Annual Financial Report

RNS Number : 2054V

Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited

05 April 2019

ABERDEEN ASIAN INCOME FUND LIMITED

ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2018

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Dividend per Ordinary share		Earnings per Ordinary share - basic (revenue) -
2018	9.15p	2018	9.25p
2017	9.00p	2017	9.58p
Ordinary share price total return{AB}		Net asset value total return{AB}
2018	-6.2%	2018	-5.5%
2017	+17.4%	2017	+16.0%
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index total return (currency adjusted){B}		MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index total return (currency adjusted){B}
2018	-8.3%	2018	-3.5%
2017	+25.4%	2017	+15.4%
Discount to net asset value per Ordinary share {AC}		Yield {C}
2018	8.5%	2018	4.7%
2017{C}	7.5%	2017{C}	4.1%
Ongoing charges{A}		Net gearing{A}
2018	1.11%	2018	8.9%
2017	1.09%	2017	7.1%

{A} Alternative Performance Measure (see pages 17, 85 and 86 of the published Annual Report).
{B} Total return represents the capital return plus dividends reinvested.
{C} As at 31 December.

STRATEGIC REPORT - CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

Background and Overview

2018 was a tumultuous time for Asian markets, especially following the good run enjoyed the previous year. The political posturing and protectionism that I mentioned in the Half Yearly Report dampened returns in the region but sentiment has been improving as the US and China look to reach a mutually agreeable trade agreement. However, investors had to contend with heightened political risks outside Asia, including Brexit and volatile commodity prices, which added to the uncertain environment.

On a total return basis, over the full year ended 31 December 2018, the Company's net asset value ("NAV") fell by 5.5%, ahead of the 8.3% decline in the MSCI All Country Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index but lagging the 3.5% decline in the MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index. The share price retreated by 6.2% on a total return basis to 195.8p, to close the year at a discount of 8.5% to the NAV per Ordinary Share of 214.0p. The resilience of the portfolio during a period of weak returns in Asia reflects your Investment Manager's focus on quality companies with strong business franchises exposed to longer term growth trends and balance sheets that can support healthy dividend payouts.

Despite risk aversion fuelling demand for safe havens and consistent shareholder returns, your Investment Manager's disciplined investment approach and continued focus on quality were duly rewarded. Many of the portfolio's holdings held up well amid the indiscriminate market sell-off, with their healthy balance sheets supporting steady dividend payouts. There have been several sectors where dividends in 2018 have been higher than forecast. All three diversified mining stocks held in the portfolio have paid higher returns to shareholders in 2018 thanks to stronger-than-expected profit growth. Elsewhere, in technology, both Samsung Electronics and TSMC increased cash dividends on the back of record high profits. In Singapore, DBS proposed a doubling of its dividends and a special 50 cents-per-share payout to mark its 50th anniversary, while affirming its commitment to higher payouts in line with earnings growth.

In contrast to 2017, China was one of the weakest markets in the region over the year. The lower exposure to China in the portfolio meant we were spared much of this pain.

Despite the short-term challenges, we maintain a positive view on China's long-term consumer demand potential. Through rigorous research and groundwork, your Investment Manager introduced several holdings that are well-placed to tap into the burgeoning middle class and rising consumption supported by China's demographic profile, which is the part of the economy that continues to fare well. Your Investment Manager remained disciplined in taking a fundamental approach to assessing the Company's holdings, monitoring developments that could impair their business propositions and undermine their growth drivers.

The technology sector also lost steam in 2018, having been the star of the previous year. In a reversal of fortunes, the stock prices of the highly-valued internet companies have corrected and the fund has benefited from not owning these low yielding stocks which do not meet the Company's income requirements. In addition, the approaching end of the easy-money era was a dampener on sentiment. The Fed raised interest rates four times during the year, while the European Central Bank gradually unwound its stimulus program. Central banks across Asia, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea and Thailand, tightened in response to shore up their currencies and contain inflationary pressures.

Finally, see-sawing commodity prices buffeted stocks in the resources sector, as demand was muted amid faltering global growth. Brent crude peaked in October but gradually lost steam towards the year-end. Iron-ore prices, however, were resilient, supported by China's infrastructure stimulus and still-robust steel production on the back of easing winter cuts. This provided a fillip to the portfolio's holdings, BHP Group, South32 and Rio Tinto, which have been disciplined in strengthening their financial health through the divestment of non-core assets and improving profits through cost savings. Their management stayed focused on enhancing productivity to mitigate the pressure on margins from an expected rise in capital expenditure and lingering trade uncertainty.

Against this backdrop, your Investment Manager has been looking to enhance the total return delivered by the portfolio while maintaining an above-market average yield. The adherence to their quality investment process can be seen from the changes made to the portfolio which have added a mix of both capital and dividend growth. For example, your Investment Manager has initiated positions in both Korea and India, two markets which have historically not been known for their dividend yields.

Dividends

Four quarterly dividends were declared over 2018. The first three were paid at the rate of 2.25p with the fourth interim at 2.4p for the year, representing an overall increase of 1.7% for the year. It is encouraging, and a reflection of the evolution of company culture in Asia, that the annual dividend has more than doubled since launch, from 4.5p in 2006 to 9.15p in 2018. It is particularly pleasing to report that the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC") has identified your Company as a "next generation dividend hero" by having raised dividends for at least 10 years. The AIC stated "Aberdeen Asian Income Fund is a new joiner to the next generation of dividend heroes having achieved its 10th annual dividend increase in January. It joins 21 other investment companies which have harnessed their ability to retain 15% of the income they receive each year to smooth dividends through both good and bad times." (AIC, 18 March 2019).

The Board will continue to strive to reward shareholders, when possible, with a progressive dividend policy. Based upon the Ordinary Share price of 195.75p the shares were yielding 4.7% at year end. In the year to 31 December 2018, after deducting the payment of the fourth interim dividend, about £0.3 million has been transferred to the Company's revenue reserves which now amount to £10.7 million (about 6.0p per Share).

Share Capital Management

In line with the Board's commitment to buy back shares when the discount at which the Company's shares trade exceeds 5% to the underlying NAV exclusive of income, the Company has been buying back shares periodically. During the year the Company bought back 4.65m shares for treasury at a discount. Subsequent to the year end we have continued to buy back shares and a total of 190,165 further shares have been acquired. These buybacks are accretive to the Company's NAV and benefit all shareholders. The Company will continue selectively to buy back shares in the market, at the discretion of the Board, when the discount exceeds 5% of the NAV (ex income) over the longer term. At the time of writing the Ordinary Shares are trading at a discount of 6.9% to the prevailing NAV.

Gearing

The Company has an unsecured three year £40 million loan facility with Scotiabank which includes an option to increase the level to £60 million subject to the identification by the Investment Manager of suitable investment opportunities and Scotiabank's approval. On 2 March 2018, the Company entered into a new fully drawn three year £10,000,000 term facility with Scotiabank Europe PLC to replace a similar maturing facility. The Company's total gearing at the year-end amounted to the equivalent of £36.9 million representing net gearing of 8.9% (2017 - 7.1%).

Directorate

As part of the Board's succession planning, Peter Arthur retired from the Board following the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") in May 2018 and I was appointed Chairman of the Board. At the same time we welcomed Ms Nicky McCabe as a new Director. Nicky was formerly head of product and investment trusts at Fidelity International with experience across the full spectrum of asset management, back office operations, investment, distribution and product management.

AGM

This year your Company's AGM will be held at 10.30 a.m. on 15 May 2019 at the Company's registered office, 1st Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House, 48 - 50 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3QB and your Board welcomes shareholders' attendance. If you are unable to attend the AGM, I would encourage you to vote by returning your proxy which is enclosed with the Annual Report and financial statements.

If you hold your shares in the Company via a share plan or a platform and would like to attend and/or vote at the AGM, then you will need to make arrangements with the administrator of your share plan or platform. For this purpose, investors that hold their shares in the Company via the Aberdeen Standard Plan for Children, the Aberdeen Standard Share Plan and/or the Aberdeen Standard Investment Trust ISA will find a Letter of Direction enclosed. Shareholders are encouraged to complete and return the Letter of Direction in accordance with the instructions printed thereon.

Electronic Communications

The Board is proposing to take advantage of the ability, under the Company's Articles of Association, to communicate electronically with shareholders as well as making documents available on its website instead of sending out paper versions and enabling electronic voting. We will still make available paper copies to those shareholders who wish to continue to receive paper copy. Increased use of electronic communications will deliver savings to the Company in terms of administration, printing and postage costs, as well as speeding up the provision of information to shareholders and making voting at shareholder meetings easier. The reduced use of paper will also have environmental benefits. We will be writing to you further in this regard in due course.

Strategy

During the year the Board conducted a strategic review of the Company's operations in conjunction with the Manager and other advisers with the focus on dividend policy, ongoing charges and the promotion of the Company. With the receipt of the necessary permissions from shareholders at the AGM in May, the Investment Manager has been authorised to write covered put and call options on the underlying portfolio investments with the aim of generating extra revenue in future years. The Investment Manager also intends to initiate stock lending on the portfolio which is expected to provide a further, albeit modest, enhancement to the Company's revenue streams. The Board supports the Manager's continuing efforts to promote the Company to a wider investor base and is pleased to note that the Manager has agreed to absorb all research costs under MiFID II, rather than seek to recharge these to the Company. The Board will continue to keep all costs under careful review in the future.

Outlook

There are no quick fixes for prevailing headwinds so it is likely that market volatility will persist. An immediate resolution to US-China trade tensions appears elusive, given the issues at stake. The global macro backdrop remains weak while further deceleration in China could have a ripple effect across the region. In addition, political uncertainty could ratchet higher as voters in Indonesia and India go to the polls.

That said, the Fed's now dovish tilt in policy should bring some respite across Asia, potentially easing funding and financing costs for companies. Financial deleveraging should leave China on a better footing as Beijing rolls out consumption-led stimulus to shore up the domestic economy, while ensuring sustainable growth. In the longer term, Asia's compelling investment case remains intact. Regional economic growth still outpaces the rest of the world. Structural trends, such as premiumisation (ie attempting to make a brand or product appeal to consumers by emphasising its superior quality), rising urbanisation, e-commerce and electrification, should continue to underpin the upward trajectory and drive corporate earnings.

In unsettling times, when investors seek refuge in defensive holdings providing steady dividend payouts, I remain confident in your Investment Manager's stock-picking ability and unwavering focus on fundamentals. This should allow the portfolio to capitalise on the region's vast potential, while navigating the near-term market turbulence.

Charles Clarke

Chairman

4 April 2019

STRATEGIC REPORT - INVESTMENT MANAGER'S REVIEW

Overview

In stark contrast to the stellar equity market rally seen in 2017 when global asset prices were distorted by years of easy money, 2018 was altogether more subdued. The MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, which had previously enjoyed a 25% increase in sterling terms driven largely by the Chinese internet names, lost ground, falling 8.3% with negative returns seen across almost all countries and sectors.

The spectacle of a US-China trade war, alongside worries over the likely knock-on impact on growth and corporate profits across Asia, was a dark cloud over Asian markets for much of the year. Trade discussions were put on hold at the end of the year and expectations of an agreeable resolution are growing, with Asian markets rallying into 2019 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, in the US, brisk growth fuelled by tax cuts resulted in the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy. The Fed increased interest rates four times over the year, causing several Asian central banks to react to protect their currencies and alleviate inflationary pressures compounded by rising oil prices.

A climate of rising interest rates impacts your Company's portfolio in a variety of ways. Government bonds become more competitive as an alternative asset class, which could trigger outflows from equities, while higher borrowing costs could reduce the dividend-paying ability of companies that are saddled with debt. Our investment strategy has always been to focus on quality companies with robust balance sheets and sustainable competitive advantage. This allows them to improve cash flow generation and pay out dividends. The portfolio's underlying holdings have healthy balance sheets and are able to service or refinance their borrowings in the current environment. In fact, your Company's positions in well capitalised banks will likely benefit from rising rates, which will lift margins, given their large funding bases and liquid balance sheets. This focus on quality supports the dividend paying ability of the portfolio even under volatile market conditions.

Portfolio Review

Your Company's net asset value (NAV) retreated by 5.5% on a total-return basis in sterling terms over the year, outpacing the benchmark MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, which fell by 8.3% but behind the 3.5% fall in the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index. While the portfolio has an income focus, we look for holdings that can offer both dividend and capital growth over the long run.

In 2018, concerns about a slowing Chinese economy, hampered further by a trade dispute with the US, took their toll, with Chinese equities being one of the weakest markets in the region. At close to 30% of the regional benchmark, this has been a significant driver of the dampened growth in Asia this year. The portfolio has benefited from having relatively lower exposure to China than its benchmark, and also from investing in the higher quality dividend stocks within the mainland market.

In January 2018, the first new investment was in diversified Chinese property developer, China Resources Land (CR Land). While property names in China have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past few years, our due diligence has helped to discern between the high and low quality players in the sector. What we like about CR Land is its good track record of seeing through its development projects, as well as its ability to identify and acquire strategic land in prime locations. What sets the company apart is the rental income it earns from its portfolio of investment properties. This provides CR Land with steady cash flow that can be recycled into new developments, enabling the company to keep its balance sheet modestly geared. Many of its domestic rivals pale in comparison, having massively geared balance sheets, often with an additional layer of risk in the form of foreign-currency loans, which are high risk instruments in a rising interest-rate environment.

This quality difference has been recognised by the market and CR Land's shares rose over 30% in sterling terms, which is impressive considering that the Chinese market fell by 13% over the review period. The company's dividend yield of 3.3% is slightly lower than the portfolio's average, but we see growth opportunity for CR Land's dividend-paying capacity as its investment properties mature. It takes about three years for a new shopping mall to mature and for CR Land to enjoy improving rental yields. As an increasing proportion of its investment portfolio has a maturity beyond three years, the rental revenue stream improves, which increases the cash flow available for dividends. CR Land is also examining how best to unlock value through recycling capital and has recently set up a team to look into the financials of establishing a real estate investment trust, which will also be beneficial to your Company as a minority shareholder.

Adding to our China performance has been the active decision to avoid owning any of the large internet companies, such as Tencent and Alibaba. We continue to monitor them for any change in returns policy, but these companies, which make up close to 10% of the regional benchmark, continue to pay little or no dividends. The internet stocks have corrected significantly this year, which has helped the portfolio's performance relative to the benchmark. Towards the end of the year, MSCI decided to reclassify the Chinese internet stocks so that they better reflect the underlying business. From next year, they will appear under consumer discretionary for the e-commerce-related companies, or communication services for those in internet and online gaming.

The newly classified technology sector centres around the semiconductor and hardware industries, which have suffered over the year as weak sentiment, dampened by trade tensions, has hurt global demand for smartphones and memory chips. During this trade tussle, corporate spending has been stalled or postponed, while multinational companies wait for clarity before making final decisions on their supply chain. This hesitation was evident in the latest fourth-quarter results. While the near term outlook remains challenging, we believe the structural growth drivers for the technology sector are intact.

Within the semiconductor segment, the portfolio holds both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and the preferred shares of Samsung Electronics, which have outperformed the sector, thanks to their market-leading positions, net cash balance sheets and commitment to shareholder returns. If we think back twenty years, semiconductor demand came primarily from personal computers and was boosted a decade later by the advent of smartphones. Looking forward, TSMC and Samsung are seeing even more diversified sources of demand from high-powered computing, large scale data centres for cloud services, artificial intelligence and electric vehicles to name but a few. Both companies are investing in leading-edge technology and have remained cash flow positive through the cycle. This has underpinned consistently growing dividends. Samsung, in particular, has delivered on its re-invigorated shareholder return policy, which has seen it return US$10 billion in cash to shareholders this year through dividends and share buybacks.

As highlighted in the half yearly report, it is worth noting that the portfolio was reducing its position in Singapore-listed technology company Venture Corporation at the start of the year following its robust performance in 2017, when the share price doubled and hence, the dividend yield halved. Subsequently Venture's shares corrected and we topped up the position at a lower price. We believe the business remains on track as margins are growing, reflecting its investments in research and the higher value its engineers bring to customer businesses.

Meanwhile, our relatively high positioning in Singapore is often questioned. Singapore, as a financial hub of Southeast Asia with an open economy, is a rich picking ground for well-governed companies with competitive business models that have expanded to neighbouring higher-growth emerging Asian economies. Our investment choices in this market have once again helped to make Singapore one of the top contributors this year relative to the comparative indices. In particular, the Singapore banks have rallied as they are well capitalised and stand to benefit from rising intra-Asian trade and growing wealth management franchises. We topped up OCBC in view of its attractive dividend yield and growth opportunities, and we remain positive on the outlook for all three banks as their margins should improve on the back of the re-pricing of their loan books.

