Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC (LEI: 5493003K5E043LHLO706)

All information is at 30 April 2017 and unaudited.

Performance at month end with net income reinvested.
 

	One  month	Three months	One  year	Three  years	Five  years	Since  Launch*
Sterling:
Share price	-0.3	2.1	37.9	38.2	112.3	79.0
Net asset value	-3.2	2.4	33.9	33.6	97.9	73.3
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR)	-2.2	0.4	25.4	18.8	70.1	41.1
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR)	-1.2	5.0	34.9	37.7	35.1	23.6
US Dollars:
Share price	3.2	5.0	21.8	6.0	69.4	49.0
Net asset value	0.2	5.3	18.1	2.5	57.9	44.0
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR)	1.2	3.3	10.8	-9.0	35.5	17.1
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NR)	2.2	8.0	19.1	5.5	7.7	2.6

Sources: BlackRock and Standard & Poor’s Micropal
* 17 December 2010.
 

At month end Ordinary Shares
US Dollar
Net asset value - capital only:	177.37c
Net asset value - cum income:	180.62c
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only:	137.09p
Net asset value - cum income:	139.60p
Share price:	146.63p
Total assets (including income):	£241.7m
Premium to cum-income NAV:	5.0%
Gearing:	nil
Gearing range (as a % of gross assets):	0-20%
Net yield*:	3.5%
Ordinary shares in issue**:	172,693,108
Ongoing charges***:	1.4%
Ongoing charges plus taxation and performance fee:	2.4%

*The Company’s yield based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as at the date of the release of this announcement is 3.5% and includes the 2016 final dividend of 4.00 cents per share declared on 22 November 2016 and paid to shareholders on 17 February 2017 and the 2016 interim dividend of 2.60 cents per share announced on 16 May 2016 and paid to shareholders on 1 July 2016.
**During the month, the Company issued 2,310,000 ordinary shares.

***Calculated as a percentage of average net assets and using expenses, excluding performance fees and interest costs for the year ended 30 September 2016.
 

Sector Analysis	Gross assets(%)*			Country Analysis	Gross assets(%)*
Financials	33.2			Argentina	16.6
Consumer Staples	17.4			Kuwait	9.9
Telecommunication Services		10.6		Romania	9.6
Energy	9.9			Pakistan	9.0
Materials	9.6			Vietnam	8.1
Health Care	8.2			Kazakhstan	8.0
Information Technology	6.0			Bangladesh	7.7
Utilities	5.8			Ukraine	6.1
Industrials	4.3			Sri Lanka	5.7
Real Estate	2.5			Egypt	5.3
Consumer Discretionary	1.4			Morocco	4.3
	-----			Kenya	4.3
Total	108.9			Saudi Arabia	2.8
	-----			Philippines	2.4
Short positions	0.0			Nigeria	2.3
	====			Estonia	1.9
				Turkey	1.7
				Colombia	1.6
				Slovenia	1.6
					-----
				Total	108.9
					-----
				Short positions	0.0
					====

*reflects gross market exposure from contracts for difference (CFDs).

Market Exposure
 

	31.05  2016     %	30.06  2016     %	31.07  2016     %	31.08  2016     %	30.09  2016     %	31.10  2016     %	30.11  2016     %	31.12  2016     %	31.01  2017     %	28.02  2017     %	31.03  2017     %	30.04  2017     %
Long	108.8	110.5	103.4	105.7	104.0	106.4	102.3	108.4	115.0	115.8	112.1	108.9
Short	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Gross	108.8	110.5	103.4	105.7	104.0	106.4	102.3	108.4	115.0	115.8	112.1	108.9
Net	108.8	110.5	103.4	105.7	104.0	106.4	102.3	108.4	115.0	115.8	112.1	108.9

Ten Largest Equity Investments

Company	Country of Risk	% of gross assets
MCB Bank	Pakistan	4.1
Halyk Savings Bank	Kazakhstan	4.0
Mobile Telecommunications	Kuwait	3.7
Equity Group	Kenya	3.6
MHP	Ukraine	3.2
Square Pharmaceuticals	Bangladesh	3.2
S.N.G.N. Romgaz	Romania	3.1
Pampa Energia	Argentina	3.1
Maroc Telecom	Morocco	3.0
Grupo Financiero Galicia	Argentina	2.9

Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht and Emily Fletcher, representing the Investment Manager noted:

In April, the Company’s NAV rose by 0.2%, whilst the MSCI Frontier benchmark rose by 1.2%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose by 2.2% over the same period (all performance figures are on a US Dollar basis with net income reinvested).

Sri Lanka was the month’s top performing country gaining 15% in April. The Company’s allocation to off-benchmark beverage name, Melstacorp, was among the top contributors (+17%) as the stock rebounded from March weakness. We maintain our position here citing the firm being a dominant leader in the domestic spirits market and cheap valuations.

A number of other individual stocks also contributed to performance.  Ukrainian agricultural stock, MHP, rose 7% after reporting better than expected results which showed a substantial improvement in free cash flow generation.  An off-benchmark allocation to Egypt benefitted the Company, led by our position in Cleopatra Hospital which surged 34% over the month.  We believe that the stock is attractively valued given its long term growth opportunities in the underpenetrated Egyptian healthcare market. Our longstanding underweight to Kuwait also supported relative performance as the market declined in line with oil prices.

On the other hand, positioning in Asian markets (Bangladesh, Pakistan and Vietnam) weighed on performance. Markets in Bangladesh and Pakistan saw muted performance with slight macroeconomic deterioration overriding a month with little domestic newsflow.  In Vietnam, the market retraced some of its gains after a strong March. Following the introduction of a special window for investors to transact in the foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Company has applied the spot foreign exchange rates quoted on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange for valuing the Company’s Nigerian assets since 28 April 2017.  Previously the Company was applying an adjustment to the foreign exchange rate derived from the 3 month non-deliverable forward market price.  This adjustment to the foreign exchange rate was derived using the Nigerian autonomous foreign exchange rate fixing methodology represented a downward adjustment of approximately 14bps to the Company’s net assets at 28 April 2017. 

Positioning during the month remained relatively unchanged. We continued adding exposure to existing Egyptian positions on the back of improving corporate trends.

Broadly, Frontier Markets continue to exhibit strong GDP growth and low government debt levels, and represent an opportunity to invest in companies with strong cash flow and high dividend yields, on some of the lowest valuations in the world.

22 May 2017

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brfi on the internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager’s website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on BlackRock’s website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement