Invesco Asia Trust plc
Interim Management Statement
for the Three Months ended 31 January 2011
Objective of the Company
Invesco Asia Trust plc (`the Company') is a UK investment trust listed on the
London Stock Exchange. The Company was launched in July 1995.
The objective of Invesco Asia Trust plc is to provide long-term capital growth
by investing in a diversified portfolio of Asian and Australasian companies.
The Company aims to achieve growth in its net asset value in excess of the
Benchmark Index, the Morgan Stanley Capital International All Countries Asia
Pacific ex-Japan Index, measured in sterling.
Material Events
No material events occurred during the period under review.
Dividends
No dividends were declared in the period.
Manager'sReport
Asian equity markets were mixed during the period with volatility returning and
increased risk aversion due to rising inflationary pressures and the prospect
of further policy tightening in China and India. Taiwan and Korea, often
considered to be relatively insulated from inflationary pressures, made strong
gains during the period while key laggards included China and India where
further policy tightening is expected.
Across Asia there continues to be evidence of a sustainable economic recovery,
which is increasingly based on rising domestic demand in Asia's larger economy.
Looking ahead, we believe that as long as export growth is positive, there is
enough internal expansion in Asia for growth to significantly outpace that
available in the West. The catalysts for domestic growth of favourable
demographics, high savings rates and rising incomes are in place and
governments are now actively encouraging a rebalancing of growth towards
internal consumption. Tightening measures in China may present a short-term
challenge to equity markets. What is clear though is that there is a keen
appetite among China's policymakers to prevent the economy from overheating,
even if that is at the expense of short-term growth, and that can only be
positive for long-term investors.
Information technology is a sector where the Company has one of its larger
overweight positions and is an area where a number of Asian companies have
become global industry leaders including Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung
Electronics. We remain overweight in the real estate sector as we expect
property groups to benefit from ongoing urbanisation trends and government
affordability initiatives. Greater levels of disposable income are also
supportive of consumer demand and while valuations in some directly
consumer-related stocks have risen to reflect this potential growth, we believe
that some indirect consumer proxies offer attractive value. We also have
exposure to the industrials sector where the valuation levels of a number of
conglomerates do not reflect the strength of the underlying businesses.
However, we remain cautious on the materials and energy sectors where
valuations imply unsustainably high prices for the underlying commodities.
China and Hong Kong remain our preferred countries as we believe that companies
in these markets can take advantage of the favourable economic backdrop.
Macroeconomic developments are likely to lead to further volatility in Asian
equity markets this year, with issues such as inflation and monetary policy
normalisation in Asia adding to potential market swings. However, in the
longer-term, companies in the region will benefit from Asia's sound economic
fundamentals and the vast potential of rising internal demand.
The Company seeks to exploit Asia's positive outlook and its advantages
relative to developed economies by focusing on companies with unrecognised
growth potential.
Performance
3 Months 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years
Total Return
Share Price 3.9% 32.0% 62.4% 98.2%
Net Asset Value (Diluted) 3.4% 28.9% 51.8% 94.4%
MSCI (All Countries) Asia 3.1% 24.8% 39.4% 85.8%
Pacific ex Japan Index
(Sterling Adjusted)
Capital Return
Net Asset Value (Diluted) 3.4% 27.0% 45.5% 81.9%
Source: Thomson Datastream
Share Price and Discountto Net Asset Value
As at For the Three Months Ended
31 January 2011 31 January 2011
High Low Average
Ordinary shares mid-market 161.25 168.5 151.5 158.8
price (pence)
Net Asset Value (diluted)
per
Share:
- cum income (pence) 172.70
- ex income (pence) 170.70
Discount per ordinary
share
on diluted NAV:
- cum income 6.6%
- ex income 5.5%
Source: Thomson Datastream
Assets and Gearing
31 January 2011 31 October 2010 Change
Total Assets less Current 182.2 172.3 5.7%
Liabilities excl. loans (£m)
of which cash (£m) 1.3 0.3
Borrowings (£m) 10.8 7.5
Total Shareholders' Funds (£m) 171.4 164.8 4.0%
Gearing 106.0 105.0
Gearing
The term applies to the effect of borrowings and prior charge share capital on
assets that will increase the return on investment when the value of the
Company's investments is rising but reduce the return when values are
declining. A figure of 100 indicates there is no gearing.
GeographicalBreakdown of Portfolio
31 January 2011 31 October 2010
Hong Kong 23.5% 26.4%
South Korea 19.7% 17.8%
Taiwan 13.7% 10.9%
China 12.4% 14.4%
Australia 9.6% 8.2%
India 5.7% 8.9%
UK 3.8% 1.5%
Philippines 3.1% 4.0%
Singapore 2.6% 2.7%
Malaysia 2.4% 1.3%
Indonesia 2.1% 2.4%
Thailand 1.4% 1.5%
Top 10 Holdings
Ranking Investments Market of % of Ranking at
Now Listing Portfolio 31 October
2010
1 Samsung Electronics South Korea 5.5% 2
2 Jardine Matheson Hong Kong 4.5% 1
3 Taiwan Semiconductor Taiwan 3.6% 5
Manufacturing
4 Hutchison Whampoa Hong Kong 2.8% 4
5 HSBC UK 2.7% -
6 Industrial & Commercial China 2.6% 3
Bank of China H
7 Petrochina H China 2.1% 9
8 Shinhan Financial South Korea 2.0% 15
9 Daphne International Hong Kong 1.9% 17
10 Daegu Bank South Korea 1.9% 18
All ordinary shares unless otherwise stated
H= H shares
Maximum Exposure Limits
The maximum holding in a single investment in a company or combined exposure to
group-related companies is limited to 10% and 15% respectively of the Fund's
total assets at the time of the investment, unless otherwise authorised by the
Board.
Changes to Share Capital
There were no changes to the Company's ordinary share capital during the
period. As at 31 January 2011 the Company's issued share capital consisted of
94,136,605 ordinary shares of 10p each and 18,468,305 Subscription Shares of 1p
each. No shares were held in Treasury.
Price and Performance
The Company's Ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the
price is published in the Financial Times and The Times under `Investment
Companies' and in the Daily Telegraph under `Investment Trusts'.
The Company's net asset value is calculated on a daily basis and can be viewed
on the London Stock Exchange website at www.londonstockexchange.com.
Further information can be obtained from Invesco Perpetual as follows:
Free Investor Helpline: 0800 085 8677
Internet address: www.invescoperpetual.co.uk/investmenttrusts
The information provided in this statement should not be considered as a
financial promotion or recommendation.
Interim management statements are expected to be published in February and
August each year.
For and on behalf of
Invesco Asset Management Limited
21 February 2011
Ordinary Shares - Listing Category: Premium - Equity Closed-ended Investment
Funds
Subscription Shares - Listing Category: Standard - Shares
Registered Office
30 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AG
Telephone: 020 7065 4000
Facsimile: 020 7065 3166
Registered in England No 3011768
An Investment Company under Section 833
of the Companies Act 2006
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.