The portfolio also has about 2% invested in fixed-income securities. Over the years, your Company has held both government and corporate bonds offering high yields, and in our opinion, good total return prospects. This has indeed been the case historically. Your Company currently holds three bonds, all are corporate. While the shares of these companies are not held in the portfolio due to their lack of dividends, they are held elsewhere within the ASI stable. As such, we have conducted in-depth research and are well aware of their governance, balance sheets and business models. One of the them, a 12% coupon bond issued by G3 Exploration, an upstream gas company listed in the UK with assets in China, matured in November, but has not yet been repaid. The company has agreed with their trustees to continue the obligation with a suspended coupon payment, as they are in the process of monetising their gas field. They already have two producing commercial blocks but negotiations for an exploration block in Guizhou, in the southwest province of China, are taking longer than expected. While G3 has experience in the regulatory process, this hiccup has resulted in a delay to their monetisation timeline. We remain in discussions with the founder and CEO of G3 Exploration but have prudently impaired the accrued interest of and outstanding coupon income totalling £1.03 million while negotiations continue, as well as valuing the bond at a 25% discount to its redemption value. The underlying equity continues to trade.

Portfolio Activity

Taiwan was one of the weaker markets in Asia in the second half of the year and we used this to our advantage to initiate two new companies that offer good quality business franchises with attractive dividend yields. The first was GlobalWafers, a silicon wafer manufacturer that ranks among the global leaders in a consolidating industry. Next was Momo.com, the largest B2C online retailer domestically. Both stocks were purchased at compelling earnings multiples. The two companies have stable balance sheets and healthy free cash-flow generation, which support their dividends.

We also established a position in Indian IT services company Infosys, convinced of its stability and profitability through its robust balance sheet and diversified operating structure. India has historically been a low yielding market, as companies are busy re-investing cash flows to keep up with domestic demand growth. Infosys is now the first Indian equity to make it into the portfolio. The company provides IT services to the US, benefiting from the outsourcing trend of shifting IT operations to a market with lower labour costs. While they operate across many industry segments, Infosys stands to gain from a recovering US economy and a stronger US dollar. Improved cash flows have resulted in Infosys raising cash dividends, paying a special cash dividend and issuing bonus shares over the past year.

Earlier in the year, we initiated Korea-listed LG Chem, whose robust specialty chemicals business serves as a solid base to grow its leading position in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market. It already boasts a broad customer base in EV batteries with global original equipment manufacturers. We took a position in the preferred shares, which offer a more attractive dividend yield while also trading at a discount to the ordinary shares. We also re-initiated BHP Group having exited the stock several years back as it started its new capex programme. Now, the commodity cycle has turned and BHP are in a position to sell non-core assets and return cash to shareholders. Its core assets remain top tier with scale efficiency and an attractive dividend yield.

Against this, we exited cement companies Lafarge Malaysia and Indocement, a Heidelberg subsidiary, on concerns that their balance sheets were becoming increasingly stressed at a time when domestic demand was sluggish, putting their ability to pay future dividends at risk. We also exited Hong Kong-listed Texwinca, as it reduced dividends in the face of a more challenging trading environment, and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) on share price strength. The latter was inherited via a corporate action but we decided to exit URW as the underlying asset exposure was increasingly focused outside of Asia following the merger. In addition, we sliced Standard Chartered, reflecting a difficult outlook characterised by weak credit growth and burdensome regulatory pressures, which is driving down revenue yields and affecting its capacity to pay healthy dividends.

Outlook

We expect Asian equity markets to make modest gains as risk aversion in the region will make investors more discerning. US-China tensions could flare up again as trade talks resume, and this remains a source of risk. Although recent positive statements from the US have boosted markets, the environment in Asia remains weak with upcoming national elections across several countries this year. Corporate earnings have been downgraded, led by the technology sector, and we expect this environment to persist until at least the second half of the year as sentiment needs to improve before corporate capex returns.

In such a risk-averse environment, our strategy does not change. We remain defensive and will continue to focus on high-quality companies with solid balance sheets and proven track records in their ability to pay dividends over the long term. We believe that volatility also creates opportunities, especially for quality-focused stock pickers that focus on fundamentals. Following the market correction in 2018, valuations in Asia are looking attractive both relative to their historical average and compared to other global regions. We are able to find good quality companies with competitive positions and net cash balance sheets that are trading on discounted earnings multiples. This will be reflected in portfolio activity in 2019. Dividends from your Company's portfolio are within expectations and we are comfortable that these underlying holdings will prove resilient in a volatile environment due to their financial strength.

Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited

Investment Manager

4 April 2019

STRATEGIC REPORT - COMPANY SUMMARY

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Company is to provide investors with a total return primarily through investing in Asia Pacific securities, including those with an above-average yield. Within its overall investment objective, the Company aims to grow its dividends over time.

Management

The investment management of the Company has been delegated by Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited (the "Manager", the "Alternative Investment Fund Manager", "APWML" or "AIFM") to Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited ("ASI Asia" or the "Investment Manager") (ASI Asia changed its name from Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Limited on 3 September 2018). ASI Asia is based in Singapore and is the Asia Pacific headquarters, of Standard Life Aberdeen PLC (the "Standard Life Aberdeen Group"), a publicly-quoted company on the London Stock Exchange. ASI Asia and APWML are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Standard Life Aberdeen Group.

Website

asian-income.co.uk

Duration

The Company does not have a fixed life.

STRATEGIC REPORT - OVERVIEW OF STRATEGY

Launched in December 2005, Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited (the "Company") is registered with limited liability in Jersey as a closed-end investment company under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 with registered number 91671. The Company's Ordinary Shares are listed on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange.

Business Model

The Company aims to attract long term private and institutional investors wanting to benefit from the growth prospects of Asian companies including those with above average dividend yields.

The business of the Company is that of an investment company and the Directors do not envisage any change in this activity in the foreseeable future.

Investment Policy

Asset Allocation

The Company primarily invests in the Asia Pacific region through investment in:

- companies listed on stock exchanges in the Asia Pacific region;

- Asia Pacific securities, such as global depositary receipts (GDRs), listed on other international stock exchanges;

- companies listed on other international exchanges that derive significant revenues or profits from the Asia Pacific region; and

- debt issued by governments or companies in the Asia Pacific region or denominated in Asia Pacific currencies.

The Company's investment policy is flexible, enabling it to invest in all types of securities, including equity shares, preference shares, debt, convertible securities, warrants and other equity-related securities. The Company is free to invest in any market segments or any countries in the Asia Pacific region. The Company may use derivatives to enhance income generation.

The Company invests in small, mid and large capitalisation companies. The Company's policy is not to acquire securities that are unquoted or unlisted at the time of investment (with the exception of securities which are about to be listed or traded on a stock exchange). However, the Company may continue to hold securities that cease to be quoted or listed if the Investment Manager considers this to be appropriate. Although it has not done so since the launch of the Company, it may enter into stock lending contracts and intends to undertake limited stock lending activity in 2019.

Typically, the portfolio will comprise of between 40 and 70 holdings (but without restricting the Company from holding a more or less concentrated portfolio in the future).

Risk Diversification

The Company will not invest more than 10%, in aggregate, of the value of its Total Assets in investment trusts or investment companies admitted to the Official List, provided that this restriction does not apply to investments in any such investment trusts or investment companies which themselves have stated investment policies to invest no more than 15% of their Total Assets in other investment trusts or investment companies admitted to the Official List. In any event, the Company will not invest more than 15% of its Total Assets in other investment trusts or investment companies admitted to the Official List.

In addition, the Company will not:

- invest, either directly or indirectly, or lend more than 20% of its Total Assets to any single underlying issuer (including the underlying issuer's subsidiaries or affiliates), provided that this restriction does not apply to cash deposits awaiting investment;

- invest more than 20% of its Total Assets in other collective investment undertakings (open-ended or closed-ended);

- expose more than 20% of its Total Assets to the creditworthiness or solvency of any one counterparty (including the counterparty's subsidiaries or affiliates);

- invest in physical commodities;

- enter into derivative transactions for speculative purposes;

- take legal or management control of any of its investee companies; or

- conduct any significant trading activity.

The Company may invest in derivatives, financial instruments, money market instruments and currencies for investment purposes (including the writing of put and call options for non speculative purposes to enhance investment returns) as well as for the purpose of efficient portfolio management (i.e. for the purpose of reducing, transferring or eliminating investment risk in the Company's investments, including any technique or instrument used to provide protection against foreign exchange and credit risks). For the avoidance of doubt, in line with the risk parameters outlined above, any investment in derivative securities will be covered.

The Investment Manager expects the Company's assets will normally be fully invested. However, during periods in which changes in economic conditions or other factors so warrant, the Company may reduce its exposure to securities and increase its position in cash and money market instruments.

Gearing Policy

The Board is responsible for determining the gearing strategy for the Company. The Board has restricted the maximum level of gearing to 25% of net assets although, in normal market conditions, the Company is unlikely to take out gearing in excess of 15% of net assets. Gearing is used selectively to leverage the Company's portfolio in order to enhance returns where this is considered appropriate. Borrowings are generally short term, but the Board may from time to time determine to incur longer term borrowings where it is believed to be in the Company's best interests to do so. Particular care is taken to ensure that any bank covenants permit maximum flexibility of investment policy.

The percentage investment and gearing limits set out under this sub-heading "Investment Policy" are only applied at the time that the relevant investment is made or borrowing is incurred. In the event of any breach of the Company's investment policy, shareholders will be informed of the actions to be taken by the Investment Manager by an announcement issued through a Regulatory Information Service or a notice sent to shareholders at their registered addresses in accordance with the Articles of Association.

The Company may only make material changes to its investment policy (including the level of gearing set by the Board) with the approval of shareholders (in the form of an ordinary resolution). In addition, any changes to the Company's investment objective or policy will require the prior approval of the Financial Conduct Authority as well as prior consent of the Jersey Financial Services Commission ("JFSC") to the extent that the changes materially affect the import of the information previously supplied in connection with its approval under Jersey Funds Law or are contrary to the terms of the Jersey Collective Investment Funds laws.

Duration

The Company does not have a fixed life.

Comparative Indices

The Company's portfolio is constructed without reference to any stockmarket index. It is likely, therefore, that there will be periods when the Company's performance will be quite unlike that of any index and there can be no assurance that such divergence will be wholly or even primarily to the Company's advantage. The Company compares its performance against the currency-adjusted MSCI AC Asia Pacific (ex Japan) Index and the currency-adjusted MSCI AC Asia Pacific (ex Japan) High Dividend Yield Index.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Board uses a number of financial performance measures to assess the Company's success in achieving its objective and determine the progress of the Company in pursuing its investment policy. The main KPIs identified by the Board in relation to the Company which are considered at each Board meeting are as follows:

KPI	Description
Dividend Payments per Ordinary Share	The Board aims to grow the Company's dividends over time. Dividends paid over the past 10 years are set out on page 18 of the published Annual Report.
Performance and NAV	The Board considers the Company's NAV total return figures to be the best indicator of performance over time and these are therefore the main indicators of performance used by the Board. A graph showing the total NAV return against the MSCI AC Asia Pac. (ex Japan) Index and the MSCI AC Asia Pac. (ex Japan) High Dividend Yield Index is shown on page 18 of the published Annual Report.
Performance against Indices	The Board measures Share Price and NAV performance against the MSCI AC Asia Pac. (ex Japan) Index and the MSCI AC Asia Pac. (ex Japan) High Dividend Yield Index on a total return basis. Graphs showing performance are shown on page 18 of the published Annual Report. The Board also monitors performance relative to competitor investment companies over a range of time periods, taking into consideration the differing investment policies and objectives of those companies. The Board measures performance over a time horizon of at least five years.
Discount/Premium to NAV	The discount/premium relative to the NAV per share represented by the share price is closely monitored by the Board. The objective is to avoid large fluctuations in the discount/premium relative to similar investment companies investing in the region by the use of share buy backs or the issuance of new shares, subject to market conditions. A graph showing the share price premium/(discount) relative to the NAV is also shown on page 18 of the published Annual Report.
Ongoing Charges Ratio	The Board monitors the Company's operating costs carefully. Ongoing charges for the year and previous year are disclosed on page 17 of the published Annual Report.
Gearing	The Board ensures that gearing is kept within the Board's guidelines to the Manager.

Risk Management

There are a number of risks which, if realised, could have a material adverse effect on the Company and its financial condition, performance and prospects. The Board has undertaken a robust review of the principal risks and uncertainties facing the Company including those that would threaten its business model, future performance, solvency or liquidity. Those principal risks are disclosed in the table below together with a description of the mitigating actions taken by the Board. The principal risks associated with an investment in the Company's Shares are published monthly on the Company's factsheet or they can be found in the pre-investment disclosure document published by the Manager, both of which are available on the Company's website. The Board reviews the risks and uncertainties faced by the Company in the form of a risk matrix and heat map at its Audit Committee meetings and a summary of the principal risks are set out below. In addition to these risks, the outcome and potential impact of the UK Government's discussions with the European Union are still unclear at the time of writing, and this remains an increased economic risk for the Company. In particular currency volatility may adversely affect the translation rates of future earnings from the portfolio. In all other respects, the Company's principal risks and uncertainties have not changed materially since the date of this Annual Report and are not expected to change materially for the current financial year.

Description	Mitigating Action
Investment strategy and objectives - the setting of an unattractive strategic proposition to the market and the failure to adapt to changes in investor demand may lead to poor performance, the Company becoming unattractive to investors, a decreased demand for shares and a widening discount.	The Board keeps the investment objective and policy as well as the level of discount and/or premium at which the Company's Ordinary Shares trade under review. In particular there are periodic strategy discussions where the Board reviews the Investment Manager's investment processes, analyses the work of Aberdeen Standard Investments' promotional and investor relations teams and receives reports on the market from the Broker. In particular, the Board is updated at each Board meeting on the make up of and any movements in the shareholder register. Details of the Company's discount control mechanism are disclosed in the Directors' Report on page 35 of the published Annual Report.
Investment portfolio, investment management - investing outside of the investment restrictions and guidelines set by the Board could result in poor performance and an inability to meet the Company's objectives.	The Board sets, and monitors, its investment restrictions and guidelines, and receives regular reports which include performance reporting on the implementation of the investment policy, the investment process and application of the Board guidelines. The Investment Manager is represented at all Board meetings.
Financial obligations - the ability of the Company to meet its financial obligations, or increasing the level of gearing, could result in the Company becoming over-geared or unable to take advantage of potential opportunities and result in a loss of value to the Company's Ordinary Shares.	The Board sets a gearing limit and receives regular updates on the actual gearing levels the Company has reached from the Investment Manager together with the assets and liabilities of the Company and reviews these at each Board meeting.
Financial and regulatory - the financial risks associated with the portfolio could result in losses to the Company. In addition, failure to comply with relevant regulation (including Jersey Company Law, the Financial Services and Markets Act, The Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPS) Regulation, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, Accounting Standards and the FCA's Listing Rules, Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules and Prospectus Rules) may have an impact on the Company.	The financial risks associated with the Company include market risk, liquidity risk and credit risk, all of which are mitigated in conjunction with the Investment Manager. Further details of the steps taken to mitigate the financial risks associated with the portfolio are set out in note 17 to the financial statements. The Board relies upon the Standard Life Aberdeen Group to ensure the Company's compliance with applicable law and regulations and from time to time employs external advisers to advise on specific concerns.
Operational - the Company is dependent on third parties for the provision of all systems and services (in particular, those of the Standard Life Aberdeen Group) and any control failures and gaps in these systems and services could result in a loss or damage to the Company.	The Board monitors operational risk and as such receives internal controls and risk management reports from the Investment Manager at each Board meeting. It also receives assurances from all its significant service providers, as well as back to back assurance from the Investment Manager at least annually. Further details of the internal controls which are in place are set out in the Directors' Report on pages 32 and 33 of the published Annual Report.
Income and dividend risk - there is a risk that the portfolio could fail to generate sufficient income to meet the level of the annual dividend, thereby drawing upon, rather than replenishing, its revenue and/or capital reserves.	The Board monitors this risk through the review of income forecasts, provided by the Investment Manager, at each Board meeting.

Promoting the Company

The Board recognises the importance of communicating the long-term attractions of the Company to prospective investors both for improving liquidity and enhancing the value and rating of the Company's Ordinary Shares. The Board believes an effective way to achieve this is through subscription to and participation in the promotional programme run by Aberdeen Standard Investments on behalf of a number of investment companies under its management. The Company also supports the Aberdeen Standard Investments investor relations programme which involves regional roadshows and promotional and public relations campaigns. The purpose of these initiatives is both to communicate effectively with existing shareholders and to gain new shareholders with the aim of improving liquidity and enhancing the value and rating of the Company's Shares. The Company's financial contribution to the programmes is matched by the Manager. The Group's marketing team reports quarterly to the Board giving analysis of the promotional activities as well as updates on the shareholder register and any changes in the make up of that register. The Company has also commissioned independent paid-for research which has been undertaken by Edison Investment Research Limited and a copy of the latest research is available for download from the Company's website, asian-income.co.uk.

