Notice of EGM

JP Morgan Flem Chinese Inv Tst PLC 11 August 2003 JPMorgan Fleming Chinese Investment Trust plc London Stock Exchange Announcement NOTICE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting The Board of JPMorgan Fleming Chinese Investment Trust plc today gave notice to shareholders, convening an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company to be held at 10 a.m. on 3 September 2003 at 10 Aldermanbury, London EC2V 7RF. The Board intends to seek shareholder authority (the 'Authority') to issue up to 5,813,836 new shares, with an aggregate nominal value of £1,453,459 (representing approximately 10 per cent. of the total ordinary share capital in issue as at 11 August 2003). Reasons for the Authority In recent months, the Company's shares have regularly traded at a premium to their underlying Net Asset Value. Issues of new shares from time to time are expected to offset the imbalance between supply and demand for the shares. The Directors consider it to be in the best interests of existing shareholders and new investors that the price of the shares reflects, as closely as possible, the value of the underlying investments in the Greater China Region. In order to facilitate the issue of new shares in the Company it is also necessary to increase the authorised share capital of the Company. The Board propose an increase in the authorised share capital of approximately 33 per cent., from 75,000,000 to 100,000,000 shares. Advantages of the Authority The effects of the Authority described below are based on the issue of new shares at a premium to the Net Asset Value of the existing shares prevailing on the relevant calculation date. The advantages of the Authority for existing shareholders are expected to be as follows: • an increase in the number of shares in issue which should broaden the shareholder base and improve the liquidity of the shares; • an increase in the size of the Company which will result in the Company's costs being spread over a greater number of shares. As a result, the Company's total expense ratio will be reduced; and • a modest increase in the NAV per share attributable to the enlarged issued share capital immediately following the issue. New shares will only be issued at a premium which, after payment of the costs of the issue and the costs of investing the proceeds of the issue, should produce such an increase. Resolutions The Authority is conditional on the resolutions set out in the notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting being approved by shareholders. The resolutions will, if passed: (a) grant the Directors authority under Section 80 of the Companies Act 1985 to allot up to 5,813,836 new shares with an aggregate nominal value of £1,453,459 representing approximately 10 per cent. of the total shares in issue as at 11 August 2003. This authority will expire on 2 September 2008; (b) authorise the Directors to allot securities other than in accordance with the pre-emption provisions of section 89 of the Companies Act 1985; and (c) authorise the increase in the authorised share capital of the Company from 75,000,000 to 100,000,000 shares. Recommendation The Directors consider that the authority to allot new shares and to disapply pre-emption rights over such allotment, as described in the circular sent to shareholders today, are in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend shareholders to vote in favour of each of the resolutions to be proposed at the Extraordinary General meeting. The Directors intend to vote in favour of the resolutions in respect of their holdings of shares amounting to 40,000 shares in aggregate (representing approximately 0.07 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company as at 11 August 2003). 11th August 2003 J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management (UK) Limited - Secretary For further information, please contact: Hilary Lowe - 020 7742 3274 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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