Half-year Report

Fidelity Asian Values PLC

Half-Yearly Results for the six months ended 31 January 2023

Financial Highlights

• The net asset value (“NAV”) of the Company increased by +10.3% for the six months ended 31 January 2023 outperforming the Comparative Index (MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index) which rose by +3.6% over the same timeframe.
• The ordinary share price return was +17.3%.
• The Company maintains net gearing of approximately 8% and reached the highest level under the Portfolio Manager’s tenure during the reporting period.
• The Portfolio Manager continues to find good small cap businesses at attractive valuations.

Contacts

For further information please contact:

Smita Amin

Company Secretary

01737 836347

FIL Investments International

PORTFOLIO MANAGER’S HALF-YEARLY REVIEW

PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Over the six month period ended 31 January 2023, the net asset value (“NAV”) total return of Fidelity Asian Values PLC was +10.3%, outperforming the Comparative Index, the MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index (net) total return (in Sterling terms) which rose by +3.6%. Over the same period, the Company’s share price total return was +17.3% due to a narrowing of the Company’s discount.

COMPANY’S NAV, SHARE PRICE AND COMPARATIVE INDEX TOTAL RETURNS (AS AT 31 JANUARY 2023)

	NAV  total return  (%)	Share Price  total return  (%)	Comparative  Index total  return (%)
Tenure (since 1 April 2015)	+110.6	+129.0	+130.2
5 Years	+45.9	+51.3	+40.5
3 Years	+53.4	+47.7	+44.9
1 Years	+12.1	+14.5	-1.3
6 Months	+10.3	+17.3	+3.6
3 Months	+15.7	+22.9	+11.5
	=========	=========	=========

Source: Fidelity International, 31 January 2023. Total returns include net income reinvested. Comparative Index: MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Small Cap Index (net) total return (in Sterling terms).

The reporting period was one of two extremes; the first three months saw Asian markets fall due to inflationary concerns and persistent interest rate hikes. China and Taiwan underperformed the most due to geopolitical concerns, a slowing technology cycle and as a result of COVID-related restrictions, while the South Asian markets of India and Indonesia fared much better. However, China rallied sharply in the last three months of the reporting period as the government lifted COVID-related restrictions and decided to reopen its economy which led to a strong recovery.

We are not perturbed by these short-term gyrations in the stock market, and we continue to focus on investing in good businesses, run by good management teams that are available at a suitable margin of safety. Over time, we have found that our investment philosophy has led us to invest a significant amount of our capital in small cap value stocks.

From a style perspective, the small cap value segment has had a history of significant outperformance in Asia, as can be seen from the left-hand scale of the chart in the Half-Yearly Report. This has been driven by the superior earnings growth of value stocks compared to growth stocks as well as better cash returns, in terms of dividends. Against the right-hand scale of the same chart in the Half-Yearly Report, you can see that small cap value stocks are currently trading at close to all-time high discounts relative to both their large and small cap growth counterparts. We believe this should result in outperformance of these stocks versus broad indices in the coming years.

As we look at the performance over the last six months, we do not believe that there have been any major mistakes or errors of commission (where we lost a lot of money in stocks that we owned). Although our holdings in Japfa Ltd, WH Group and Shriram Finance detracted, we consider these to be temporary losses. The fall in their share prices increased our margin of safety and we have therefore increased our exposure to all three of these companies. Melco Resorts and Akeso were not held in the Company’s portfolio but performed extremely well and their absence detracted somewhat from the Company’s performance relative to the Comparative Index.

Meanwhile, the holdings in Chow Sang Sang, Bank Mandiri, Focus Media Information Technology, KEI Industries and Sinotrans performed well for the Company. These businesses have been retained in the portfolio as they continue to offer a sufficient margin of safety despite their recent gains.

For example, jewellery company Chow Sang Sang was the top contributor to returns and is one of the largest positions in the Company. It did well in this period as it recovered from extreme pessimism towards Chinese companies. The business also has a good strategy for growing its market share in China and is trading below its asset value of 14-15 HKD per share (mainly comprising gold inventory). It also currently delivers a 6-7% dividend yield while trading on a Price to Earnings ratio of around seven times.

Below are the Company’s top five key contributors and detractors over the review period.