Board Diversity

The Board recognises the importance of having a range of skilled, experienced individuals with the right knowledge represented on the Board in order to allow the Board to fulfil its obligations. The Board also recognises the benefits, and is supportive, of the principle of diversity in its recruitment of new Board members, including diversity of thought, location and background. The Board will not display any bias for age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic or national origins, or disability in considering the appointment of its Directors. The Board will continue to ensure that all appointments are made on the basis of merit against the specification prepared for each appointment. At 31 December 2018, the Company did not have any employees and there were four male Directors and two female Directors on the Board. There are two Directors based in Singapore, two Directors based in Jersey and two Directors based in the UK.

Environmental, Social and Human Rights Issues

The Company has no employees as management of the assets is delegated to Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited. There are therefore no disclosures to be made in respect of employees.

Due to the nature of the Company's business, being a Company that does not offer goods and services to customers, the Board considers that it is not within the scope of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 because it has no turnover. The Company, therefore, is not required to make a slavery and human trafficking statement.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Company has no greenhouse gas emissions to report from the operations of its business, nor does it have direct responsibility for any other emissions producing sources.

Socially Responsible Investment Policy

The Company supports the UK's Stewardship Code, and seeks to play its role in supporting good stewardship of the companies in which it invests. While the delivery of stewardship activities has been delegated to the Manager, the Board acknowledges its role in setting the tone for the effective delivery of stewardship on the Company's behalf. Further details on stewardship may be found on page 34 of the published Annual Report.

Viability Statement

The Company does not have a formal fixed period strategic plan but the Board formally considers risks and strategy at least annually. The Board considers the Company, with no fixed life, to be a long term investment vehicle, but for the purposes of this viability statement has decided that a period of three years is an appropriate period over which to report. The Board considers that this period reflects a balance between looking out over a long term horizon and the inherent uncertainties of looking out further than three years. In assessing the viability of the Company over the review period the Directors have focussed upon the following factors:

- The principal risks detailed in the Strategic Report;

- The ongoing relevance of the Company's investment objective in the current environment;

- The demand for the Company's Shares evidenced by the historical level of premium and/or discount;

- The level of income generated by the Company;

- The liquidity of the Company's portfolio; and,

- The flexibility of the Company's £40m and £10m loan facilities maturing in April 2020 and March 2021, including the related covenants and the Company successfully renegotiating loan terms over this time horizon. In advance of their maturities and subject to market conditions at the time the Directors will aim to renegotiate the loan facilities. If this is not possible then the Company will repay the loans using cash raised from the sale of investments.

Accordingly, taking into account the Company's current position, the fact that the Company's investments are mostly liquid and the potential impact of its principal risks and uncertainties, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company will be able to continue in operation and meet its liabilities as they fall due for a period of three years from the date of this Report. In making this assessment, the Board has considered that matters such as significant economic or stock market volatility, a substantial reduction in the liquidity of the portfolio, or changes in investor sentiment could have an impact on its assessment of the Company's prospects and viability in the future.

Future

Many of the non-performance related trends likely to affect the Company in the future are common across all closed ended investment companies, such as the attractiveness of investment companies as investment vehicles, the impact of regulatory changes and the effects of changes to the pensions and savings market in the UK in recent years. These factors need to be viewed alongside the outlook for the Company, both generally and specifically, in relation to the portfolio. The Board's view on the general outlook for the Company can be found in my Chairman's Statement whilst the Investment Manager's views on the outlook for the portfolio in the Investment Manager's Review.

The outcome and potential impact of the UK Government's Brexit discussions with the European Union are still unclear at the time of writing, and this remains an increased economic risk for the Company. In particular currency volatility may adversely affect the translation rates of future earnings from the portfolio.

Charles Clarke

Chairman

4 April 2019

STRATEGIC REPORT - RESULTS

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

	31 December 2018	31 December 2017	% change
Total assets	£419,128,000	£467,255,000	-10.3
Total equity shareholders' funds (net assets)	£382,199,000	£431,869,000	-11.5
Market capitalisation	£349,670,000	£399,555,000	-12.5
Share price per Ordinary share (mid market)	195.75p	218.00p	-10.2
Net asset value per Ordinary share	213.96p	235.63p	-9.2
Discount to net asset value per Ordinary share{A}	8.5%	7.5%
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index (currency adjusted)	700.87	787.85	-11.0
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index (currency adjusted)	3,803.11	4,121.99	-7.7
Net gearing{A}	8.9%	7.1%
Ongoing charges ratio{A}	1.11%	1.09%
Dividend and earnings
Total return per Ordinary share{B}	(13.17)p	33.14p
Revenue return per Ordinary share{B}	9.25p	9.58p	-3.4
Dividends per Ordinary share{C}	9.15p	9.00p	+1.7
Dividend cover per Ordinary share{A}	1.01	1.06
Revenue reserves{D}	£10,738,000	£10,478,000
Yield{E}	4.7%	4.1%

{A} Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure as defined on pages 85 and 86 of the published Annual Report.
{B} Measures the relevant earnings for the year divided by the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue (see note 9).
{C} The figure for dividends reflects the years in which they were earned (see note 8).
{D} The revenue reserves figure takes account of the fourth interim dividend amounting to £4,288,000 (2017 - fourth interim amounting to £4,119,000).
{E} Yield is calculated as the dividend per Ordinary share divided by the share price per Ordinary share expressed as a percentage.

PERFORMANCE (TOTAL RETURN)

	1 year	3 year	5 year	Since launch{B}
	% return	% return	% return	% return
Share price (Ordinary){A}	-6.2	+41.4	+25.5	+224.5
Net asset value{A}	-5.5	+42.5	+38.1	+256.8
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index (currency adjusted)	-8.3	+46.9	+54.6	+221.3
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan High Dividend Yield Index (currency adjusted)	-3.5	+45.8	+41.7	+267.9

{A} Considered to be an Alternative Performance Measure (see page 85 of the published Annual Report for more details).
{B} Launch date being 20 December 2005.

DIVIDENDS PER ORDINARY SHARE

	Rate	xd date	Record date	Payment date
First interim 2018	2.25p	26 April 2018	27 April 2018	25 May 2018
Second interim 2018	2.25p	19 July 2018	20 July 2018	17 August 2018
Third interim 2018	2.25p	25 October 2018	26 October 2018	16 November 2018
Fourth interim 2018	2.40p	17 January 2019	18 January 2019	20 February 2019
	______
2018	9.15p
	______
First interim 2017	2.25p	27 April 2017	28 April 2017	26 May 2017
Second interim 2017	2.25p	20 July 2017	21 July 2017	18 August 2017
Third interim 2017	2.25p	19 October 2017	20 October 2017	17 November 2017
Fourth interim 2017	2.25p	18 January 2018	19 January 2018	20 February 2018
	______
2017	9.00p
	______

EXTRACTS FROM THE DIRECTORS' REPORT

Introduction

The Directors present their Report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Results and Dividends

Details of the Company's results and dividends are shown above and in note 8 to the financial statements. The Company's dividend policy is to pay interim dividends on a quarterly basis and for the year to 31 December 2018 dividends have been paid in May, August and November 2018 and February 2019. As at 31 December 2018 the Company's revenue reserves (adjusted for the payment of the fourth interim dividend) amounted to £10.7 million (approximately 6.0p per Ordinary Share).

Status

The Company is registered with limited liability in Jersey as a closed-end investment company under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 with registered number 91671. In addition, the Company constitutes and is regulated as a collective investment fund under the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988 and is an Alternative Investment Fund (within the meaning of Regulation 3 of the Alternative Investment Fund Regulations). The Company has no employees and makes no political donations. The Ordinary Shares are admitted to the Official List in the premium segment and are traded on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market.

The Company is a member of the Association of Investment Companies ("AIC").

Individual Savings Accounts

The Company has conducted its affairs so as to satisfy the requirements as a qualifying security for Individual Savings Accounts. The Directors intend that the Company will continue to conduct its affairs in this manner.

Capital Structure, Issuance and Buybacks

The Company's capital structure is summarised in note 14 to the financial statements. At 31 December 2018, there were 178,630,688 fully paid Ordinary Shares of no par value (2017 - 183,282,221) Ordinary Shares in issue. At the year end there were 16,302,701 Ordinary Shares held in treasury (2017 - 11,651,168).

During the year 4,651,533 (2017 - 3,686,168) Ordinary Shares were purchased in the market for treasury and no Ordinary Shares were issued or sold from treasury.

Subsequent to the period end 190,165 Ordinary Shares have been purchased in the market at a discount for treasury.

Voting Rights

Each Ordinary Share holds one voting right and shareholders are entitled to vote on all resolutions which are proposed at general meetings of the Company. The Ordinary Shares, excluding treasury shares, carry a right to receive dividends. On a winding up or other return of capital, after meeting the liabilities of the Company, the surplus assets will be paid to Ordinary shareholders in proportion to their shareholdings. There are no restrictions on the transfer of Ordinary Shares in the Company other than certain restrictions which may be applied from time to time by law.

Borrowings

The Company has an unsecured three year £40 million multi currency revolving facility agreement with Scotiabank (Ireland) Designated Activity Company which will mature in April 2020. Under the terms of the facility the Company also has the option to increase the level of the commitment from £40 million to £60 million at any time, subject to the identification by the Investment Manager of suitable investment opportunities and the Lender's credit approval.

On 2 March 2018 the Company entered into a new fully drawn three year £10,000,000 term facility with Scotiabank Europe PLC to replace a similar facility that matured on that day. The Company's total gearing at the year end amounted to the equivalent of £36.9 million representing net gearing of 8.9%.

Management Arrangements

Under the terms of a revised Management Agreement dated 21 March 2017, management services are provided by Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited. Further details of which are shown in notes 5 and 6 to the financial statements. The Manager receives a management fee payable quarterly in arrears based on an annual amount of 0.85% of the rolling monthly average NAV of the Company over the previous six months. The Manager is also entitled to a company secretarial and administration fee of £134,000 per annum. Termination of the Management Agreement remains subject to six months' notice.

The Directors review the terms of the Management Agreement on a regular basis and have confirmed that, due to the investment skills, experience and commitment of the Investment Manager, in their opinion the continuing appointment of Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited with the delegation arrangements to the Investment Manager, on the terms agreed, is in the interests of shareholders as a whole.

Risk Management

Details of the financial risk management policies and objectives relative to the use of financial instruments by the Company are set out in note 17 to the financial statements.

Substantial Interests

The Board has been advised that the following shareholders owned 3% or more of the issued Ordinary Share capital of the Company at 31 December 2018:

Shareholder	No. of Ordinary Shares held	% held
Speirs & Jeffrey	14,086,231	7.9
1607 Capital Partners	12,035,458	6.7
Hargreaves Lansdown ^A	9,258,997	5.2
Charles Stanley	8,107,028	4.5
Brewin Dolphin	7,697,658	4.3
Aberdeen Retail Plans ^A	7,451,898	4.2
Alliance Trust Savings ^A	7,157,326	4.0
Rathbones	7,078,989	4.0
Quilter Cheviot Investment Management	6,779,902	3.8

^ANon-beneficial interests

There have been no changes notified in respect of the above holdings in the period from 31 December 2018 to 3 April 2019.

Directors

The Board currently consists of six non-executive Directors. Messrs Mark Florance, Ian Cadby, Charles Clarke, Hugh Young and Ms Krystyna Nowak all held office throughout the year and together with Nicky McCabe (appointed 16 May 2018) and, Peter Arthur (retired 16 May 2018), were the only Directors in office during the year.

The names and biographies of each of the six current Directors are disclosed on pages 26 to 28 of the published Annual Report indicating their range of experience as well as length of service. Mr Young is non-independent and has served on the Board for more than nine years and, in accordance with corporate governance best practice, will retire at the Annual General Meeting on 15 May 2019 ("AGM") and, being eligible, offers himself for re-election. Ms McCabe was appointed to the Board during the year and in accordance with the Articles of Association will retire at the first AGM following her appointment and submit herself for election. In accordance with Principle 3 of the AIC's 2016 Code of Corporate Governance, the other Directors comprising Mr Clarke, Mr Cadby, Mr Florance and Ms Nowak, will each retire voluntary at the AGM and, being eligible, offer themselves for reappointment.

The Board considers that there is a balance of skills and experience within the Board relevant to the leadership and direction of the Company and that all the Directors contribute effectively. The Board has reviewed each of the proposed reappointments and concluded that each of the Directors has the requisite high level and range of business and financial experience and recommends their re-election at the forthcoming AGM.

In common with most investment companies, the Company has no employees. Directors' & Officers' liability insurance cover has been maintained throughout the year at the expense of the Company.

Policy on Tenure

Directors are not currently required to serve on the Board for a limited period of time only. However, the Board's intention is to follow best practice in this area and for the independent Directors to serve for up to a maximum of nine years on the Board.

Corporate Governance

The Company is committed to high standards of corporate governance. The Board is accountable to the Company's shareholders for good governance and, as required by the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority, has applied the principles identified in the UK Corporate Governance Code (published in April 2016) (the "UK Code") for the year ended 31 December 2018. The UK Code is available on the Financial Reporting Council's website: frc.org.uk.

The Board has considered the principles and recommendations of the AIC Code of Corporate Governance for Jersey-domiciled member companies as published in July 2016 (AIC Code) by reference to the AIC Corporate Governance Guide for Investment Companies (AIC Guide). The AIC Code, as explained by the AIC Guide, addresses all the principles set out in the UK Code, as well as setting out additional principles and recommendations on issues which are of specific relevance to the Company. Both the AIC Code and the AIC Guide are available on the AIC's website: theaic.co.uk.

The Company has complied throughout the accounting period with the relevant provisions contained within the AIC Code and the relevant provisions of the UK Code except as set out below.

The UK Code includes provisions relating to:

- the role of the chief executive (A.2.1);

- executive directors' remuneration (D.2.1 and D.2.2); and,

- the need for an internal audit function (C.3.5).

For the reasons set out in the AIC Code, and as explained in the UK Code, the Board considers that these provisions are not relevant to the position of the Company, being an externally-managed investment company. In particular, all of the Company's day-to-day management and administrative functions are outsourced to third parties. As a result, the Company has no executive directors, employees or internal operations. The Company has therefore not reported further in respect of these provisions. The full text of the Company's Corporate Governance Statement can be found on the Company's website, asian-income.co.uk.

Directors have attended Board and Committee meetings during the year ended 31 December 2018 as follows (with their eligibility to attend the relevant meeting in brackets):

	Board	Audit	MEC	Nom
Total Meetings	4	2	1	1
C Clarke ^A	4 (4)	1 (1)	1 (1)	1 (1)
M Florance	4 (4)	2 (2)	1 (1)	1 (1)
I Cadby	4 (4)	2 (2)	1 (1)	1 (1)
N McCabe ^B	3 (3)	1 (1)	0 (0)	0 (0)
K Nowak	4 (4)	2 (2)	1 (1)	1 (1)
H Young ^C	4 (4)	n/a	0 (0)	1 (1)
P Arthur ^D	2 (2)	0 (0)	1 (1)	1 (1)

^A Mr Clarke stood down from membership of the Audit Committee on 16 May 2018

^B Ms McCabe was appointed to the Board on 16 May 2018

^C Mr Young is not a member of the Audit or Management Engagement Committees

^D Mr Arthur retired from the Board on 16 May 2018

The Board has a schedule of matters reserved to it for decision and the requirement for Board approval on these matters is communicated directly to the senior staff of the Investment Manager. Such matters include strategy, gearing, treasury and dividend policy. Full and timely information is provided to the Board to enable the Directors to function effectively and to discharge their responsibilities. The Board also reviews the financial statements, performance and revenue budgets.

Board Committees

The Directors have appointed a number of Committees as set out below. Copies of their terms of reference, which clearly define the responsibilities and duties of each Committee, are on the Company's website. The terms of reference of each of the Committees are reviewed and re-assessed by the Board for their adequacy on an ongoing basis.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee's Report is on pages 36 and 37 of the published Annual Report.

Management Engagement Committee

The Management Engagement Committee comprises all of the Directors except Mr Young. The Chairman of the Company serves as Chairman of the Management Engagement Committee. The Committee reviews the performance of the Investment Manager and its compliance with the terms of the management and secretarial agreement. The terms and conditions of the Manager and Investment Manager's appointment, including an evaluation of fees, are reviewed by the Committee on an annual basis. The Committee believes that the continuing appointment of the Manager on the terms agreed is in the interests of shareholders as a whole.

Nomination Committee

All appointments to the Board of Directors are considered by the Nomination Committee which comprises the entire Board and is chaired by the Chairman of the Company. Possible new Directors are identified against the requirements of the Company's business and the need to have a balanced Board. Every Director is entitled to receive appropriate training as deemed necessary. A Director appointed during the year is required, under the provisions of the Company's Articles of Association, to retire and seek election by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting. The Articles of Association require that one third of the Directors retire by rotation at each Annual General Meeting.

