Recommended Practice for Financial Statements of Investment Trust
Companies.

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing
operations.




Balance Sheet
                                                                                         As at                As at
                                                                                  31 July 2002         31 July 2001

                                                                                   (unaudited)            (audited)
                                                                                         £'000                £'000
Fixed assets
Investments                                                                             43,537               33,994

Current assets
Debtors                                                                                    223                  258
Cash at bank and in hand                                                                   175                  797
                                                                                           398                1,055
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year                                         (3,085)              (3,232)
Net current liabilities                                                                (2,687)              (2,177)
Total assets less current liabilities                                                   40,850               31,817
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Bank Loan                                                                              (2,877)                    -
                                                                                        37,973               31,817
Provisions for liabilities and charges                                                    (35)                 (26)
Total net assets                                                                        37,938               31,791

Share capital and reserves
Called-up share capital                                                                  6,689                6,689
Capital redemption reserve                                                               2,062                2,062
Special reserve                                                                         14,990               14,990
Other capital reserves:
Warrant reserve                                                                          2,275                2,275
Capital reserve - realised                                                              10,586                6,556
Capital reserve - unrealised                                                             1,081              (1,031)
Revenue reserve                                                                            255                  250
Total equity shareholders' funds                                                        37,938               31,791

Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence):
Basic                                                                                   141.80               118.83
Fully-diluted                                                                           133.13               114.92






Cash Flow Statement
                                                                           Year ended                Year ended

                                                                          31 July 2002              31 July 2001

                                                                          (unaudited)                 (audited)
                                                                         £'000         £'000        £'000          £'000

Net cash inflow from operating activities                                                887                         757
Servicing of finance
Bank and loan interest paid                                               (82)                      (154)
Net cash outflow from servicing of finance                                              (82)                       (154)
Taxation
Net taxation paid                                                                       (71)                        (12)
Financial investment
Purchases of investments                                              (15,980)                    (8,238)
Sales of investments                                                    10,177                      8,962
Net (outflow)/inflow from financial investment                                       (5,803)                         724
Equity dividends paid                                                                  (535)                       (363)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing                                           (5,604)                         952
Financing
Repurchase of Ordinary shares                                                -                      (453)
Drawdown/(repayment) of loans                                            5,062                      (750)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing                                               5,062                     (1,203)
Decrease in cash                                                                       (542)                       (251)
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movements in
net funds/(debt)
Decrease in cash as above                                                              (542)                       (251)
Cash (inflow)/outflow from (drawdown)/repayment of loans                             (5,062)                         750
Exchange movements                                                                       105                          38
Movement in net (debt)/funds in the year                                             (5,499)                         537
Opening net funds                                                                        797                         260
Closing net (debt)/funds                                                             (4,702)                         797



Notes:




1. The breakdown of income for the year ended 31 July 2002 and 31 July 2001 was
as follows:
                                              2002         2001
                                             £'000        £'000
Income from investments
Franked investment income                       71           71
Overseas dividends                           1,860        1,568
                                             1,931        1,639
Other income
Deposit interest                                15           34
Total income                                 1,946        1,673




2. Return per share


The basic revenue return per Ordinary share is based on net revenue on ordinary
activities after taxation of £714,000 (2001 - £545,000) and on 26,754,100 (2001
- 29,669,197) Ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of Ordinary
shares in issue during the year.


The basic capital return per Ordinary share is based on net capital gains for
the financial year of £6,142,000 (2001 losses of £3,983,000) and on 26,754,100
(2001 - 29,669,197) Ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of
Ordinary shares in issue during the year.


3. Net asset value per share


The basic net asset value Ordinary per share is based on net assets, and on
26,754,100 (2001 - 26,754,100) Ordinary shares, being the number of shares in
issue at the year end.


The fully-diluted net asset value per Ordinary share has been calculated on the
assumption that 6,999,400 (2001 - 6,999,400) Warrants in issue were exercised on
the first day of the financial year at 100p per share, giving an average of
33,753,500 (2001 - 33,753,500) Ordinary shares.


4. The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's
statutory accounts for the years ended 31 July 2002 or 2001 The financial
information for 2001 is derived from the statutory accounts for 2001 which have
been delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors have reported on the
2001 accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement
under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory accounts
for 2002 will be finalised on the basis of the financial information presented
by the Directors in this preliminary announcement and will be delivered to the
Registrar of Companies in due course.


5. The Board has declared a final dividend in respect of the year ended 31 July
2002 of 2.65p net per share (2001: 2.00p). The final dividend will have a record
date of 18 October 2002 and, if approved by shareholders, will be paid on 29
November 2002 to holders of Ordinary shares on the register on the record date.


6. Copies of the Annual Report will be posted to shareholders shortly and
further copies may be obtained from the registered office, One Bow Churchyard,
Cheapside, London EC4M 9HH.


Aberdeen Asset Management PLC,

Secretaries.

3 October 2002


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