KEY CONTRIBUTORS OVER SIX MONTHS (AS AT 31 JANUARY 2023)

Order	Security	Average  Active Weight  (%)	Gain/Loss  (%)	Contribution  to Relative  Return (%)
Top 5
1	Chow Sang Sang Holdings International	+2.0	+47.1	+0.8
2	Bank Mandiri (Persero)	+2.5	+18.0	+0.4
3	Focus Media Information Technology	+2.2	+20.2	+0.4
4	KEI Industries	+1.2	+25.0	+0.3
5	Sinotrans	+1.9	+18.7	+0.3
		---------------	---------------	---------------
	Total			+2.2
				=========

*  Source: Fidelity International, 31 January 2023.

KEY DETRACTORS OVER SIX MONTHS (AS AT 31 JANUARY 2023)

Order	Security	Average  Active Weight  (%)	Gain/Loss  (%)	Contribution  to Relative  Return (%)
Top 5
1	Japfa Ltd	+1.2	-40.7	-0.6
2	WH Group	+1.4	-18.8	-0.3
3	Melco Resorts*	-0.2	n/a	-0.2
4	Shriram Finance	+1.4	-2.1	-0.2
5	Akeso*	-0.2	n/a	-0.2
		---------------	---------------	---------------
	Total			-1.5
				=========

*  Not held in the Company’s portfolio

Source: Fidelity International, 31 January 2023.

INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Our strength lies in analysing businesses, finding best-in-class management teams and mis-priced stocks. Each stock in the portfolio is analysed and scrutinised against our investment philosophy and is owned purely for what it can contribute to returns, rather than whether or not it forms part of an index.

We are happy with the current shape of the Company’s portfolio, which comprises businesses that are dominant in their industries, earn good returns on capital and are available at attractive valuations. The following fundamentals apply to the Company:

· Return on Equity at 16.7% versus 13.4% for the Comparative Index (see chart in the Half-Yearly Report on the right-hand side).

· Net Debt/EBITDA* (ex-Financials) ratio for the Company’s portfolio is 0.56x versus 1.24x for the Comparative Index.

· Price to earnings: 9.5x versus 11.9x for the Comparative Index (see chart in the Half-Yearly Report on the left-hand side).

· Dividend yield at 4.8% versus 2.9% for the Comparative Index.

*  EBITDA is net income (earnings) with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation added back.

OUTLOOK
Recent activity in Asian markets has been a useful reminder of why macroeconomic shifts are not necessarily a good guide to predicting what direction stock markets might take. While the reopening of China and India’s buoyant growth have undoubtedly galvanised the region’s stock markets, the timing has been unpredictable and the beneficiaries not always clear. Having said that, this type of environment does throw up opportunities that might be overlooked by others and we have maintained net gearing at approximately 8% to take advantage of this.

We believe that the companies we own are well-run businesses, where management teams are both competent and treat us as their partners and we are buying them at a discount to our assessment of their intrinsic value. Invariably, there will be those companies that disappoint and others that will exceed expectations in this new environment. We ensure that our investments are led by the reality of a company’s standing and whether that is reflected in its valuation. We believe that if we adhere to our process, we should be well positioned in the medium-term, irrespective of market and style cycles in the shorter-term.

NITIN BAJAJ
Portfolio Manager
18 April 2023

TWENTY LARGEST HOLDINGS AS AT 31 JANUARY 2023

The Asset Exposures shown below measure exposure to market price movements as a result of owning shares, equity linked notes and derivative instruments. The Fair Value is the actual value of the portfolio as reported on the Balance Sheet. Where a contract for difference (“CFD”) is held, the Fair Value reflects the profit or loss on the contract since it was opened and is based on how much the price of the underlying share has moved.