During the year the Nomination Committee undertook a search for a new Director. The Committee decided to use the services of Fletcher Jones, an independent specialist recruitment consultant with no connections to the Company, to prepare a long list of potential candidates. The Committee prepared a specification for the search, detailing the requisite skills and experience that would complement the existing Directors and having due regard to the diversity policy established by the Company. Having reviewed the individuals and interviewed a short list of possible candidates, Ms Nicky McCabe was appointed to the Board on 16 May 2018.

The Company has put in place the necessary procedures to conduct, on an annual basis, an appraisal of the Chairman of the Board, Directors' individual self evaluation and a performance evaluation of the Board as a whole. Subsequent to the year end the Board has retained the services of an independent board evaluation consultant, BoardAlpha Limited, to undertake an in depth evaluation of the Board. The appraisal processes concluded that the Board continues to have a good balance of experience and considerable knowledge of Asian markets and works in a collegiate, efficient and effective manner under the leadership of an experienced and well regarded Chairman. The Board also reviewed the Chairman's and Directors' other commitments and is satisfied that the Chairman and other Directors are capable of devoting sufficient time to the Company. Accordingly, the Board has no hesitation in recommending to shareholders the reappointment of each Director at the forthcoming AGM.

Remuneration Committee

As the Company only has non-executive Directors, the Board has not established a separate Remuneration Committee and Directors' remuneration is determined by the Board as a whole.

The Company's policy on Directors' remuneration, together with details of the remuneration of each Director, is set out in the Directors' Remuneration Report on pages 38 to 40 of the published Annual Report.

Management of Conflicts of Interests

The Board has a procedure in place to deal with a situation where a Director has a conflict of interest. As part of this process, the Directors are required to disclose other positions held and all other conflict situations that may need to be authorised either in relation to the Director concerned or his or her connected persons. The Board considers each Director's situation and decides whether to approve any conflict, taking into consideration what is in the best interests of the Company and whether the Director's ability to act in accordance with his or her wider duties is affected. Each Director is required to notify the Company Secretary of any potential or actual conflict situations that will need authorising by the Board. Authorisations given by the Board are reviewed at each Board meeting.

No Director has a service contract with the Company although Directors are issued with letters of appointment upon appointment. The Directors' interests in contractual arrangements with the Company are as shown in note 19 to the financial statements. No other Directors had any interest in contracts with the Company during the period or subsequently.

The Company has a policy of conducting its business in an honest and ethical manner. The Company takes a zero tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and has procedures in place that are proportionate to the Company's circumstances to prevent them. The Standard Life Aberdeen Group also adopts a group-wide zero tolerance approach and has its own detailed policy and procedures in place to prevent bribery and corruption. Copies of the Standard Life Aberdeen Group's anti-bribery and corruption policies are available on its website standardlifeaberdeen.com.

Going Concern

The Directors have undertaken a robust review of the Company's viability (refer to statement in Strategic Report) and ability to continue as a going concern. The Company's assets consist primarily of a diverse portfolio of listed equity shares which in most circumstances are realisable within a very short timescale.

The Directors are mindful of the principal risks and uncertainties disclosed on in the Strategic Report and have reviewed forecasts detailing revenue and liabilities and the Directors believe that the Company has adequate financial resources to continue its operational existence for the foreseeable future and at least 12 months from the date of the published Annual Report. Accordingly, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these financial statements.

Accountability and Audit

Each Director confirms that, so far as he or she is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company's Auditor is unaware, and he or she has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Director in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Company's Auditor is aware of that information.

Independent Auditor

Subsequent to the period end the Audit Committee undertook a tender for audit services which resulted in the recommendation to appoint of KPMG Channel Islands Limited as independent auditor. A Resolution to appoint KPMG Channel Islands Limited as the Company's Auditor and to authorise the Directors to fix the Auditor's remuneration will be put to shareholders at the AGM.

Principal Risks

The Principal Risks and Uncertainties facing the Company are detailed in the Strategic Report. The Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for the Company's system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. Following the Financial Reporting Council's publication of "Guidance on Risk Management, Internal Controls and Related Financial and Business Reporting" (the "FRC Guidance"), the Directors confirm that there is an ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and managing the principal risks faced by the Company. This process has been in place for the full year under review and up to the date of approval of the financial statements, and this process is regularly reviewed by the Board and accords with the FRC Guidance.

The design, implementation and maintenance of controls and procedures to safeguard the assets of the Company and to manage its affairs properly extends to operational and compliance controls and risk management. The Board has prepared its own risk register which identifies potential risks relating to strategy, investment management, shareholders, marketing, gearing, regulatory and financial obligations, third party service providers and the Board. The Board considers the potential cause and possible impact of these risks as well as reviewing the controls in place to mitigate these potential risks. A risk is rated by having a likelihood and an impact rating and the residual risk is plotted on a "heat map" and is reviewed regularly.

The Board has reviewed the effectiveness of the system of internal control and, in particular, it has reviewed the process for identifying and evaluating the principal risks faced by the Company and the policies and procedures by which these risks are managed.

The Directors have delegated the investment management of the Company's assets to the Manager which has, in turn, delegated the responsibility to the Investment Manager within overall guidelines. This embraces implementation of the system of internal control, including financial, operational and compliance controls and risk management. Internal control systems are monitored and supported by the Manager's internal audit function which undertakes periodic examination of business processes, including compliance with the terms of the management agreement, and ensures that recommendations to improve controls are implemented.

Risks are identified and documented through a risk management framework by each function within the Manager's activities. Risk is considered in the context of the FRC Guidance and includes financial, regulatory, market, operational and reputational risk. This helps the internal audit risk assessment model identify those functions for review. Any relevant weaknesses identified are reported to the Board and timetables are agreed for implementing improvements to systems. The implementation of any remedial action required is monitored and feedback provided to the Board.

The key components designed to provide effective internal control for the year under review and up to the date of this Report are outlined below:

- the Investment Manager prepares forecasts and management accounts which allow the Board to assess the Company's activities and review its investment performance;

- the Board and Investment Manager have agreed clearly defined investment criteria;

- there are specified levels of authority and exposure limits. Reports on these issues, including performance statistics and investment valuations, are regularly submitted to the Board. The Investment Manager's investment process and financial analysis of the companies concerned include detailed appraisal and due diligence;

- as a matter of course the compliance department of APWML continually reviews the Investment Manager's operations;

- written agreements are in place which specifically define the roles and responsibilities of the Manager and other third-party service providers and the Committee reviews, where relevant, ISAE3402 Reports, a global assurance standard for reporting on internal controls for service organisations. The Board has reviewed the exceptions arising from the Manager's ISAE3402 for the year to 30 September 2018, none of which were judged to be of direct relevance to the Company;

- the Board has considered the need for an internal audit function but, because of the compliance and internal control systems in place at the Investment Manager, has decided to place reliance on the Investment Manager's systems and internal audit procedures; and

- twice a year, at its Board meetings, the Board carries out an assessment of internal controls by considering documentation from the Investment Manager, including its internal audit and compliance functions and taking account of events since the relevant period end.

In addition, the Investment Manager ensures that clearly documented contractual arrangements exist in respect of any activities that have been delegated to external professional organisations. The Board meets periodically with representatives from BNP Paribas and receives control reports covering the activities of the custodian.

Representatives from the Internal Audit department of the Investment Manager report six monthly to the Audit Committee of the Company and have direct access to the Directors at any time.

The internal control systems are designed to meet the Company's particular needs and the risks to which it is exposed. Accordingly, the internal control systems are designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and, by their nature, can provide reasonable but not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The UK Stewardship Code and Proxy Voting

Responsibility for actively monitoring the activities of portfolio companies has been delegated by the Board to the AIFM which has sub-delegated that authority to the Investment Manager. The full text of the Company's response to the Stewardship Code may be found on the Company's website.

Relations with Shareholders

The Directors place a great deal of importance on communication with shareholders. The Chairman welcomes feedback from all shareholders and meets periodically with the largest shareholders to discuss the Company. The Annual Report and financial statements are available on the Company's website and are widely distributed to other parties who have an interest in the Company's performance. Shareholders and investors may obtain up to date information on the Company through the Investment Manager's freephone information service and the Company's website (asian-income.co.uk).

The Notice of the Annual General Meeting included within the Annual Report and financial statements is ordinarily sent out at least 20 working days in advance of the meeting. All shareholders have the opportunity to put questions to the Board or Investment Manager, either formally at the Company's Annual General Meeting or informally following the meeting. The Company Secretary is available to answer general shareholder queries at any time throughout the year. The Directors are keen to encourage dialogue with shareholders and the Chairman welcomes direct contact from shareholders.

The Board's policy is to communicate directly with shareholders and their representative bodies without the involvement of the management group (either the Company Secretary, the Manager or the Investment Manager) in situations where direct communication is required and usually a representative from the Board meets with major shareholders on an annual basis in order to gauge their views.

Responsible Investment

The Board is aware of its duty to act in the interests of the Company. The Board acknowledges that there are risks associated with investment in companies which fail to conduct business in a socially responsible manner. The Manager considers social, environmental and ethical factors which may affect the performance or value of the Company's investments. The Directors, through the Company's Manager, encourage companies in which investments are made to adhere to best practice in the area of Corporate Governance. They believe that this can best be achieved by entering into a dialogue with company management to encourage them, where necessary, to improve their policies in this area. The Company's ultimate objective however is to deliver superior investment returns for its shareholders. Accordingly, whilst the Manager will seek to favour companies which pursue best practice in the above areas, this must not be to the detriment of the return on the investment portfolio.

Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD")

In accordance with the Alternative Investment Funds (Jersey) Regulations 2012, the Jersey Financial Services Commission ("JFSC") has granted its permission for the Company to be marketed within any EU Member State or other EU State to which the AIFMD applies. The Company's registration certificate with the JFSC mandates that the Company "must comply with the applicable sections of the Codes of Practice for Alternative Investment Funds and AIF Services Business".

APWM, as the Company's non-EEA alternative investment fund manager, has notified the UK Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the requirements of the UK National Private Placement Regime of its intention to market the Company (as a non-EEA AIF under the AIFMD) in the UK.

In addition, in accordance with Article 23 of the AIFMD and Rule 3.2.2 of the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") Fund Sourcebook, APWM is required to make available certain disclosures for potential investors in the Company. These disclosures, in the form of a Pre-Investment Disclosure Document ("PIDD"), are available on the Company's website: asian-income.co.uk.

Annual General Meeting

The AGM will be held at 10.30 a.m. on 15 May 2019 at the Company's registered office, 1st Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House, 48 - 50 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3QB. Resolutions including the following business will be proposed:

Dividend Policy

As a result of the timing of the payment of the Company's quarterly dividends, the Company's Shareholders are unable to approve a final dividend each year. In line with good corporate governance, the Board therefore proposes to put the Company's dividend policy to Shareholders for approval at the Annual General Meeting and on an annual basis thereafter.

The Company's dividend policy shall be that dividends on the Ordinary Shares are payable quarterly in relation to periods ending March, June, September and December. It is intended that the Company will pay quarterly dividends consistent with the expected annual underlying portfolio yield. The Company has the flexibility in accordance with its Articles to make distributions from capital. Resolution 3 will seek shareholder approval for the dividend policy.

Authority to Purchase the Company's Shares

The Directors aim to operate an active discount management policy through the use of Ordinary Share buy backs, should the Company's Shares trade at a significant discount. The objective being to maintain the price at which the Ordinary Shares trade relative to the exclusive of current period income NAV at a discount of no more than 5%. Purchases of Ordinary Shares will only be made through the market for cash at prices below the prevailing exclusive of current period income NAV (which, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM will be the latest estimated NAV) where the Directors believe such purchases will enhance shareholder value and are likely to assist in narrowing any discount to NAV at which the Ordinary Shares may trade. Subsequent to the period end the Company has purchased for treasury 190,165 Ordinary Shares and at the time of writing the Ordinary Shares are trading at a discount of 6.9% to the prevailing exclusive of income NAV.

Resolution 11, a Special Resolution, will be proposed to renew the Directors' authority to make market purchases of the Company's Ordinary Shares in accordance with the provisions of the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority. Accordingly, the Company will seek authority to purchase up to a maximum of 26,748,234 Ordinary Shares (or, if less, 14.99% of the issued Ordinary Share capital as at the date of passing of the resolution). The authority being sought will expire on the earlier of 18 months from the date of the resolution or at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2020 unless such authority is renewed prior to such time. Any Ordinary Shares purchased in this way will be cancelled and the number of Ordinary Shares will be reduced accordingly, or the Ordinary Shares will be held in treasury.

Under Jersey company law, Jersey companies can either cancel shares or hold them in treasury following a buy-back of shares. Repurchased shares will only be held in treasury if the Board considers that it will be in the interest of the Company and for the benefit of all shareholders. Any future sales of Ordinary Shares from treasury will only be undertaken at a premium to the prevailing NAV.

Authority to Allot the Company's Shares

There are no provisions under Jersey law which confer rights of pre-emption upon the issue or sale of any class of shares in the Company. However, the Company has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and is required to offer pre-emption rights to its shareholders. Accordingly, the Articles of Association contain pre-emption provisions similar to those found under UK law in satisfaction of the Listing Rules requirements. Ordinary Shares will only be issued at a premium to the prevailing NAV and, therefore, will not be disadvantageous to existing shareholders. Any future issues of Ordinary Shares will be carried out in accordance with the Listing Rules.

Unless previously disapplied by special resolution, in accordance with the Listing Rules, the Company is required to first offer any new Ordinary Shares or securities (or rights to subscribe for, or to convert or exchange into, Ordinary Shares) proposed to be issued for cash to shareholders in proportion to their holdings in the Company. In order to continue with such Ordinary Share issues, as in previous years, your Board is also proposing that its annual disapplication of the pre-emption rights is renewed so that the Company may continue to issue Ordinary Shares as and when appropriate. Accordingly, Resolution 12, a Special Resolution, proposes a disapplication of the pre-emption rights in respect of 10% of the Ordinary Shares in issue at the date of the passing of the resolution, set to expire on the earlier of 18 months from the date of the resolution or at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting to be held in 2020.

Recommendation

Your Board considers Resolutions 11 and 12 to be in the best interests of the Company and its members as a whole. Accordingly, your Board recommends that shareholders should vote in favour of Resolutions 11 and 12 to be proposed at the Annual General Meeting, as they intend to do in respect of their own beneficial shareholdings which amount to 122,352 Ordinary Shares.

Charles Clarke

Chairman,

4 April 2019

1st Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House

48 - 50 Esplanade, Jersey JE2 3QB

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Jersey Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial period in accordance with any generally accepted accounting principles. The financial statements of the Company are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Directors should:

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

- make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

- specify which generally accepted accounting principles have been adopted in their preparation;

- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business; and,

- assess whether the Annual Report and financial statements, taken as a whole, is 'fair, balanced and understandable'.

The Directors are responsible for keeping accounting records which are sufficient to show and explain its transactions and are such as to disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements prepared by the Company comply with the requirements of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Declaration

The Directors listed on pages 26 to 28 of the published Annual Report, being the persons responsible, hereby confirm to the best of their knowledge:

- that the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"), and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company;

- that in the opinion of the Directors, the Annual Report and financial statements taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and it provides the information necessary to assess the Company's performance, business model and strategy; and

- the Strategic Report, including the Chairman's Statement and the Investment Manager's Review, includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that the Company faces.

For and on behalf of the Board

Charles Clarke

Chairman

4 April 2019

1^st Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House

48 - 50 Esplanade

Jersey JE2 3QB

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the Company's website, but not the content of any information included on the website that has been prepared or issued by third parties. Legislation in Jersey governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions

STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

		Year ended			Year ended
		31 December 2018			31 December 2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	Notes	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Investment income	4
Dividend income		20,674	-	20,674	20,351	-	20,351
Interest income		382	-	382	1,407	-	1,407
		_______	_______	_______	_______	_______	_______
Total revenue	3	21,056	-	21,056	21,758	-	21,758
(Losses)/gains on investments held at fair value through profit or loss	10	-	(36,216)	(36,216)	-	43,697	43,697
Net currency (losses)/gains		-	(1,748)	(1,748)	-	2,355	2,355
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
		21,056	(37,964)	(16,908)	21,758	46,052	67,810
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
Expenses
Investment management fee	5	(1,413)	(2,119)	(3,532)	(1,411)	(2,117)	(3,528)
Other operating expenses	6	(1,004)	-	(1,004)	(1,069)	-	(1,069)
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
Profit/(loss) before finance costs and tax		18,639	(40,083)	(21,444)	19,278	43,935	63,213
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
Finance costs	7	(352)	(528)	(880)	(284)	(426)	(710)
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
Profit/(loss) before tax		18,287	(40,611)	(22,324)	18,994	43,509	62,503

Tax expense	2(d)	(1,525)	-	(1,525)	(1,303)	-	(1,303)
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______
Profit/(loss) for the year		16,762	(40,611)	(23,849)	17,691	43,509	61,200
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______

Earnings per Ordinary share (pence)	9	9.25	(22.42)	(13.17)	9.58	23.56	33.14
		_______	______	______	_______	_______	______

The Company does not have any income or expense that is not included in profit/(loss) for the year, and therefore the "Profit/(loss) for the year" is also the "Total comprehensive income for the year".
All of the profit/(loss) and total comprehensive income is attributable to the equity holders of Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited. There are no non-controlling interests.
The total column of this statement represents the Statement of Comprehensive Income of the Company, prepared in accordance with IFRS. The revenue and capital columns are supplementary to this and are prepared under guidance published by the Association of Investment Companies. All items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

BALANCE SHEET

		As at	As at
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Non-current assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	10	416,173	461,632
		_______	______
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents		3,622	4,872
Other receivables	11	2,175	1,342
		_______	______
		5,797	6,214
		_______	______
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans	12(a)	-	(35,386)
Other payables	12(b)	(2,842)	(591)
		_______	______
		(2,842)	(35,977)
		_______	______
Net current liabilities		2,955	(29,763)
		_______	______
Total assets less current liabilities		419,128	431,869

Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year
Bank loans	12(a)	(36,929)	-
		_______	______
Net assets		382,199	431,869
		_______	______
Stated capital and reserves
Stated capital	14	194,933	194,933
Capital redemption reserve		1,560	1,560
Capital reserve	15	170,680	220,779
Revenue reserve		15,026	14,597
		_______	______
Equity shareholders' funds		382,199	431,869
		_______	______

Net asset value per Ordinary share (pence)	16	213.96	235.63
		_______	______

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

For the year ended 31 December 2018
			Capital
		Stated	redemption	Capital	Revenue	Retained
		capital	reserve	reserve	reserve	earnings	Total
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Opening balance		194,933	1,560	220,779	14,597	-	431,869
Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury	14	-	-	(9,488)	-	-	(9,488)
Loss for the year		-	-	-	-	(23,849)	(23,849)
Transferred from retained earnings to capital reserve{A}		-	-	(40,611)	-	40,611	-
Transferred from retained earnings to revenue reserve		-	-	-	16,762	(16,762)	-
Dividends paid	8	-	-	-	(16,333)	-	(16,333)
		______	______	______	_______	______	______
Balance at 31 December 2018		194,933	1,560	170,680	15,026	-	382,199
		______	______	______	_______	______	______

For the year ended 31 December 2017
			Capital
		Stated	redemption	Capital	Revenue	Retained
		capital	reserve	reserve	reserve	earnings	Total
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Opening balance		194,933	1,560	185,050	14,485	-	396,028
Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury	14	-	-	(7,780)	-	-	(7,780)
Profit for the year		-	-	-	-	61,200	61,200
Transferred from retained earnings to capital reserve{A}		-	-	43,509	-	(43,509)	-
Transferred from retained earnings to revenue reserve		-	-	-	17,691	(17,691)	-
Dividends paid	8	-	-	-	(17,579)	-	(17,579)
		______	______	______	_______	______	______
Balance at 31 December 2017		194,933	1,560	220,779	14,597	-	431,869
		______	______	______	_______	______	______

{A} Represents the capital profit attributable to equity shareholders per the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

The revenue reserve represents the amount of the Company's reserves distributable by way of dividend.
The stated capital in accordance with Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 Article 39A is £260,822,000 (2017 - £260,822,000). These amounts include proceeds arising from the issue of shares by the Company but exclude the cost of shares purchased for cancellation or treasury by the Company.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

CASH FLOW STATEMENT

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
	Notes	£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Dividend income received		19,816	18,976
Interest income received		783	1,284
Investment management fee paid		(2,688)	(4,334)
Other cash expenses		(1,044)	(1,152)
		_______	_______
Cash generated from operations		16,867	14,774
Interest paid		(845)	(716)
Overseas taxation suffered		(1,525)	(1,303)
		_______	_______
Net cash inflows from operating activities		14,497	12,755

Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of investments		(62,918)	(59,371)
Sales of investments		73,166	71,930
		_______	_______
Net cash inflow from investing activities		10,248	12,559

Cash flows from financing activities
Purchase of own shares for treasury	14	(9,459)	(7,945)
Dividends paid	8	(16,333)	(17,579)
		_______	_______
Net cash outflow from financing activities		(25,792)	(25,524)
		_______	_______
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(1,047)	(210)
Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the year		4,872	5,314
Effect of foreign exchange on cash and cash equivalents		(203)	(232)
		_______	_______
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year	2	3,622	4,872
		_______	_______

Non-cash transactions during the year comprised stock dividends of £509,000 (2017 - £1,393,000) (Note 4).

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.	Principal activity
	The Company is a closed-end investment company incorporated in Jersey, with its Ordinary shares being listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company's principal activity is investing in securities in the Asia Pacific region.

2.	Accounting policies
	(a)	Basis of preparation
		The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"), and interpretations issued by the International Reporting Interpretations Committee of the IASB ("IFRIC").

		The financial statements have also been prepared in accordance with the AIC's Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' issued in November 2014 and updated in February 2018 with consequential amendments (applicable for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019 but adopted early).

		The Company's assets consist substantially of equity shares in companies listed on recognised stock exchanges and in most circumstances are realisable within a short timescale. The Board has set limits for borrowing and regularly reviews actual exposures, cash flow projections and compliance with banking covenants. The Directors believe that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and, for the above reasons, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

		Significant accounting judgements and estimates
		The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain significant accounting judgements and estimates which requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the accounting policies and are continually evaluated. These judgements include the assessment of the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Another area requiring significant judgement and assumption in the financial statements is the determination of the fair value hierarchy classification of quoted bonds which have been assessed as being Level 2 due to not being considered to trade in active markets. The Directors believe there are no significant estimates contained within the financial statements as all investments are valued at quoted bid price and all other assets and liabilities are valued at amortised cost.

		The financial statements are prepared on a historical cost basis, except for investments that have been measured at fair value through profit or loss ("FVTPL") and financial liabilities that have been measured at amortised cost.

		The accounting policies which follow set out those policies which apply in preparing the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.

		The financial statements are presented in sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand (£'000) except when otherwise indicated.

		New and amended accounting standards and interpretations
		The Company applied, for the first time, certain standards and amendments, which are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2018. The nature and impact is described below:

		IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments'
		The Company adopted IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' on its effective date of 1 January 2018. IFRS 9 replaces IAS 39 'Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement' and introduces new requirements for classification and measurement, impairment and hedge accounting. IFRS 9 is not applicable to items that have already been derecognised at 1 January 2018, the date of initial application.

		The Company classifies its financial assets as subsequently measured at amortise cost or measured at FVTPL on the basis of both:
		- the entity's business model for managing the financial assets; and
		- the contractual cash flow characteristics of the financial asset.

		Financial assets are measured at FVTPL if its contractual terms do not give rise to cash flows on specified dates that are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding or it is not held within a business model whose objective is either to collect contractual cash flows, or to both collect contractual cash flows and sell.

		Financial assets are measured at amortised cost if it is held within a business model whose objective is to hold financial assets in order to collect contractual cash flows and its contractual terms give rise on specified dates to cash flows that are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding.

		(i) Classification and measurement
		The Company has assessed the classification of financial instruments as at the date of initial application and has applied such classification retrospectively. Based on that assessment:
		- all financial assets previously held at fair value continue to be measured at fair value.
		- debt instruments are classified as FVTPL because they are held under a business model to manage them on a fair value basis for investment income and fair value gains. The business model, which is the determining feature, is such that the portfolio of investments is managed, and performance is evaluated, on a fair value basis. The Manager is also compensated based on the fair value of the Company's assets. Consequently, all investments are measured at FVTPL.
		- equity instruments are classified as FVTPL because cash flows resulting from such instruments do not represent payments of principal and interest on the principal outstanding, and therefore they fail the contractual cash flows test.
		- financial assets previously classified as loans and receivables are held to collect contractual cash flows and give rise to cash flows representing solely payments of principal and interest and are therefore still measured at amortised cost.
		- the classification of financial liabilities under IFRS 9 remains broadly the same as under IAS 39. The main impact on measurement from the classification of liabilities under IFRS 9 relates to the element of gains or losses for financial liabilities designated as at FVTPL attributable to changes in credit risk. IFRS 9 requires that such element be recognised in other comprehensive income (OCI) unless this treatment creates or enlarges an accounting mismatch in profit or loss, in which case all gains and losses on that liability (including the effects) of changes in credit risk) should be presented in profit or loss. The Company has not designated any financial liabilities at FVTPL. Therefore, this requirement has not had an impact on the Company.

		(ii) Impairment
		IFRS 9 requires the Company to record expected credit losses ("ECLs") on all of its debt securities, loans and trade receivables, measured at amortised cost, either on a twelve months or lifetime basis. Given the limited exposure of the Company to credit risk, this amendment has not had a material impact on the financial statements. The Company only holds trade receivables with no financing component and which have maturities of less than twelve months at amortised cost and therefore has adopted an approach similar to the simplified approach to ECLs.

		(iii) Hedge accounting
		The Company has not applied hedge accounting under IAS 39 nor will it apply hedge accounting under IFRS 9.

		Impact of adoption of IFRS 9
		The classification and measurement requirements of IFRS 9 have been adopted retrospectively as of the date of initial application on 1 January 2018, however, the Company has chosen to take advantage of the option not to restate comparatives. Therefore, the 2017 figures are presented and measured under IAS 39. The following table shows the original measurement categories in accordance with IAS 39 and the new measurement categories under IFRS 9 for the Company's financial assets and liabilities as at 1 January 2018.

		Financial assets
				IAS 39		IFRS 9
			IAS 39	measurement	IFRS 9	measurement
		1 January 2018	classification	£'000	classification	£'000
		Equity instruments	Designated at FVTPL	448,264	FVTPL	448,264
		Debt instruments	Designated at FVTPL	13,368	FVTPL	13,368
		Trade and other receivables	Loans and receivables	1,342	Amortised cost	1,342
		Cash and cash equivalents	Loans and receivables	4,872	Amortised cost	4,872

		Financial liabilities
				IAS 39		IFRS 9
			IAS 39	measurement	IFRS 9	measurement
		1 January 2018	classification	£'000	classification	£'000
		Bank loans	Amortised cost	35,386	Amortised cost	35,386
		Trade and other payables	Other financial liabilities	591	Amortised cost	591

		In line with the characteristics of the Company's financial instruments as well as its approach to their management, the Company neither revoked nor made any new designations on the date of initial application. IFRS 9 has not resulted in changes in the carrying amount of the Company's financial instruments due to changes in measurement categories. All financial assets that were classified as FVTPL under IAS 39 are still classified as FVTPL under IFRS 9. All financial assets that were classified as loans and receivables and measured at amortised cost continue to be.

		In addition, the application of the ECL model under IFRS 9 has not changed the carrying amounts of the Company's amortised cost financial assets.

		IFRS 15 'Revenue from contracts with customers'
		The Company adopted IFRS 15 'Revenue from contracts with customers' on its effective date of 1 January 2018. IFRS 15 replaces IAS 18 'Revenue' and establishes a five-step model to account for revenue arising from contracts with customers. In addition, guidance on interest and dividend income have been moved from IAS 18 to IFRS 9 without significant changes to the requirements. Therefore, there was no impact of adopting IFRS 15 for the Company.

		Future amendments to Standards and Interpretations
		At the date of authorisation of these financial statements, the following amendments to Standards and Interpretations were assessed to be relevant and are all effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019:
		IFRIC 23 - Uncertainty over Income Tax Treatments - The Interpretation addresses the accounting for income taxes when tax treatments involve uncertainty that affects the application of IAS 12.

		At the date of authorisation of these financial statements, the following Standards and Interpretations were assessed to be relevant and are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2020:
		IAS 1 and IAS 8 Amendments - Definition of Material
		IAS 1, 8, 34, 37, 38 and IFRS 2, 3, 6, 14 - Amendment to references to the conceptual framework
		IFRS 3 Amendment - Definition of a Business
		IFRIC 12, 19, 20, 22 and SIC 32 - Amendment to references to the conceptual framework

		In addition, under the Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2015 - 2017 Cycle, a number of Standards are included for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2019.

		The Company intends to adopt the Standards and Interpretations in the reporting period when they become effective and the Board does not anticipate that the adoption of these Standards and Interpretations in future periods will materially impact the Company's financial results in the period of initial application although there may be revised presentations to the Financial Statements and additional disclosures.

	(b)	Income
		Dividend income receivable on equity shares is recognised on the ex-dividend date. Dividend income on equity shares where no ex-dividend date is quoted is brought into account when the Company's right to receive payment is established. Where the Company has elected to receive dividends in the form of additional shares rather than in cash, the amount of the cash dividend foregone is recognised as income. Special dividends are credited to capital or revenue according to their circumstances. Dividend income is presented gross of any non-recoverable withholding taxes, which are disclosed separately in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

		The fixed returns on debt securities and non-equity shares, as well as interest receivable from cash and short-term deposits, are recognised using the accruals basis.

	(c)	Expenses
		All expenses, with the exception of interest expenses, which are recognised using the effective interest method, are accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenses are charged through the revenue column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income except as follows:
		- expenses which are incidental to the acquisition or disposal of an investment are treated as capital and separately identified and disclosed in note 10;
		- expenses (including share issue costs) are treated as capital where a connection with the maintenance or enhancement of the value of the investments can be demonstrated; and
		- the Company charges 60% of investment management fees and finance costs to capital, in accordance with the Board's expected long term return in the form of capital gains and income respectively from the investment portfolio of the Company.

	(d)	Taxation
		Profits arising in the Company for the year ended 31 December 2018 will be subject to Jersey income tax at the rate of 0% (2017 - 0%).

		In some jurisdictions, investment income and capital gains are subject to withholding tax deducted at the source of the income. The Company presents the withholding tax separately from the gross investment income in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.

	(e)	Investments
		With effect from 1 January 2018, the Company has adopted the classification and measurement provisions of IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' which replaces IAS 39 'Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement' and was the policy effective prior to date that. As noted in 2(a) above IFRS 9 makes changes to classification and measurement of financial assets and introduces an 'expected credit loss' model for the impairment of financial assets.

		As noted in 2(a) above, the adoption of IFRS 9 did not result in any change to the classification or measurement of financial instruments in either the current or prior year. The Company's investments remain classified as FVTPL. Under IAS 39 the Company carried its investments at FVTPL under a designation option; on adoption of IFRS 9, the investments are classified as FVTPL.

		As noted in 2(a) above, the Company classifies its investments based on their contractual cash flow characteristics and the Company's business model for managing the assets. The business model, which is the determining feature for debt instruments, is such that the portfolio of investments is managed, and performance is evaluated, on a fair value basis. The Manager is also compensated based on the fair value of the Company's assets. Equity instruments are classified as FVTPL because cash flows resulting from such instruments do not represent payments of principal and interest on the principal outstanding, and therefore they fail the contractual cash flows test. Consequently, all investments are measured at FVTPL.

		Purchases and sales of investments are recognised on a trade date basis. Proceeds are measured at fair value, which is regarded as the proceeds of sale less any transaction costs.

		The fair value of the financial assets is based on their quoted bid price at the reporting date, without deduction for any estimated future selling costs.

		Changes in the value of investments held at fair value through profit or loss and gains and losses on disposal are recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income as "Gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value through profit or loss". Also included within this caption are transaction costs in relation to the purchase or sale of investments, including the difference between the purchase price of an investment and its bid price at the date of purchase.

	(f)	Cash and cash equivalents
		Cash comprises cash held at banks. Cash equivalents are short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and that are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in values.

		For the purposes of the Cash Flow Statement, cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank net of any outstanding bank overdrafts.

	(g)	Other receivables
		As noted in 2(a) above, financial assets previously classified as loans and receivables are held to collect contractual cash flows and give rise to cash flows representing solely payments of principal and interest. As such they are measured at amortised cost. Other receivables do not carry any interest, they have assessed for any expected credit losses over their lifetime due to their short-term nature.

	(h)	Other payables
		As noted in 2(a) above, the classification of financial liabilities under IFRS 9 remains broadly the same as under IAS 39. As other payables are impacted by the IFRS 9 model, the Company has adopted the simplified approach. Other payables are non interest bearing and are stated at amortised cost.

	(i)	Dividends payable
		Interim dividends payable are recognised in the financial statements in the period in which they are paid.

