Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 9040E

Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited

16 May 2013

 



Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited

Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 31 March 2013

To the members of Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited

This interim management statement has been produced solely to provide additional information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It should not be relied upon by any other party or for any other purpose.

This interim management statement relates to the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 March 2013, and contains information that covers this period, and up to the date of publication of this interim management statement, unless otherwise specified.

Investment objective

To provide investors with a total return primarily through investing in Asian Pacific securities, including those with an above-average yield. The Company does not expect, at least initially, to have any significant Japanese exposure.

Benchmark

The Company's portfolio is constructed without reference to the composition of any stockmarket index or benchmark. It is likely, therefore, that there will be periods when its performance will be quite unlike that of any index or benchmark and there can be no assurance that such divergence will be wholly or even primarily to the Company's advantage. The Company and Manager measures its performance against the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Index (in sterling terms).

Material events

On 23 January 2013 the Company announced that the net asset values attributable to the Ordinary Shares and the C Shares as at the Calculation Date, being the close of business on 11 January 2013, were 206.2051361p per share and 105.0082143p per share respectively and the Conversion Ratio, as calculated in accordance with the Company's prospectus dated 22 October 2012, was 0.5092 Ordinary Shares for every one C Share held as at close on the conversion record date of 1 February 2013. On 4 February 2013 the Company confirmed that 30,552,000 new Ordinary shares had been issued following the Conversion of the 60,000,000 million C Shares in issue on that date.

On 18 February 2013 the Company paid a fourth interim dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December 2012 of 2.5p.

On 28 March 2013 the company released its Annual Financial Report Announcement.

On 18 April 2013 the Company declared a first quarterly interim dividend of 1.8p in respect of the year ending 31 December 2013 payable on 17 May 2013.

During the period under review, the Company issued for cash at a premium to the prevailing Net Asset Value per Ordinary share 4.65 million new Ordinary shares. 

As at 8 May 2013, the Final Warrant Subscription Date, the Company had received notice of exercise of Subscription Rights in respect of 2,648,070 Warrants.  Accordingly, as at the close of business on the Final Subscription Date, Subscription Rights in respect of 925,973 Warrants remained unexercised (the "Unexercised Subscription Rights").  In accordance with the terms and conditions on which the Warrants were issued (as set out in the prospectus published by the Company on 28 November 2005 the "Prospectus"), the Company appointed a trustee (the "Trustee") to determine whether the Unexercised Subscription Rights should be exercised on behalf of the holders of such rights.  The Trustee determined that there would be net proceeds (having taken account of the subscription price payable to the Company and all costs and expenses of exercise from the sale of Ordinary Shares arising on the exercise of the Unexercised Subscription Rights) and, as a result, the Trustee exercised all such Unexercised Subscription Rights. 

Following the Final Warrant Subscription and issues of new shares for cash referred to above, with effect from 17 May 2013 there will be 189,958,389 Ordinary shares in issue.

On 9 May 2013 the Company held its Annual General Meeting at which all resolutions were passed.  The special business included resolutions to allow the Company to buy back shares (up to 14.99% of the issued share capital); to permit the Company to buy back Warrants (up to 14.99% of the Warrants in issue); and to permit the Company to hold shares in treasury.

Ten largest equity holdings at 31 March 2013

	%
HSBC Holdings	3.5
Taiwan Semiconductor	3.2
Guinness Anchor	3.1
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation	3.1
Singapore Telecommunications	3.0
Venture Corp	2.9
QBE Insurance Group	2.9
Tesco Lotus Retail Growth	2.7
Woolworths	2.7
British American Tobacco Malaysia	2.7
TOTAL	29.8

Country allocation as at 31 March 2013

Country	%
Singapore	27.9
Australia	19.4
Thailand	12.5
Hong Kong	9.7
Malaysia	8.5
Japan	7.7
Taiwan	5.7
China	5.6
New Zealand	1.4
Cash	1.6
Total	100.0

General description of Company's financial position and performance as at 31 March 2013

	£m
Gross Assets	439.1
Debt	14.2
Cash	8.8
Net Gearing *	1.3

*     Net gearing is expressed as a percentage of gross assets (including current year revenue) less cash/cash equivalents, divided by shareholders' funds.

Cumulative Performance %

	as at 31/03/2013	1 month	3 months	6 months	1 year	3 years	5 years
Share Price	241.5p	5.0	9.8	18.6	33.7	85.3	159.5
NAV *	226.7p	2.1	13.9	19.4	30.5	76.9	131.5
Warrant 2013 Price	109.5p	9.0	13.5	45.0	69.4	236.9	447.5
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan		-1.6	9.2	15.0	17.0	22.6	59.5

Discrete Performance %

	31/03/2013	31/03/2012	31/03/2011	31/03/2010	31/03/2009
Share Price	33.7	19.8	15.6	54.9	-9.6
NAV *	30.5	15.0	17.8	53.1	-14.5
Warrant 2013 Price	69.4	59.6	24.6	176.6	-41.3
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan	17.0	-6.4	12.0	67.5	-22.4

Total return; NAV to NAV, net income reinvested, GBP. Share price total return is on a mid-to-mid basis.

Dividend calculations are to reinvest as at the ex-dividend date. NAV returns based on NAVs with debt valued at par.

* Excluding current year revenue.

Source: Aberdeen Asset Managers Limited, Factset and Morningstar

The Board is not aware of any significant events or transactions which have occurred between 1 January 2013 and the date of publication of this interim management statement which would have a material impact on the financial position of the Company. For latest performance information, please refer to the Company's website, www.asian-income.co.uk.*

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

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.  Investors may not get back the amount they originally invested.

For Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited

Aberdeen Private Wealth Management Limited, Secretary

16 May 2013

 

END

 

 

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