	Asset Exposure		Fair  Value  £000
	£000	(%)1
Long Exposures – shares unless otherwise stated
Shriram Finance
Provider of hire purchase and lease finance for medium and heavy commercial vehicles	13,829	3.5	13,829
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Axis Bank
Private sector bank	11,807	3.0	11,807
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Chow Sang Sang Holdings International (shares and long CFD)
Jewellery retailer	10,051	2.6	9,160
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Bank Mandiri (Persero)
Banking institution	9,479	2.4	9,479
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Arwana Citramulia
Ceramics manufacturer	9,464	2.4	9,464
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Focus Media Information Technology (shares, long CFD and equity linked notes)
Advertising solution provider	9,404	2.4	9,047
	---------------	---------------	---------------
China Yongda Automobiles Services Holdings (shares and long CFD)
Investment holding company engaged in the sale of passenger vehicles and provision of related services	8,873	2.3	7,325
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Sinotrans (shares and long CFD)
Logistics, storage and terminal services provider	8,074	2.1	6,448
	---------------	---------------	---------------
CapitaL and India Trust (shares and long CFD)
Property trust	7,543	1.9	6,786
	---------------	---------------	---------------
BOC Aviation (long CFD)
Global aircraft operating leasing company	7,505	1.9	(110)
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Gold Road Resources
Gold production and exploration company	7,391	1.9	7,391
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur
Producer of packaged food products	7,378	1.9	7,378
	---------------	---------------	---------------
China Overseas Grand Oceans Group (shares and long CFD)
Real estate business	7,341	1.9	3,890
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Taiwan Union Technology (shares and long CFD)
Provider of professional support, value-added materials and advanced mass lamination service to the global electronics industry	7,046	1.8	6,925
	---------------	---------------	---------------
HDFC Bank
Private sector bank	7,003	1.8	7,003
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Granules India
Pharmaceutical manufacturing company	6,920	1.8	6,920
	---------------	---------------	---------------
WH Group
Meat and food processing company	6,477	1.7	6,477
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Texwinca Holdings
Production and sales of dyed yarns and knitted fabrics	6,350	1.6	6,350
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Qingdao Port International (shares and long CFD)
Provider of port services	5,689	1.5	5,509
	---------------	---------------	---------------
PTC India
Provider of power trading solutions in India	5,483	1.4	5,483
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Twenty largest long exposures	163,107	41.8	146,561
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Other long exposures	263,086	67.3	222,413
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total long exposures before futures (144 holdings)	426,193	109.1	368,974
	=========	=========	=========
Add: long futures
	---------------	---------------	---------------
MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Index Future 17/03/2023	4,205	1.1	251
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total long exposures	430,398	110.2	369,225
	=========	=========	=========
Add: short exposures
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Short CFDs (8 holdings)	9,568	2.4	(55)
	---------------	---------------
Gross Asset Exposure2	439,966	112.6
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Portfolio Fair Value3			369,170
			---------------
Net current assets (excluding derivative assets and liabilities)			21,710
			=========
Total Shareholders’ Funds/Net Assets			390,880
			=========

1  Asset Exposure (as defined in the Glossary of Terms in the Half-Yearly Report) is expressed as a percentage of Total Shareholders’ Funds.

2  Gross Asset Exposure comprises market exposure to investments of £368,054,000 plus market exposure to derivative instruments of £71,912,000.

3  Portfolio Fair Value comprises investments of £368,054,000 plus derivative assets of £1,988,000 less derivative liabilities of £872,000 (per the Balance Sheet below).

INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT

BOARD CHANGES AND SUCCESSION
Grahame Stott stepped down from the Board at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) on 23 November 2022 having completed nine years. He was replaced as Chairman of the Audit Committee by Hussein Barma who joined the Board on 24 November 2022. Mr Barma is a non-executive Director and Audit Chairman of both Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited and Atalaya Mining plc. He is an independent Governor of the University of the Arts London and the Chairman and Member of the Finance Committee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Mr Barma is a qualified Barrister and Chartered Accountant and holds a doctorate in corporate law.

As part of the Board’s succession plan, Kate Bolsover will step down from the Board at the conclusion of the AGM in November 2023. She will be succeeded as Chairman by Clare Brady who is currently the Senior Independent Director.

Michael Warren will have completed nine years on the Board by the AGM this year. However, given the changes to the Board in the past year and the ones to follow in November this year, he will remain on the Board for an additional year so as to ensure that institutional and historical knowledge of the Company is not lost. He will retire from the Board at the conclusion of the AGM in 2024.

DISCOUNT MANAGEMENT AND SHARE REPURCHASES
The Board has undertaken an active discount management policy, the primary purpose of which is to reduce discount volatility.

