Interim Management Statement

Scottish Oriental Smlr Co Tst PLC 18 December 2007 THE SCOTTISH ORIENTAL SMALLER COMPANIES TRUST PLC Interim Management Statement - 3 months to 30 November 2007 Scottish Oriental aims to achieve long term capital growth by investing in smaller Asian quoted companies with market capitalizations under US$1,000m at the time of investment, or the equivalent. Asia is deemed to include the Indian subcontinent but excludes Japan and Australasia. •Scottish Oriental's net asset value (NAV) rose by 2.0% over the period compared to increases of 11.4% in the MSCI Asia (ex Japan) Index and 3.9% in the Nomura Asia Small Cap Index. •The Trust's underperformance relative to the MSCI Asia (ex Japan) Index was largely due to its underweight position in China, Hong Kong and India. •Smaller companies generally underperformed their larger counterparts over the three month period with particularly sharp declines in South Korea and Taiwan. Geographical Analysis of Total Assets Fund Fund MSCI Asia Nomura Small (ex-Japan) as Cap Index as at as at 30/11/07 as at 31/08/07 at 30/11/07 30/11/07 (%) (%) (%) (%) China 11.2 11.2 23.5 2.7 Hong Kong 7.4 6.4 13.4 20.3 Taiwan 11.8 12.9 15.0 14.6 30.4 30.5 51.9 37.6 India 4.1 4.1 11.2 26.2 Indonesia 3.6 5.2 2.5 3.2 Malaysia 13.2 11.7 3.5 8.1 Pakistan 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 Philippines 5.7 3.9 0.8 1.5 Singapore 13.6 12.8 6.6 8.5 Sri Lanka 3.1 2.6 0.0 0.0 South Korea 11.4 12.6 21.3 11.1 Thailand 8.8 8.5 2.0 3.8 Vietnam 1.4 1.4 0.0 0.0 Cash 4.7 6.7 0.0 0.0 Total 100 100.0 100.0 100.0 Top Ten Largest Equity Holdings Stock % of Total % of Total Assets as at Assets as at 30/11/07 31/08/07 Raffles Medical 2.0 1.8 Intelligent Digital Integrated 1.9 1.8 Security HDFC 1.8 1.6 SM Prime 1.8 1.8 CSE Global 1.7 1.7 JVM 1.7 1.1 Tan Chong International 1.7 1.6 Bukit Sembawang 1.6 1.4 ITEQ Corp 1.6 1.8 Home Product Center 1.5 1.3 Total 17.3 15.9 Cumulative Returns to 30 November 2007 (Capital only) +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ | |3 months|6 months|1 year |3 years |5 years |Since | | | | | | | |launch | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |(%) | | |(%) |(%) |(%) |(%) |(%) | | +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ |NAV per share |2.0 |0.0 |24.3 |97.0 |173.9 |248.4 | +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ |Benchmark Index|11.4 |21.5 |40.7 |122.7 |185.7 |88.3 | |* | | | | | | | +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ |Nomura Asia |3.9 |10.0 |39.9 |111.0 |189.3 |n/a | |Small Cap Index| | | | | | | +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ |Share price |-8.4 |-12.2 |10.5 |68.4 |159.0 |187.5 | +---------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+ Since launch - from 28 March 1995 * Benchmark: MSCI AC Asia (ex-Japan) Index General Information # 30/11/2007 31/8/2007 NAV per share 345.5p 338.7p Share price 287.5p 314.0p Discount (premium) -16.8% -7.3% Shares in issue 30,213,650 30,213,650 Net assets £104.4m £102.3m Market capitalisation £86.9m £94.9m # The information provided above is based on unaudited, capital only figures. This interim management statement and up to date NAV and share price information is available on First State Investments website www.firststateinvestments.com. For further information please contact:- Susie Rippingall at First State Investments in Hong Kong by telephone (00 852 2846 7555) or email ( Susie_Rippingall@firststate.com.hk). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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