	(j)	Nature and purpose of reserves
		Capital redemption reserve
		The capital redemption reserve arose when Ordinary shares were redeemed, at which point an amount equal to £1 per share of the Ordinary share capital was transferred from the Statement of Comprehensive Income to the capital redemption reserve. Following a law amendment in 2008, the Company is no longer required to make a transfer. Although the transfer from the Statement of Comprehensive Income is no longer required, the amount remaining in the capital redemption reserve is not distributable in accordance with the undertaking provided by the Board in the launch Prospectus.

		Capital reserve
		This reserve reflects any gains or losses on investments realised in the period along with any increases and decreases in the fair value of investments held that have been recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. This reserve also reflects any gains realised when Ordinary shares are issued at a premium to £1 per share and any losses suffered on the redemption of Ordinary shares for cancellation at a value higher than £1 per share.

		When the Company purchases its Ordinary shares to be held in treasury, the amount of the consideration paid, which includes directly attributable costs, is recognised as a deduction from the capital reserve. Should these shares be sold subsequently, the amount received is recognised in the capital reserve and the resulting surplus or deficit on the transaction remains in the capital reserve.

		Revenue reserve
		This reserve reflects all income and costs which are recognised in the revenue column of the Statement of Comprehensive Income. The revenue reserve is the principal reserve which is utilised to fund dividend payments to shareholders.

	(k)	Foreign currency
		Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are converted into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the reporting date. The financial statements are presented in sterling, which is the Company's functional and presentation currency. The Company's performance is evaluated and its liquidity is managed in sterling. Therefore sterling is considered as the currency that most faithfully represents the economic effects of the underlying transactions, events and conditions. Transactions during the year involving foreign currencies are converted at the rate of exchange ruling at the transaction date. Gains or losses arising from a change in exchange rates subsequent to the date of a transaction are included as a currency gain or loss in revenue or capital in the Statement of Comprehensive Income, depending on whether the gain or loss is of a revenue or capital nature.

	(l)	Borrowings
		The Company has adopted the classification and measurement provisions of IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' which replaces IAS 39 'Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement'. Borrowings are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. No impact on the classification or measurement of borrowings has arisen due to the adoption of IFRS 9.

		Borrowings are stated at the amount of the net proceeds immediately after draw down plus cumulative finance costs less cumulative payments. The finance cost of borrowings is allocated to years over the term of the debt at a constant rate on the carrying amount and charged 40% to revenue and 60% to capital to reflect the Company's investment policy and prospective revenue and capital growth.

	(m)	Share capital
		The Company's Ordinary shares are classified as equity as the Company has full discretion on repurchasing the Ordinary shares and on dividend distributions.

		Issuance, acquisition and resale of Ordinary shares are accounted for as equity transactions. Upon issuance of Ordinary shares, the consideration received is included in equity.

		Transaction costs incurred by the Company in acquiring or selling its own equity instruments are accounted for as a deduction from equity to the extent that they are incremental costs directly attributable to the equity transaction that otherwise would have been avoided.

		Own equity instruments which are acquired (treasury shares) are deducted from equity and accounted for at amounts equal to the consideration paid, including any directly attributable incremental costs.

		No gain or loss is recognised in the Statement of Comprehensive Income on the purchase, sale, issuance or cancellation of the Company's own instruments.

3.	Segmental information
	The Company is organised into one main operating segment, which invests in equity securities and debt instruments. All of the Company's activities are interrelated, and each activity is dependent on the others. Accordingly, all significant operating decisions are based upon analysis of the Company as one segment. The financial results from this segment are equivalent to the financial statements of the Company as a whole.

	The following table analyses the Company's operating income by each geographical location. The basis for attributing the operating income is the place of incorporation of the instrument's counterparty.

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
		£'000	£'000
	Asia Pacific region	19,372	20,441
	United Kingdom	1,684	1,317
		_______	_______
		21,056	21,758
		_______	_______

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
4.	Investment income	£'000	£'000
	Income from investments
	Overseas dividend income	18,495	18,030
	UK dividend income	1,670	928
	Stock dividend income	509	1,393
		_______	_______
		20,674	20,351
		_______	_______
	Interest income
	Bond interest	368	1,404
	Deposit interest	14	3
		_______	_______
		382	1,407
		_______	_______
	Total revenue	21,056	21,758
		_______	_______

		Year ended			Year ended
		31 December 2018			31 December 2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
5.	Investment management fee	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
	Investment management fee	1,413	2,119	3,532	1,411	2,117	3,528
		______	______	______	______	______	______

	The Company has an agreement with Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited ("APWML") for the provision of management services. This agreement has been sub-delegated to Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited ("ASI Asia").

	The investment management fee is payable quarterly in arrears and is based on an annual amount of 0.85% of the net asset value of the Company valued monthly and on the average of the previous five monthly valuation points. The balance due to APWML at the year end was £1,146,000 (2017 - £302,000). The investment management fees are charged 40% to revenue and 60% to capital in line with the Board's expected long term returns.

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
6.	Other operating expenses	£'000	£'000
	Directors' fees	151	171
	Promotional activities	217	250
	Auditor's remuneration:
	- statutory audit	34	33
	- interim accounts review	6	6
	- tax services	6	5
	Custody fees	158	163
	Secretarial and administration fee	134	134
	Other	298	307
		_______	_______
		1,004	1,069
		_______	_______

	The Company has an agreement with Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited ("AAM") for the provision of promotional activities in relation to the Company's participation in the Aberdeen Investment Trust share plan and ISA. The total fees paid are based on an annual rate of £250,000 until 31 March 2018 and an annual rate of £206,000 thereafter (2017 - £250,000). An amount of £52,000 (2017 - £63,000) was payable to AAM at the year end.

	In addition, APWML is entitled to an annual company secretarial and administration fee of £134,000 (2017 - £134,000). An amount of £34,000 (2017 - £34,000) was payable to APWML at the year end.

	No fees have been paid to Ernst & Young during the period other than those listed here.

		Year ended			Year ended
		31 December 2018			31 December 2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
7.	Finance costs	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
	Interest on bank loans	352	528	880	284	426	710
		______	______	______	______	______	______

	Finance costs are charged 40% to revenue and 60% to capital as disclosed in the accounting policies.

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
8.	Dividends on Ordinary equity shares	£'000	£'000
	Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
	Fourth interim dividend 2017 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2016 - 2.75p)	4,119	5,136
	First interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,099	4,170
	Second interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,073	4,139
	Third interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,042	4,134
		_______	_______
		16,333	17,579
		_______	_______

	The table below sets out the total dividends declared in respect of the financial year. The revenue available for distribution by way of dividend for the year is £16,762,000 (2017 - £17,691,000).

		2018	2017
		£'000	£'000
	First interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,099	4,170
	Second interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,073	4,139
	Third interim dividend 2018 - 2.25p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,042	4,134
	Fourth interim dividend 2018 - 2.40p per Ordinary share (2017 - 2.25p)	4,288	4,119
		_______	_______
		16,502	16,562
		_______	_______

	The fourth interim dividend for 2018, amounting to £4,288,000 (2017 - fourth interim dividend of £4,119,000), is not recognised as a liability in these financial statements as it was announced and paid after 31 December 2018.

9.	Earnings per share
	Ordinary shares
	The earnings per Ordinary share is based on the loss after taxation of £23,849,000 (2017 - profit £61,200,000) and on 181,141,360 (2017 - 184,685,211) Ordinary shares, being the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year excluding Ordinary shares held in treasury.

	The earnings per Ordinary share detailed above can be further analysed between revenue and capital as follows:

		Year ended			Year ended
		31 December 2018			31 December 2017
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
	Net profit/(loss) (£'000)	16,762	(40,611)	(23,849)	17,691	43,509	61,200
	Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue{A}			181,141,360			184,685,211
	Return per Ordinary share (pence)	9.25	(22.42)	(13.17)	9.58	23.56	33.14
		______	______	_______	______	______	_______

	{A} Calculated excluding shares held in treasury.

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
10.	Investments held at fair value through profit or loss	£'000	£'000
	Opening valuation	461,632	428,908
	Movements in the year:
	Purchases at cost	64,799	60,765
	Sales - proceeds	(74,042)	(71,738)
	Sales - realised gains	15,172	12,951
	(Decrease)/increase in investment holdings fair value	(51,388)	30,746
		_______	_______
	Closing valuation at 31 December	416,173	461,632
		_______	_______

		£'000	£'000
	Closing book cost	324,939	319,010
	Unrealised gains on investments	91,234	142,622
		_______	_______
	Closing valuation at 31 December	416,173	461,632
		_______	_______

		Year ended	Year ended
		31 December 2018	31 December 2017
	The portfolio valuation	£'000	£'000
	Listed on recognised stock exchanges:
	Equities - UK	21,288	20,648
	Equities - overseas	385,336	427,616
	Bonds - overseas	9,549	13,368
		_______	_______
	Total	416,173	461,632
		_______	_______

	As noted in note 2(a) and (e), the adoption of IFRS 9 did not result in any change to the classification or measurement of financial instruments in either the current or prior year.

		Year ended	Year ended
	Gains/(losses) on investments held at fair value	31 December 2018	31 December 2017
	through profit or loss	£'000	£'000
	Realised gains on sales of investments	15,172	12,951
	Unrealised (losses)/gains on investments	(51,388)	30,746
		_______	_______
		(36,216)	43,697
		_______	_______

	Transaction costs
	During the year expenses were incurred in acquiring or disposing of investments held at fair value through profit or loss. These have been expensed through capital and are included within gains/(losses) on financial investments held at fair value through profit or loss in the Statement of Comprehensive Income. The total costs were as follows:

		Year ended		Year ended
		31 December 2018		31 December 2017
		£'000		£'000
	Purchases	92		71
	Sales	67		72
		_______		_______
		159		143
		_______		_______

	The above transaction costs are calculated in line with the AIC SORP. The transaction costs in the Company's Key Information Document are calculated on a different basis and in line with the PRIIPs regulations.

		2018	2017
11.	Debtors: amounts falling due within one year	£'000	£'000
	Amounts due from brokers	876	-
	Prepayments and accrued income	1,299	1,342
		_______	_______
		2,175	1,342
		_______	_______
	None of the above assets are past their due date or impaired.

12.	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
	(a)	Bank loans
		At the year end, the Company had the following unsecured bank loans:

			2018			2017
				Local				Local
			Interest	currency	Carrying	Interest		currency	Carrying
			rate	principal	amount	rate		principal	amount
			%	amount	£'000	%		amount	£'000
		Unsecured bank loans repayable within one year:
		Hong Kong Dollar	-	-	-	2.023		212,500,000	20,095
		United States Dollar	-	-	-	2.410		7,158,000	5,291
		Sterling	-	-	-	2.218		10,000,000	10,000
					_______				_______
		Total			-				35,386
					_______				_______

		Unsecured bank loans repayable between one and five years:
		Hong Kong Dollar	3.053	212,500,000	21,311	-		-	-
		United States Dollar	3.396	7,158,000	5,620	-		-	-
		Sterling	2.179	10,000,000	9,998	-		-	-
					_______				_______
		Total			36,929				-
					_______				_______

		At the date of signing this report, the loans of HK$212,500,000 and US$7,158,000 were drawn down to 11 April 2019 at fixed interest rates of 2.29929% and 3.44275% respectively under the £40 million multi currency revolving loan facility agreement with Scotiabank (Ireland) Designated Activity Company which runs until 13 April 2020. On 3 March 2018 the £10,000,000 loan with Scotiabank Europe PLC matured and was replaced with a three year loan of £10,000,000 with Scotiabank Europe PLC at an interest rate of 2.179%. Financial covenants contained within the relevant loan agreements provide, inter alia, that the Company's NAV shall at no time be less than £185 million and that adjusted NAV coverage shall at no time be less than 4.0 to 1.0. At 31 December 2018 net assets were £382 million and borrowings were 9.7% thereof. The Company has complied with all financial covenants throughout the year.

							2018		2017
	(b)	Other payables					£'000		£'000
		Amounts due to brokers for purchase of shares for treasury					29		-
		Amounts due to brokers					1,372		-
		Investment management fees					1,146		302
		Other amounts due					295		289
							_______		_______
							2,842		591
							_______		_______

	As noted in note 2(a) in greater detail, the classification of financial liabilities under IFRS 9 remains broadly the same as under IAS 39. The Company has not designated any financial liabilities at FVPL. Therefore, this requirement has not had an impact on the Company.

		2018	2017
13.	Analysis of changes in financing during the year	£'000	£'000
	Opening balance at 1 January	35,386	37,974
	Foreign exchange movements	1,543	(2,588)
		_______	_______
	Closing balance at 31 December	36,929	35,386
		_______	_______

		Ordinary	Treasury	Total
		shares	shares	shares
14.	Stated capital	(number)	(number)	(number)	£'000
	Authorised Ordinary shares of no par value	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited

	Issued and fully paid Ordinary shares of no par value
	At 31 December 2017	183,282,221	11,651,168	194,933,389	194,933
	Shares purchased for treasury	(4,651,533)	4,651,533	-	-
		_________	_________	_________	_______
	At 31 December 2018	178,630,688	16,302,701	194,933,389	194,933
		_________	_________	_________	_______

	During the year 4,651,533 (2017 - 3,686,168) Ordinary shares were bought back by the Company for holding in treasury at a total cost of £9,488,000 (2017 - £7,780,000). At the year end 16,302,701 (2017 - 11,651,168) Ordinary shares were held in treasury, which represents 8.36% (2017 - 5.98%) of the Company's total issued share capital at 31 December 2018.

	For each Ordinary share issued £1 is allocated to stated capital, with the balance taken to the capital reserve.

	The Ordinary shares give shareholders the entitlement to all of the capital growth in the Company's assets and to all the income from the Company that is resolved to be distributed.

	Since the year end a further 190,165 shares have been bought back for holding in treasury at a cost of £391,000.

	Voting and other rights
	In accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company, on a show of hands, every member (or duly appointed proxy) present at a general meeting of the Company has one vote; and, on a poll, every member present in person or by proxy shall have one vote for each Ordinary share held.

	The Ordinary shares carry the right to receive all dividends declared by the Company or the Directors.

	On a winding-up, provided the Company has satisfied all of its liabilities, holders of Ordinary shares are entitled to all of the surplus assets of the Company.

		2018	2017
15.	Capital reserve	£'000	£'000
	At 1 January	220,779	185,050
	Net currency (losses)/gains	(1,748)	2,355
	Movement in unrealised fair value	(51,388)	30,746
	Profit on realisation of investments	15,172	12,951
	Costs charged to capital	(2,647)	(2,543)
	Buyback of Ordinary shares for treasury	(9,488)	(7,780)
		_______	_______
	At 31 December	170,680	220,779
		_______	_______

16.	Net asset value per share
	Ordinary shares
	The net asset value per Ordinary share and the net asset values attributable to Ordinary shareholders at the year end calculated in accordance with the Articles of Association were as follows:

		Net asset value	Net asset values	Net asset value	Net asset values
		per share	attributable	per share	attributable
		2018	2018	2017	2017
		p	£'000	p	£'000
	Ordinary shares	213.96	382,199	235.63	431,869
		_______	_______	_______	_______

	The net asset value per Ordinary share is based on 178,630,688 (2017 - 183,282,221) Ordinary shares, being the number of Ordinary shares in issue at the year end excluding Ordinary shares held in treasury.

17.	Financial instruments
	The Company's investment activities expose it to various types of financial risk associated with the financial instruments and markets in which it invests. The Company's financial instruments comprise securities, other investments, cash balances and bank loans and debtors and creditors that arise directly from its operations; for example, in respect of sales and purchases awaiting settlement, and debtors for accrued income.

	The Board has delegated the risk management function to APWML under the terms of its management agreement with APWML (further details of which are included under note 5). The Board regularly reviews and agrees policies for managing each of the key financial risks identified with the Manager. The types of risk and the Manager's approach to the management of each type of risk, are summarised below. Such approach has been applied throughout the year and has not changed since the previous accounting period. The numerical disclosures exclude short-term debtors and creditors, with the exception of short-term borrowings.

	Risk management framework
	The directors of APWML collectively assume responsibility for APWML's obligations under the AIFMD including reviewing investment performance and monitoring the Company's risk profile during the year.

	APWML is a fully integrated member of the Standard Life Aberdeen plc Group (the "Group"), which provides a variety of services and support to APWML in the conduct of its business activities, including in the oversight of the risk management framework for the Company. APWML has delegated the day to day administration of the investment policy to Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) Limited, which is responsible for ensuring that the Company is managed within the terms of its investment guidelines and the limits set out in its pre-investment disclosures to investors (details of which can be found on the Company's website). APWML has delegated responsibility for monitoring and oversight of the Investment Manager and other members of the Group which carry out services and support to APWML.

	The Manager conducts its risk oversight function through the operation of the Group's risk management processes and systems which are embedded within the Group's operations. The Group's Risk Division supports management in the identification and mitigation of risks and provides independent monitoring of the business. The Division includes Compliance, Business Risk, Market Risk, Risk Management and Legal. The team is headed up by the Group's Head of Risk, who reports to the co-Chief Executive Officers of the Group. The Risk Division achieves its objective through embedding the Risk Management Framework throughout the organisation using the Group's operational risk management system ("Shield").