Repurchases of ordinary shares are made at the discretion of the Board, and within guidelines set by it and in light of prevailing market conditions. Shares will only be repurchased when this results in an enhancement to the NAV of the ordinary shares. In order to assist in managing the discount, the Board has shareholder approval to hold in Treasury any ordinary shares repurchased by the Company, rather than cancelling them. Any shares held in Treasury would only be re-issued at NAV per ordinary share or at a premium to NAV per ordinary share.

There continued to be turmoil in the world’s financial markets, especially in the first quarter of the reporting period, and at times the Company’s discount was volatile in reaction to this. The Board, therefore approved the repurchase of 569,000 ordinary shares into Treasury during the six month reporting period. Since then, no ordinary shares have been repurchased into Treasury or for cancellation.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
The Board, with the assistance of the Manager (FIL Investment Services (UK) Limited), has developed a risk matrix which, as part of the risk management and internal controls process, identifies the key existing and emerging risks and uncertainties faced by the Company.

The Board considers that the principal risks and uncertainties faced by the Company fall into the following categories: economic, political and market; discount management; cybercrime and information security; investment performance (including the use of derivatives and gearing); shareholder relationship; key person; environmental, social and governance (“ESG”), and business continuity and operational (including third-party service providers) risks. Other risks facing the Company are tax and regulatory risks. Information on each of these risks can be found in the Strategic Report section of the Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2022 which can be found on the Company’s pages of the Manager’s website at www.fidelity.co.uk/asianvalues.

While the principal risks and uncertainties are the same as those at the last year end, the uncertainty continues to be heightened by the ongoing Russia and Ukraine conflict dominating political risks and industry concerns. There is geopolitical and economic uncertainty, in addition to events currently being faced globally such as the energy crisis, cost of living crisis, rising inflation, food supply crisis and the threat of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. There continues to be tension between China and the US and also between Taiwan and China. More recently, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the buyout of Credit Suisse by UBS Group has caused turmoil in the global banking sector and volatility in the markets. The quantum of risks continues to change and the Board remains vigilant in monitoring such risks.

Climate change continues to be a key emerging issue, as well as a principal risk, that is confronting asset managers and their investors. The Board notes that the Manager has integrated ESG considerations, including climate change, into the Company’s investment process. The Board will continue to monitor how this may impact the Company as a risk, the main risk being the impact on investment valuations and potentially shareholder returns.

Investors should be prepared for market fluctuations and remember that holding shares in the Company should be considered to be a long-term investment. Risks are mitigated by the investment trust structure of the Company which means that no forced sales need to take place to deal with any redemptions. Therefore, investments in the Company’s portfolio can be held over a longer time horizon.

The Manager has appropriate business continuity and operational plans in place to ensure the continued provision of services, including investment team key activities, which also covers portfolio managers, analysts and trading/support functions. It reviews its operational resilience strategies on an ongoing basis and continues to take all reasonable steps in meeting its regulatory obligations and to assess operational risks, the ability to continue operating and the steps it needs to take to serve and support its clients, including the Board.

The Company’s other third party service providers also have similar measures to ensure that business disruption is kept to a minimum.

TRANSACTIONS WITH THE MANAGER AND RELATED PARTIES
The Manager has delegated the Company’s portfolio management and company secretariat services to FIL Investments International. Transactions with the Manager and related party transactions with the Directors are disclosed in Note 13 to the Financial Statements below.

GOING CONCERN STATEMENT
The Directors have considered the Company’s investment objective, risk management policies, liquidity risk, credit risk, capital management policies and procedures, the nature of its portfolio, its expenditure and cash flow projections. The Directors, having considered the liquidity of the Company’s portfolio of investments (being mainly securities which are readily realisable) and the projected income and expenditure, are satisfied that the Company is financially sound and has adequate resources to meet all of its liabilities and ongoing expenses and can continue in operational existence for a period of at least twelve months from the date of this Half-Yearly Report.

This conclusion also takes into account the Board’s assessment of the ongoing risks from the war in Ukraine, significant market events and regulatory changes and continued evolving variants of COVID.

Accordingly, the Financial Statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis.

Continuation votes are held every five years and the next continuation vote will be put to shareholders at the AGM in 2026.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD

FIL INVESTMENTS INTERNATIONAL

18 April 2023

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT
The Disclosure and Transparency Rules (“DTR”) of the UK Listing Authority require the Directors to confirm their responsibilities in relation to the preparation and publication of the Interim Management Report and Financial Statements.

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

a)  the condensed set of Financial Statements contained within the Half-Yearly Report has been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Council’s Standard, FRS 104: Interim Financial Reporting; and

b)  the Portfolio Manager’s Half-Yearly Review and the Interim Management Report above include a fair review of the information required by DTR 4.2.7R and 4.2.8R.

The Half-Yearly Report has not been audited or reviewed by the Company’s Independent Auditor.

The Half-Yearly Report was approved by the Board on 18 April 2023 and the above responsibility statement was signed on its behalf by Kate Bolsover, Chairman.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 JANUARY 2023

		Six months ended 31 January 2023 unaudited			Six months ended 31 January 2022 unaudited			Year ended 31 July 2022 audited
	Notes	Revenue  £000	Capital  £000	Total  £000	Revenue  £000	Capital  £000	Total  £000	Revenue  £000	Capital  £000	Total  £000
Gains on investments		–	26,445	26,445	–	5,093	5,093	–	2,708	2,708
Gains/(losses) on derivative instruments		–	5,111	5,111	–	(795)	(795)	–	(1,815)	(1,815)
Income	4	7,032	–	7,032	5,391	–	5,391	15,256	–	15,256
Investment management fees	5	(1,316)	77	(1,239)	(1,301)	372	(929)	(2,564)	732	(1,832)
Other expenses		(484)	–	(484)	(466)	–	(466)	(905)	–	(905)
Foreign exchange gains		–	1,386	1,386	–	807	807	–	2,609	2,609
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Net return on ordinary activities before finance costs and taxation		5,232	33,019	38,251	3,624	5,477	9,101	11,787	4,234	16,021
Finance costs	6	(829)	–	(829)	(93)	–	(93)	(331)	–	(331)
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Net return on ordinary activities before taxation		4,403	33,019	37,422	3,531	5,477	9,008	11,456	4,234	15,690
Taxation on return on ordinary activities	7	(437)	(1,059)	(1,496)	(386)	(620)	(1,006)	(1,079)	(1,085)	(2,164)
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period		3,966	31,960	35,926	3,145	4,857	8,002	10,377	3,149	13,526
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Return per ordinary share	8	5.51p	44.39p	49.90p	4.30p	6.64p	10.94p	14.21p	4.31p	18.52p
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========

The Company does not have any other comprehensive income. Accordingly, the net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period is also the total comprehensive income for the period and no separate Statement of Comprehensive Income has been presented.

The total column of this statement represents the Income Statement of the Company. The revenue and capital columns are supplementary and presented for information purposes as recommended by the Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the AIC.

No operations were acquired or discontinued in the period and all items in the above statement derive from continuing operations.

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 JANUARY 2023

	Note	Share  capital  £000	Share  premium  account  £000	Capital  redemption  reserve  £000	Other non-  distributable  reserve  £000	Other  reserve  £000	Capital  reserve  £000	Revenue  reserve  £000	Total  shareholders’ funds  £000
Six months ended 31 January 2023 (unaudited)
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 July 2022		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	–	273,448	14,215	367,623
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period		–	–	–	–	–	31,960	3,966	35,926
Repurchase of ordinary shares	11	–	–	–	–	–	(2,603)	–	(2,603)
Dividend paid to shareholders	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	(10,066)	(10,066)
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 January 2023		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	–	302,805	8,115	390,880
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Six months ended 31 January 2022 (unaudited)
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 July 2021		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	719	273,107	10,278	364,064
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period		–	–	–	–	–	4,857	3,145	8,002
Dividend paid to shareholders	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	(6,440)	(6,440)
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 January 2022		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	719	277,964	6,983	365,626
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Year ended 31 July 2022 (audited)
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 July 2021		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	719	273,107	10,278	364,064
Net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the year		–	–	–	–	–	3,149	10,377	13,526
Repurchase of ordinary shares	11	–	–	–	–	(719)	(2,808)	–	(3,527)
Dividend paid to shareholders	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	(6,440)	(6,440)
		---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total shareholders’ funds at 31 July 2022		18,895	50,501	3,197	7,367	–	273,448	14,215	367,623
		=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========

BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JANUARY 2023
Company number 3183919

	Notes	31.01.23  unaudited  £000	31.07.22  audited  £000	31.01.22  unaudited  £000
Fixed assets
Investments	10	368,054	338,845	353,441
		---------------	---------------	---------------
Current assets
Derivative instruments	10	1,988	972	779
Debtors		2,638	4,568	2,144
Amounts held at futures clearing houses and brokers		2,220	2,997	1,609
Cash at bank		21,799	25,368	13,368
		---------------	---------------	---------------
		28,645	33,905	17,900
		=========	=========	=========
Current liabilities
Derivative instruments	10	(872)	(1,302)	(513)
Other creditors		(4,947)	(3,825)	(5,202)
		---------------	---------------	---------------
		(5,819)	(5,127)	(5,715)
		=========	=========	=========
Net current assets		22,826	28,778	12,185
		=========	=========	=========
Net assets		390,880	367,623	365,626
		=========	=========	=========
Capital and reserves
Share capital	11	18,895	18,895	18,895
Share premium account		50,501	50,501	50,501
Capital redemption reserve		3,197	3,197	3,197
Other non-distributable reserve		7,367	7,367	7,367
Other reserve		–	–	719
Capital reserve		302,805	273,448	277,964
Revenue reserve		8,115	14,215	6,983
		---------------	---------------	---------------
Total shareholders’ funds		390,880	367,623	365,626
		=========	=========	=========
Net asset value per ordinary share	12	544.18p	507.78p	499.63p
		=========	=========	=========

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1 PRINCIPAL ACTIVITY
Fidelity Asian Values PLC is an Investment Company incorporated in England and Wales with a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange. The Company’s registration number is 3183919, and its registered office is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 6RP. The Company has been approved by HM Revenue & Customs as an Investment Trust under Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 and intends to conduct its affairs so as to continue to be approved.

2 PUBLICATION OF NON-STATUTORY ACCOUNTS
The Financial Statements in this Half-Yearly Report have not been audited by the Company’s Independent Auditor and do not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 434 of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Act”). The financial information for the year ended 31 July 2022 is extracted from the latest published Financial Statements of the Company. Those Financial Statements were delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Independent Auditor’s Report which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or 498(3) of the Act.

3 ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(i) Basis of Preparation
The Company prepares its Financial Statements on a going concern basis and in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (“UK GAAP”) and FRS 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland, issued by the Financial Reporting Council. The Financial Statements are also prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts (“SORP”) issued by the Association of Investment Companies (“AIC”) in July 2022. FRS 104: Interim Financial Reporting has also been applied in preparing this condensed set of Financial Statements. The accounting policies followed are consistent with those disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 July 2022.

(ii) Going Concern
The Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these Financial Statements. Accordingly, the Directors consider it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these Financial Statements. This conclusion also takes into account the Directors’ assessment of the risks faced by the Company as detailed in the Interim Management Report above.

4 INCOME

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Investment income
Overseas dividends	5,953	5,074	13,905
Overseas scrip dividends	244	111	114
Interest on securities	35	–	–
	---------------	---------------	---------------
	6,232	5,185	14,019
	=========	=========	=========
Derivative income
Dividends received on long CFDs	487	203	1,200
Interest received on CFDs	106	2	20
	---------------	---------------	---------------
	593	205	1,220
	=========	=========	=========
Other interest
Interest received on collateral and deposits	207	1	17
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total income	7,032	5,391	15,256
	=========	=========	=========

No special dividends have been recognised in capital during the period (six months ended 31 January 2022: £nil and year ended 31 July 2022: £97,000).

5 INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FEES

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Investment management fees – base (charged to revenue)	1,316	1,301	2,564
Investment management fees – variable (credited to capital)	(77)	(372)	(732)
	---------------	---------------	---------------
	1,239	929	1,832
	=========	=========	=========

FIL Investment Services (UK) Limited is the Company’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager and has delegated portfolio management to FIL Investments International (“FII”). Both companies are Fidelity group companies.

The Company charges base investment management fees at an annual rate of 0.70% of net assets. In addition, there is +/- 0.20% variation fee based on the Company’s NAV per ordinary share performance relative to the Company’s Benchmark Index which is charged/credited to capital. Fees are payable monthly in arrears and are calculated on a daily basis.