	The Group's Internal Audit Department is independent of the Risk Division and reports directly to the Group co-Chief Executive Officers and to the Audit Committee of the Group's Board of Directors. The Internal Audit Department is responsible for providing an independent assessment of the Group's control environment.

	The Group's corporate governance structure is supported by several committees to assist the board of directors of Standard Life Aberdeen plc, its subsidiaries and the Company to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. The Group's Risk Division is represented on all committees, with the exception of those committees that deal with investment recommendations. The specific goals and guidelines on the functioning of those committees are described on the committees' terms of reference.

	Risk management
	The main risks arising from the Company's financial instruments are (i) market risk (comprising interest rate risk, currency risk and equity price risk), (ii) liquidity risk, (iii) credit risk and (iv) gearing risk.

	The Board regularly reviews and agrees policies for managing each of these risks. The Manager's policies for managing each of these risks are summarised below and have been applied throughout the year. The numerical disclosures exclude short-term debtors and creditors.

	(i) Market risk
	The fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument held by the Company may fluctuate because of changes in market prices. This market risk comprises three elements - interest rate risk, currency risk and equity price risk.

	Interest rate risk
	Interest rate risk is the risk that interest rate movements may affect:
	- the fair value of the investments in fixed interest rate securities;
	- the level of income receivable on cash deposits;
	- interest payable on the Company's variable rate borrowings.

	Management of the risk
	Financial assets
	Although the majority of the Company's financial assets comprise equity shares which neither pay interest nor have a stated maturity date, at the year end the Company had three holdings in fixed rate overseas corporate bonds, G3 Exploration of £4,413,000, ICICI Bank of £4,111,000 and AEON Credit Service of £1,025,000 (2017 - DFCC Bank of £3,769,000, Green Dragon Gas of £4,425,000, ICICI Bank of £4,300,000 and AEON Credit Service of £874,000). Bond prices are determined by market perception as to the appropriate level of yields given the economic background. Key determinants include economic growth prospects, inflation, the Government's fiscal position, short-term interest rates and international market comparisons. The Investment Manager takes all these factors into account when making any investment decisions as well as considering the financial standing of the potential investee entity.

	Returns from bonds are fixed at the time of purchase, as the fixed coupon payments are known, as are the final redemption proceeds. This means that if a bond is held until its redemption date, the total return achieved is unaltered from its purchase date. However, over the life of a bond the market price at any given time will depend on the market environment at that time. Therefore, a bond sold before its redemption date is likely to have a different price to its purchase level and a profit or loss may be incurred.

	Financial liabilities
	The Company primarily finances its operations through use of equity, retained profits and bank borrowings. On 3 March 2018 the Company renewed a three-year £10 million facility with Scotiabank Europe PLC which was in addition to the existing unsecured three year £30 million multi currency revolving facility with Scotiabank (Ireland) Limited and details of the terms and conditions of the loans are disclosed in note 12. On 13 April 2017, the multi currency revolving facility with Scotiabank (Ireland) Limited was increased to £40 million. Interest is due on the Scotiabank Europe PLC loan quarterly with the next interest payment being due on 4 March 2019. The Scotiabank Europe PLC loan is included in creditors falling due in more than one year but no more than five years. Interest is due on Scotiabank (Ireland) Limited loans at the maturity date, being 9 January 2019 (loans have been subsequently rolled over, see note 12 for further details). The Scotiabank (Ireland) Limited loans are included in creditors falling due within one year.

	The Board actively monitors its bank borrowings. A decision on whether to roll over its existing borrowings will be made prior to their maturity dates, taking into account the Company's ability to draw down fixed, long-term borrowings.

	The interest rate profile of the Company (excluding short term debtors and creditors but including short term borrowings as stated previously) was as follows:

				Weighted average
				period for which					Weighted average				Floating		Fixed
				rate is fixed					interest rate				rate		rate
	At 31 December 2018			Years					%				£'000		£'000
	Assets
	Chinese Overseas Corporate Bond{A}			-					-				-		4,413
	Indian Overseas Corporate Bond			5.60					9.15				-		4,111
	Malaysian Overseas Corporate Bond			1.71					3.50				-		1,025
	Cash at bank - Sterling			-					-				3,583		-
	Cash at bank - Taiwan Dollar			-					-				39		-
	Cash at bank - US Dollar			-					-				-		-
													_______		_______
													3,622		9,549
													_______		_______

	{A} Holding in G3 Exploration, which was due to mature during the year but was not paid. Previously accrued interest income has been written off and no further interest income is being accrued.

				Weighted
				average period for which					Weighted average				Floating		Fixed
				rate is fixed					interest rate				rate		rate
				Years					%				£'000		£'000
	Liabilities
	Bank loan - Hong Kong Dollar			0.02					3.05				-		(21,311)
	Bank loan - US Dollar			0.02					3.40				-		(5,620)
	Bank loans - Sterling			2.17					2.18				-		(9,998)
													_______		_______
													-		(36,929)
													_______		_______

				Weighted average
				period for which					Weighted average				Floating		Fixed
				rate is fixed					interest rate				rate		rate
	At 31 December 2017			Years					%				£'000		£'000
	Assets
	Chinese Overseas Corporate Bond			0.89					10.00				-		4,425
	Indian Overseas Corporate Bond			6.60					9.15				-		4,300
	Malaysian Overseas Corporate Bond			2.71					3.50				-		874
	Sri Lankan Overseas Corporate Bond			0.83					9.63				-		3,769
	Cash at bank - Sterling			-					-				4,819		-
	Cash at bank - Taiwan Dollar			-					-				39		-
	Cash at bank - US Dollar			-					-				14		-
													_______		_______
													4,872		13,368
													_______		_______

				Weighted average
				period for which					Weighted average				Floating		Fixed
				rate is fixed					interest rate				rate		rate
				Years					%				£'000		£'000
	Liabilities
	Bank loan - Hong Kong Dollar			0.03					2.02				-		(20,095)
	Bank loan - US Dollar			0.03					2.41				-		(5,291)
	Bank loans - Sterling			0.17					2.22				-		(10,000)
													_______		_______
													-		(35,386)
													_______		_______

	The weighted average interest rate is based on the current yield of each asset, weighted by its market value. The weighted average interest rate on bank loans is based on the interest rate payable, weighted by the total value of the loans.
	The floating rate assets consist of cash deposits on call earning interest at prevailing market rates.
	All financial liabilities are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method.

	Interest rate sensitivity
	The sensitivity analyses demonstrate the sensitivity of the Company's profit/(loss) for the year to a reasonably possible change in interest rates, with all other variables held constant.

	The sensitivity of the profit/(loss) for the year is the effect of the assumed change in interest rates on:
	- the net interest income for one year, based on the floating rate financial assets held at the Balance Sheet date; and
	- changes in fair value of investments for the year, based on revaluing fixed rate financial assets at the Balance Sheet date.

	The Directors have considered the potential impact of a 100 basis point movement in interest rates and concluded that it would not be material in the current year (2017 - not material). This consideration is based on the Company's exposure to interest rates on its floating rate cash balances, fixed interest securities and bank loans.

	Foreign currency risk
	A significant proportion of the Company's investment portfolio is invested in overseas securities and the Balance Sheet can be significantly affected by movements in foreign exchange rates. It is not the Company's policy to hedge this risk on a continuing basis. A significant proportion of the Company's borrowings, as detailed in note 12, is in foreign currency as at 31 December 2018.

	Management of the risk
	The revenue account is subject to currency fluctuation arising on overseas income. The Company does not hedge this currency risk on a continuing basis but the Company may, from time to time, match specific overseas investment with foreign currency borrowings.

	The fair values of the Company's monetary items that have foreign currency exposure at 31 December are shown below. Where the Company's equity investments (which are non-monetary items) are priced in a foreign currency, they have been included within the equity price risk sensitivity analysis so as to show the overall level of exposure.

		31 December 2018							31 December 2017
			Net										Net
			monetary			Total							monetary		Total
		Equity	assets			currency			Equity				assets		currency
		investments	/(liabilities)			exposure			investments				/(liabilities)		exposure
		£'000	£'000			£'000			£'000				£'000		£'000
	Australian Dollar	70,390	-			70,390			82,622				-		82,622
	Chinese Renminbi	6,916	-			6,916			8,854				-		8,854
	Hong Kong Dollar	66,731	(21,311)			45,420			62,393				(20,095)		42,298
	Indian Rupee	4,154	4,111			8,265			-				4,300		4,300
	Indonesian Rupiah	-	-			-			4,839				-		4,839
	Japanese Yen	16,539	-			16,539			20,791				-		20,791
	Korean Won	26,635	-			26,635			15,405				-		15,405
	Malaysian Ringgit	20,350	1,025			21,375			29,371				874		30,245
	New Zealand Dollar	2,225	-			2,225			-				-		-
	Singapore Dollar	99,713	-			99,713			125,941				-		125,941
	Taiwanese Dollar	34,498	39			34,537			29,125				39		29,164
	Thailand Baht	30,079	-			30,079			40,289				-		40,289
	US Dollar	7,106	(1,207)			5,899			7,986				2,917		10,903
		_______	_______			_______			_______				_______		_______
	Total	385,336	(17,343)			367,993			427,616				(11,965)		415,651
		_______	_______			_______			_______				_______		_______

	Foreign currency sensitivity
	The following table details the impact on the Company's net assets to a 10% decrease (in the context of a 10% increase the figures below should all be read as negative) in sterling against the foreign currencies in which the Company has exposure. The sensitivity analysis includes foreign currency denominated monetary items and adjusts their translation at the period end for a 10% change in foreign currency rates.

											2018			2017
											£'000			£'000
	Australian Dollar										7,039			8,262
	Chinese Renminbi										691			885
	Hong Kong Dollar										4,542			4,230
	Indian Rupee										826			430
	Indonesian Rupiah										-			484
	Japanese Yen										1,654			2,079
	Korean Won										2,663			1,541
	Malaysian Ringgit										2,138			3,025
	New Zealand Dollar										223			-
	Singapore Dollar										9,971			12,594
	Taiwanese Dollar										3,454			2,916
	Thailand Baht										3,008			4,029
	US Dollar										590			1,090
											_______			_______
	Total										36,799			41,565
											_______			_______

	Equity price risk
	Equity price risk (ie changes in market prices other than those arising from interest rate or currency risk) may affect the value of the Company's quoted equity investments.

	Management of the risk
	It is the Board's policy to hold an appropriate spread of investments in the portfolio in order to reduce the risk arising from factors specific to a particular country or sector. The allocation of assets to international markets and the stock selection process, as detailed on page 77 of the published Annual Report, both act to reduce market risk. The Manager actively monitors market prices throughout the year and reports to the Board, which meets regularly in order to review investment strategy. The investments held by the Company are listed on recognised stock exchanges.

	Concentration of exposure to equity price risks
	A geographic analysis of the Company's investment portfolio is shown on page 23 of the published Annual Report, which shows that the majority of the investments' value is in the Asia Pacific region. It should be recognised that an investment's country of domicile or of listing does not necessarily equate to its exposure to the economic conditions in that country.

	Equity price risk sensitivity
	The following table illustrates the sensitivity of the profit after taxation for the year and the equity to an increase or decrease of 10% (2017 - 10%) in the fair values of the Company's equities. This level of change is considered to be reasonably possible based on observation of current market conditions. The sensitivity analysis is based on the Company's equities at each Balance Sheet date, with all other variables held constant.

					2018							2017
					Increase in			Decrease in				Increase in		Decrease in
					fair value			fair value				fair value		fair value
					£'000			£'000				£'000		£'000
	Statement of Comprehensive Income - profit after taxation
	Revenue return - increase /(decrease)				-			-				-		-
	Capital return - increase /(decrease)				40,662			(40,662)				44,826		(44,826)
					_______			_______				_______		_______
	Total profit after taxation - increase /(decrease)				40,662			(40,662)				44,826		(44,826)
					_______			_______				_______		_______
	Equity				40,662			(40,662)				44,826		(44,826)
					_______			_______				_______		_______

	(ii) Liquidity risk
	This is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities, which stood at £39,771,000 (2017 - £35,977,000).

	Management of the risk
	Liquidity risk is not considered to be significant as the Company's assets comprise mainly cash and readily realisable securities, which can be sold to meet funding commitments if necessary and these amounted to £3,622,000 and £416,173,000 (2017 - £4,872,000 and £461,632,000 ) at the year end respectively. Short-term flexibility is achieved through the use of loan facilities.

	Maturity profile
	The following table sets out the undiscounted gross cash flows, by maturity, of the Company's significant financial liabilities and cash at the Balance Sheet date:

							Within				Between
							1 year				1-5 years			Total
	At 31 December 2018						£'000				£'000			£'000
	Fixed rate
	Bank loans						-				36,929			36,929
	Interest on bank loans						(269)				(272)			(541)
							_______				_______			_______
							(269)				36,657			36,388
							_______				_______			_______
	Floating rate
	Cash						3,622				-			3,622
							_______				_______			_______

							Within				Between
							1 year				1-5 years			Total
	At 31 December 2017						£'000				£'000			£'000
	Fixed rate
	Bank loans						35,386				-			35,386
	Interest on bank loans						(96)				-			(96)
							_______				_______			_______
							35,290				-			35,290
							_______				_______			_______
	Floating rate
	Cash						4,872				-			4,872
							_______				_______			_______

	On 13 April 2017 the Company entered into an unsecured three year £40 million multi currency revolving facility agreement with Scotiabank (Ireland) Designated Activity Company. Under the terms of the New Facility the Company also has the option to increase the level of the commitment from £40 million to £60 million at any time, subject to the identification by the Manager of suitable investment opportunities and Lender credit approval. The Company also has a three year £10,000,000 term facility with Scotiabank Europe PLC details of which are disclosed in note 12.

	(iii) Credit risk
	This is failure of the counterparty to a transaction to discharge its obligations under that transaction that could result in the Company suffering a loss. The Company is exposed to credit risk on debt instruments. These classes of financial assets are not subject to IFRS 9's impairment requirements as they are measured at FVTPL. The carrying value of these assets, under both IAS 39 and IFRS 9 represents the Company's maximum exposure to credit risk on financial instruments not subject to the IFRS 9 impairment requirements on the respective reporting dates (see table below "Credit Risk Exposure").

	The Company's only financial assets subject to the expected credit loss model within IFRS 9 are only short-term other receivables. At 31 December 2018, the total of short-term other receivables was £2,175,000 (2017 - £1,342,000) on which a loss allowance of £1,029,000 had been provided (2017 - £nil) in respect of the non-payment of interest income by G3 Exploration. No other assets are considered impaired and no other amounts have been written off during the year.

	All other receivables are expected to be received within twelve months or less. An amount is considered to be in default if it has not been received on the due date.

	As only other receivables are impacted by the IFRS 9 model, the Company has adopted the simplified approach. The loss allowance is therefore based on lifetime ECLs.

	Management of the risk
	Where the investment manager makes an investment in a bond, corporate or otherwise, where available, the credit rating of the issuer is taken into account so as to minimise the risk to the Company of default. The Company has the following holdings:
	- a Chinese overseas corporate bond issued by G3 Exploration. As noted in greater detail within the Investment Manager's Report, the bond matured but has not yet been paid.
	- an Indian overseas corporate bond issued by ICICI Bank.
	- a Malaysian overseas corporate bond issued by AEON Credit Service.
	All of the above bonds are non-rated. The investment manager undertakes an ongoing review of their suitability for inclusion within the portfolio.

	Investment transactions are carried out with a large number of brokers, whose credit rating is taken into account so as to minimise the risk to the Company of default.
	The risk of counterparty exposure due to failed trades causing a loss to the Company is mitigated by the review of failed trade reports on a daily basis. In addition, both stock and cash reconciliations to the custodian's records are performed on a daily basis to ensure discrepancies are investigated on a timely basis. The Manager's Compliance department carries out periodic reviews of the custodian's operations and reports its finding to the Manager's Risk Management Committee. It is the Manager's policy to trade only with A- and above (Long Term rated) and A-1/P-1 (Short Term rated) counterparties.
	Cash is held only with reputable banks with high quality external credit ratings.

	None of the Company's financial assets are secured by collateral or other credit enhancements.

	Credit risk exposure
	In summary, compared to the amounts included in the Balance Sheet, the maximum exposure to credit risk at 31 December was as follows:

						2018							2017
						Balance				Maximum			Balance		Maximum
						Sheet				exposure			Sheet		exposure
						£'000				£'000			£'000		£'000
	Non-current assets
	Investments held at fair value through profit or loss					416,173				9,549			461,632		13,368

	Current assets
	Cash at bank					3,622				3,622			4,872		4,872
	Other receivables					2,175				2,175			1,342		1,342
						_______				_______			_______		_______
						421,970				15,346			467,846		19,582
						_______				_______			_______		_______

	(iv) Gearing risk
	The Company's policy is to increase its exposure to equity markets through the judicious use of borrowings. When borrowings are invested in such markets, the effect is to magnify the impact on shareholders' funds of changes, both positive and negative, in the value of the portfolio. As noted in note 2(a), note 2(l) and note 12, the classification of financial liabilities under IFRS 9 remains broadly the same as under IAS 39. The Company has not designated any financial liabilities at FVPL. Therefore, this requirement has not had an impact on the Company. The loans are carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method in the financial statements.

	Management of the risk
	The Board imposes borrowing limits to ensure gearing levels are appropriate to market conditions and reviews these on a regular basis. Borrowings comprise fixed rate, revolving, and uncommitted facilities. The fixed rate facilities are used to finance opportunities at low rates and, the revolving and uncommitted facilities to provide flexibility in the short-term.

18.	Capital management policies and procedures
	The Company's capital management objectives are:
	- to ensure that the Company will be able to continue as a going concern; and
	- to maximise the income and capital return to its equity shareholders through an appropriate balance of equity capital and debt. The policy is that debt should not exceed 25% of net assets.

	The Company's capital at 31 December comprises:
		2018	2017
		£'000	£'000
	Debt
	Borrowings under the multi-currency loan facility	26,931	25,386
	Borrowing under the three year Sterling loan facility	9,998	10,000
		_______	_______
		36,929	35,386
		_______	_______

		2018	2017
	Equity	£'000	£'000
	Equity share capital	194,933	194,933
	Retained earnings and other reserves	187,266	236,936
		_______	_______
		382,199	431,869
		_______	_______
	Debt as a % of net assets{A}	9.66	8.19
		_______	_______

	{A} The calculation above differs from the AIC recommended methodology, where debt levels are shown net of cash and cash equivalents held.

	The Board, with the assistance of the Investment Manager monitors and reviews the broad structure of the Company's capital on an ongoing basis. This review includes:
	- the planned level of gearing, which takes account of the Investment Manager's views on the market;
	- the need to buy back equity shares for cancellation or for holding in treasury, which takes account of the difference between the net asset value per Ordinary share and the Ordinary share price (ie the level of share price discount);
	- the need for new issues of equity shares; and
	- the extent to which revenue in excess of that which is required to be distributed should be retained.

	The Company's objectives, policies and processes for managing capital are unchanged from the preceding accounting period.

19.	Related party transactions and transactions with the Manager
	Fees payable during the year to the Directors are disclosed within the Directors' Remuneration Report on page 39 of the published Annual Report. An amount of £nil (2017 - £6,375) was payable at the year end in respect of Mr Young's fees.

	Mr Young is a director of the Investment Manager, ASI Asia, which is a subsidiary of Standard Life Aberdeen PLC. Until 31 March 2018 Mr Young's fees for his services as a Director were assigned to the Standard Life Aberdeen Group but, since that date, have been waived. The Manager, Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited ("APWM") is also a subsidiary of Standard Life Aberdeen PLC. Management, promotional activities and secretarial and administration services are provided by APWM with details of transactions during the year and balances outstanding at the year end disclosed in notes 5 and 6.

20.	Controlling party
	In the opinion of the Directors on the basis of shareholdings advised to them, the Company has no immediate or ultimate controlling party.

21.	Fair value hierarchy
	IFRS 13 'Fair Value Measurement' requires an entity to classify fair value measurements using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making measurements. The fair value hierarchy has the following levels:

	Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
	Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the assets or liability, either directly (ie as prices) or indirectly (ie derived from prices); and
	Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs).

	The financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value in the Balance Sheet are grouped into the fair value hierarchy as follows:
			Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
	At 31 December 2018	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
	Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
	Quoted equities	a)	406,624	-	-	406,624
	Quoted bonds	b)	-	9,549	-	9,549
			_______	_______	_______	_______
	Net fair value		406,624	9,549	-	416,173
			_______	_______	_______	_______

			Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total
	At 31 December 2017	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
	Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
	Quoted equities	a)	448,264	-	-	448,264
	Quoted bonds	b)	-	13,368	-	13,368
			_______	_______	_______	_______
	Net fair value		448,264	13,368	-	461,632
			_______	_______	_______	_______

	a) Quoted equities
	The fair value of the Company's investments in quoted equities has been determined by reference to their quoted bid prices at the reporting date. Quoted equities included in Fair Value Level 1 are actively traded on recognised stock exchanges.
	b) Quoted bonds
	The fair value of the Company's investments in quoted bonds has been determined by reference to their quoted bid prices at the reporting date. Investments in quoted bonds are not considered to trade in active markets and accordingly the Company's holding in quoted bonds as at 31 December 2018 has been classified as Level 2.

	Fair value of financial assets
	The Directors are of the opinion that the fair value of other financial assets is equal to the carrying amounts in the Balance Sheet.

	Fair values of financial liabilities
	The fair value of borrowings as at the 31 December 2018 has been estimated at £36,947,000 (carrying value per Balance Sheet - £36,929,000) which was calculated using a discounted cash flow valuation technique. At 31 December 2017 the fair value was £35,386,000 which was the same as the carrying value due to the short term nature of the loans. Under the fair value hierarchy in accordance with IFRS 13, these borrowings can be classified as Level 2.

Additional Notes:

The Annual Financial Report Announcement is not the Company's statutory financial statements. The above results for the year ended 31 December 2018 are an abridged version of the Company's full financial statements, which have been approved and audited with an unqualified report. The 2017 and 2018 statutory financial statements received unqualified reports from the Company's auditor and did not include any reference to matters to which the auditors drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying the reports. The financial information for 2017 is derived from the statutory financial statements for 2017 which have been lodged with the JFSC. The 2018 financial statements will be filed with the JFSC in due course.

The Annual Report will be posted to Shareholders in April and further copies may be obtained from the registered office, 1^st Floor, Sir Walter Raleigh House, 48 - 50 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3QB and on the Company's website* asian-income.co.uk.

Please note that past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and that the value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise and may be affected by exchange rate movements. Investors may not get back the amount they originally invested.

* Neither the content of the Company's website nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is (or is deemed to be) incorporated into, or forms (or is deemed to form) part of this announcement.

Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited

Company Secretary

4 April 2019

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO - TEN LARGEST INVESTMENTS

As at 31 December 2018
			Valuation	Total	Valuation
			2018	assets{A}	2017{B}
	Industry	Country	£'000	%	£'000
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company
As the world's largest pure-play semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC provides a full range of integrated foundry services for its clients, along with a robust balance sheet and good cash generation that enables it to keep investing in cutting-edge technology and innovation.	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Taiwan	19,241	4.6	17,564
Samsung Electronics (Pref)
A leading semiconductor company which is also a major player in mobile phones and consumer electronics.	Technology Hardware Storage & Peripherals	South Korea	17,556	4.2	15,405
HSBC Holdings
One of the world's largest global banking and financial services institutions with its roots in, and the majority of its earnings derived from, Asia. After several poor acquisitions in Europe and the USA, it has been refocusing back to its origins.	Banks	Hong Kong	16,824	4.0	17,774
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
A well-managed Singapore bank with a strong capital base and impressive cost-to-income ratio, which has recently acquired a mid-sized bank in Hong Kong. In addition to its core banking activities it has sizeable wealth management and life assurance divisions.	Banks	Singapore	16,047	3.8	15,313
Venture Corporation
Provides contract manufacturing services to electronics companies. The company's major segments include Printing, Imaging, Networking and Communications. It has been increasing its revenue contribution from Original Design Manufacturing.	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components	Singapore	14,322	3.4	25,301
Tesco Lotus Retail Growth
Anchored by Thailand's largest hypermarket operator Tesco Lotus, it invests in retail malls and holds a solid portfolio, principally in freehold assets. It offers an attractive yield and stands to benefit from the recovery in Thai retail spending.	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Thailand	14,204	3.4	11,733
Spark New Zealand
New Zealand's incumbent high-quality telco operator that has been successful in growing its domestic mobile market share.	Diversified Telecommunication Services	New Zealand	12,338	2.9	10,662
Taiwan Mobile
The leading provider of cellular telecommunications services in Taiwan. Although predominantly a wireless network operator, it also sells and leases cellular telephony equipment.	Wireless Telecommunication Services	Taiwan	11,777	2.8	11,561
Jardine Cycle & Carriage
The bulk of earnings are from Indonesian unit Astra International but the company has been diversifying in Southeast Asia, with stakes in Thailand's Siam City Cement and Vietnam's REE Corp. Astra International has leading positions in the two- and four-wheeler market, palm oil sector and heavy equipment industry.	Distributors	Singapore	11,336	2.7	12,520
China Mobile
The largest mobile telecoms operator in China, boasting a robust balance sheet, healthy cash flows and good growth prospects.	Wireless Telecommunication Services	China	11,237	2.7	11,166
Top ten investments			144,882	34.5

CONSOLIDATED INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO - OTHER INVESTMENTS

As at 31 December 2018
			Valuation	Total	Valuation
			2018	assets{A}	2017{B}
Company	Sector	Country	£'000	%	£'000
Singapore Telecommunciations	Diversified Telecommunication Services	Singapore	10,345	2.5	12,247
Heineken Malaysia	Beverages	Malaysia	10,219	2.4	12,006
DBS Group	Banks	Singapore	9,996	2.4	10,893
Rio Tinto{C}	Metals & Mining	Australia	9,139	2.2	8,278
Viva Energy REIT	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Australia	9,104	2.2	9,670
LG Chemical (Pref)	Chemicals	South Korea	9,080	2.2	-
AusNet Services	Electric Utilities	Australia	9,075	2.2	11,687
Shopping Centres Australasia	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Australia	8,883	2.1	7,247
Hana Microelectronics	Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components	Thailand	8,613	2.1	11,030
CDL Hospitality Trust	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Singapore	7,746	1.8	8,559
Top twenty investments			237,082	56.6
Swire Pacific{D}	Real Estate Management & Development	Hong Kong	7,553	1.8	7,730
Westpac Banking Corporation	Banks	Australia	7,411	1.8	7,510
Siam Cement{E}	Construction Materials	Thailand	7,262	1.7	6,685
Yum China Holdings	Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure	China	7,106	1.7	7,986
SAIC Motor 'A'	Automobiles	China	6,916	1.7	8,854
Keppel REIT	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Singapore	6,905	1.6	7,393
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	Banks	Australia	6,875	1.6	9,165
Singapore Technologies Engineering	Aerospace & Defence	Singapore	6,840	1.6	10,247
Australia & New Zealand Bank Group	Banks	Australia	6,770	1.6	9,093
China Resources Land	Real Estate Management & Development	China	6,654	1.6	-
Top thirty investments			307,374	73.3
Hang Lung Properties	Real Estate Management & Development	Hong Kong	6,531	1.6	7,859
Amada Holdings	Machinery	Japan	6,463	1.5	9,205
United Overseas Bank	Banks	Singapore	6,288	1.5	6,969
Giordano International	Speciality Retail	Hong Kong	5,771	1.4	6,153
Aeon Credit Service M{F}	Consumer Finance	Malaysia	5,736	1.4	4,856
Ping An Insurance (H Shares)	Insurance	China	5,727	1.4	-
South32{C}	Metals & Mining	Australia	5,614	1.3	6,186
Okinawa Cellular Telephone	Wireless Telecommunication Services	Japan	5,311	1.3	5,529
Japan Tobacco	Tobacco	Japan	4,766	1.1	6,057
ComfortDelGro	Road & Rail	Singapore	4,700	1.1	4,135
Top forty investments			364,281	86.9
G3 Exploration{H}	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels	China	4,413	1.1	4,425
BHP Group{C}	Metals & Mining	Australia	4,294	1.0	-
Infosys	IT Services	India	4,154	1.0	-
ICICI Bank{H}	Banks	India	4,111	1.0	4,300
Scentre Group	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Australia	4,048	1.0	8,388
ASX	Capital Markets	Australia	3,931	0.9	4,626
SP Setia{G}	Real Estate Management & Development	Malaysia	3,609	0.9	6,294
Kingmaker Footwear	Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods	Hong Kong	3,237	0.8	4,620
Convenience Retail Asia	Food & Staples Retailing	Hong Kong	3,196	0.8	3,285
Far East Hospitality Trust	Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts	Singapore	2,699	0.6	7,433
Top fifty investments			401,973	96.0
Standard Chartered	Banks	United Kingdom	2,241	0.5	6,184
NZX	Capital Markets	New Zealand	2,225	0.5	-
Hong Leong Finance	Consumer Finance	Singapore	2,203	0.5	4,636
Woodside Petroleum	Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels	Australia	1,954	0.5	-
British American Tobacco Malaysia	Tobacco	Malaysia	1,811	0.4	3,590
Globalwafers	Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	Taiwan	1,755	0.4	-
Momo	Internet & Direct Marketing Retail	Taiwan	1,724	0.4	-
City Developments (Pref)	Real Estate Management & Development	Singapore	287	0.1	296
Total value of investments			416,173	99.3
Net current assets{I}			2,955	0.7
Total assets{A}			419,128	100.0

{A} See definition on page 82 of the published Annual Report.
{B} Purchases and/or sales effected during the year may result in 2017 and 2018 values not being directly comparable.
{C} Incorporated in and listing held in United Kingdom.
{D} Holding includes investment in Class A (£1,451,000) and Class B (£6,102,000) shares.
{E} Holding includes investment in common (£4,855,000) and non-voting depositary receipt (£2,407,000) lines.
{F} Holding includes investment in Corporate Bond (1,025,000) and Common Stock (£4,711,000)
{G} Holding includes investment in Preference Shares (£393,000) and Common Stock (£3,216,000).
{H} Corporate bonds.
{I} Excludes bank loans of £36,929,000.

ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Alternative performance measures are numerical measures of the Company's current, historical or future performance, financial position or cash flows, other than financial measures defined or specified in the applicable financial framework. The Company's applicable financial framework includes IFRS and the AIC SORP. The Directors assess the Company's performance against a range of criteria which are viewed as particularly relevant for closed-end investment companies.

Total return
Total return is considered to be an alternative performance measure. NAV total return involves investing the same net dividend in the NAV of the Company with debt at fair value on the date on which that dividend was earned. Share price total return involves reinvesting the net dividend in the month that the share price goes ex-dividend.

The tables below provide information relating to the NAVs and share prices of the Company on the dividend reinvestment dates during the years ended 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2017.

	Dividend			Share
2018	rate	NAV		price
31 December 2017	N/A	235.63p		218.00p
18 January 2018	2.25p	235.81p		220.00p
26 April 2018	2.25p	221.94p		205.00p
19 July 2018	2.25p	223.68p		203.00p
25 October 2018	2.25p	208.92p		187.75p
31 December 2018	N/A	213.96p		195.75p
		_______		_______
Total return		-5.5%		-6.2%
		_______		_______

	Dividend			Share
2017	rate	NAV		price
31 December 2016	N/A	211.82p		194.25p
19 January 2017	2.75p	216.85p		204.00p
27 April 2017	2.25p	222.29p		208.25p
20 July 2017	2.25p	232.71p		216.00p
19 October 2017	2.25p	235.14p		217.50p
31 December 2017	N/A	235.63p		218.00p
		_______		_______
Total return		+16.0%		+17.4%
		_______		_______

Discount to net asset value per Ordinary share
The difference between the share price of 195.75p (2017 - 218.00p) and the net asset value per Ordinary share of 213.96p (2017 - 235.63p) expressed as a percentage of the net asset value per Ordinary share.

Dividend cover
Revenue return per share of 9.25p (2017 - 9.58p) divided by dividends per share of 9.15p (2017 - 9.00p) expressed as a ratio.

Net gearing
Net gearing measures the total borrowings of £36,929,000 (31 December 2017 - £35,386,000) less cash and cash equivalents of £3,097,000 (31 December 2017 - £4,872,000) divided by shareholders' funds of £382,199,000 (31 December 2017 - £431,869,000), expressed as a percentage.

Ongoing charges
Ongoing charges is considered to be an alternative performance measure. The ongoing charges ratio has been calculated in accordance with guidance issued by the AIC as the total of investment management fees and administrative expenses and expressed as a percentage of the average net asset values with debt at fair value throughout the year.

			2018		2017
Investment management fees (£'000)			3,532		3,528
Administrative expenses (£'000)			1,004		1,069
Ongoing charges (£'000)			4,536		4,597
Average net assets (£'000)			408,207		423,244
Ongoing charges ratio			1.11%		1.09%

The ongoing charges ratio provided in the Company's Key Information Document is calculated in line with the PRIIPs regulations.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

FR LLFIRSFISIIA

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Abrdn Asian Income Fund Limited NPV (AAIF)

Wednesday, 2nd October 2024

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