6 FINANCE COSTS

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Interest on bank overdrafts and collateral	1	1	5
Interest paid on CFDs*	703	67	255
Dividends paid on short CFDs	125	25	71
	---------------	---------------	---------------
	829	93	331
	=========	=========	=========

*  Increased compared to prior periods due to an increase in both exposure to CFDs and interest rates.

7 TAXATION ON RETURN ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Revenue – taxation on overseas dividends	437	386	1,079
Capital – Indian capital gains tax	1,059	620	1,085
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total taxation charge for the period	1,496	1,006	2,164
	=========	=========	=========

8 RETURN PER ORDINARY SHARE

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Revenue return per ordinary share	5.51p	4.30p	14.21p
Capital return per ordinary share	44.39p	6.64p	4.31p
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Total return per ordinary share	49.90p	10.94p	18.52p
	=========	=========	=========

The return per ordinary share is based on the net return on ordinary activities after taxation for the period divided by the weighted average number of ordinary shares held outside of Treasury during the period, as shown below:

	£000	£000	£000
Net revenue return on ordinary activities after taxation	3,966	3,145	10,377
Net capital return on ordinary activities after taxation	31,960	4,857	3,149
	---------------	---------------	---------------
Net total return on ordinary activities after taxation	35,926	8,002	13,526
	=========	=========	=========

	Number	Number	Number
Weighted average number of ordinary shares held outside of Treasury during the period	71,993,981	73,178,879	73,039,011
	=========	=========	=========

9 DIVIDENDS PAID TO SHAREHOLDERS

	Six months  ended  31.01.23  unaudited  £000	Six months  ended  31.01.22  unaudited  £000	Year  ended  31.07.22  audited  £000
Dividend of 14.00 pence per ordinary share paid for the year ended 31 July 2022	10,066	–	–
Dividend of 8.80 pence per ordinary share paid for the year ended 31 July 2021	–	6,440	6,440
	---------------	---------------	---------------
	10,066	6,440	6,440
	=========	=========	=========

No dividend has been declared in respect of the six months ended 31 January 2023 (six months ended 31 January 2022: £nil).

10 FAIR VALUE HIERARCHY
The Company is required to disclose the fair value hierarchy that classifies its financial instruments measured at fair value at one of three levels, according to the relative reliability of the inputs used to estimate the fair values.

Classification	Input
Level 1	Valued using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets
Level 2	Valued by reference to inputs other than quoted prices included in level 1 that are observable (i.e. developed using market data) for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly
Level 3	Valued by reference to valuation techniques using inputs that are not based on observable market data

Categorisation within the hierarchy has been determined on the basis of the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the relevant asset. The valuation techniques used by the Company are as disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report for the year ended 31 July 2022 (Accounting Policies Notes 2 (k) and 2 (l) on pages 56 and 57). The table below sets out the Company’s fair value hierarchy:

31 January 2023 (unaudited)	Level 1  £000	Level 2  £000	Level 3  £000	Total  £000
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Investments	360,555	6,135	1,364	368,054
Derivative instrument assets	729	1,259	–	1,988
	--------------	--------------	--------------	--------------
	361,284	7,394	1,364	370,042
	=========	=========	=========	=========
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Derivative instrument liabilities	–	(872)	–	(872)
	=========	=========	=========	=========

31 July 2022 (unaudited)	Level 1  £000	Level 2  £000	Level 3  £000	Total  £000
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Investments	330,119	7,135	1,591	338,845
Derivative instrument assets	317	655	–	972
	--------------	--------------	--------------	--------------
	330,436	7,790	1,591	339,817
	=========	=========	=========	=========
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Derivative instrument liabilities	(108)	(1,194)	–	(1,302)
	=========	=========	=========	=========

31 January 2022 (unaudited)	Level 1  £000	Level 2  £000	Level 3  £000	Total  £000
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Investments	347,827	4,161	1,453	353,441
Derivative instrument assets	365	414	–	779
	--------------	--------------	--------------	--------------
	348,192	4,575	1,453	354,220
	=========	=========	=========	=========
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Derivative instrument liabilities	(213)	(300)	–	(513)
	=========	=========	=========	=========

11 SHARE CAPITAL

	31 January 2023 unaudited		31 July 2022 audited		31 January 2022 unaudited
	Number of  shares	£000	Number of  shares	£000	Number of  shares	£000
Issued, allotted and fully paid
Ordinary shares of 25 pence each held outside of Treasury
Beginning of the period	72,398,336	18,100	73,178,879	18,295	73,178,879	18,295
Ordinary shares repurchased into Treasury	(569,000)	(142)	(780,543)	(195)	–	–
	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------
End of the period	71,829,336	17,958	72,398,336	18,100	73,178,879	18,295
	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Ordinary shares of 25 pence each held in Treasury1
Beginning of the period	3,182,553	795	2,402,010	600	2,402,010	600
Ordinary shares repurchased into Treasury	569,000	142	780,543	195	–	–
	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------	-----------------
End of the period	3,751,553	937	3,182,553	795	2,402,010	600
	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========	=========
Total share capital		18,895		18,895		18,895
		=========		=========		=========

1  Ordinary shares held in Treasury carry no rights to vote, to receive a dividend or to participate in a winding up of the Company.

The cost of ordinary shares repurchased into Treasury during the period was £2,603,000 (year ended 31 July 2022: £3,527,000 and six months ended 31 January 2022: £nil).

12 NET ASSET VALUE PER ORDINARY SHARE
The calculation of the net asset value per ordinary share is based on the following:

	31.01.23  unaudited	31.07.22  audited	31.01.22  unaudited
Total shareholders’ funds	£390,880,000	£367,623,000	£365,626,000
Ordinary shares held outside of Treasury at period end	71,829,336	72,398,336	73,178,879
	------------------	------------------	------------------
Net asset value per ordinary share	544.18p	507.78p	499.63p
	==========	==========	==========

It is the Company’s policy that shares held in Treasury will only be reissued at net asset value per ordinary share or at a premium to net asset value per ordinary share and, therefore, shares held in Treasury have no dilutive effect.

13 TRANSACTIONS WITH THE MANAGER AND RELATED PARTIES
FIL Investment Services (UK) Limited is the Company’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager and has delegated portfolio management and the role of Company Secretary to FIL Investments International (“FII”). Both companies are Fidelity group companies.

Details of the fee arrangements are given in Note 5 above. During the period, management fees of £1,239,000 (six months ended 31 January 2022: £929,000 and year ended 31 July 2022: £1,832,000) and secretarial and administration fees of £38,000 (six months ended 31 January 2022: £38,000 and year ended 31 July 2022: £75,000) were payable to FII. At the Balance Sheet date, net management fees of £296,000 (31 January 2022: £157,000 and 31 July 2022: £156,000) and secretarial and administration fees of £25,000 (31 January 2022: £25,000 and 31 July 2022: £25,000) were accrued and included in other creditors. FII also provides the Company with marketing services. The total amount payable for these services during the period was £86,000 (six months ended 31 January 2022: £104,000 and year ended 31 July 2022: £157,000). At the Balance Sheet date, marketing services of £nil (31 January 2022: £13,000 and 31 July 2022: £20,000) were accrued and included in other creditors.

As at 31 January 2023, the Board consisted of six non-executive Directors (as shown in the Directory in the Half-Yearly Report), all of whom are considered to be independent by the Board. None of the Directors have a service contract with the Company. The Chairman receives an annual fee of £42,000, the Chairman of the Audit Committee an annual fee of £35,000 and each other Director an annual fee of £29,000. The following members of the Board held shares in the Company: Hussein Barma 2,500 ordinary shares, Kate Bolsover 15,452 ordinary shares, Clare Brady 2,500 ordinary shares, Sally Macdonald 2,734 ordinary shares, Matthew Sutherland 27,859 ordinary shares and Michael Warren 10,000 ordinary shares.

The financial information contained in this Half-Yearly Results Announcement does not constitute statutory accounts as defined in section 435 of the Companies Act 2006. The financial information for the six months ended 31 January 2023 and 31 January 2022 has not been audited or reviewed by the Company’s Independent Auditor.

The information for the year ended 31 July 2022 has been extracted from the latest published audited financial statements, which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies, unless otherwise stated. The report of the Auditor on those financial statements contained no qualification or statement under sections 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.

A copy of the Half-Yearly Report will shortly be submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will be available for inspection at www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/NSM

The Half-Yearly Report will also be available on the Company's website at www.fidelity.co.uk/asianvalues where up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and other information can also be found.