Final Results

RNS Number : 7225N

JPMorgan Fleming Japanese Smllr Cos

16 June 2010

 



STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT

JPMORGAN FLEMING JAPANESE SMALLER COMPANIES INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FINAL RESULTS

 

The Directors of JPMorgan Fleming Japanese Smaller Companies Investment Trust plc announce the Company's results for the year ended 31st March 2010.

 

Chairman's Statement

Investment Performance

It is pleasing to report that the Japanese smaller companies market (the 'Market') produced a steady recovery in the year to 31st March 2010, against a backdrop of improving economic conditions globally. The Market performed particularly well in the first half of the year, as global liquidity injections and improving corporate news flow lifted investor sentiment and prompted a return to risk appetite. The Market fell behind other global indices towards the end of the period as momentum eased amidst concerns surrounding the solvency of the Greek government and the stability of the Euro.

During the year to 31st March 2010, the Company's undiluted total return on net assets increased by 46.1%. This outperformed the return of the Company's benchmark, the S&P/Citigroup Japan Extended Market Index (Total Return Net), which increased by 27.6%, and the peer group median, which rose by 43.5%. The Company's diluted return on net assets, which assumes that all of the Subscription shares in issue were exercised at the rate of 135 pence per share and that all of the Treasury shares were reissued in accordance with the Board's policy on the reissuance of Treasury shares, increased by 38.9%. Over the same period, the Company's Ordinary share price return rose by 46.5%, reflecting a narrowing of the discount to the diluted net asset value per share from 17.6% to 13.1%.

Gearing

The Company has a Japanese yen 2.0 billion credit facility with ING Bank which gives the Investment Managers the ability to gear tactically. The facility is due to expire on 31st August 2010 and is in the process of being renewed. It is pleasing to report that the Investment Managers' use of liability management contributed nearly 4% of the Company's performance during the year. The Board reviews the level of gearing at each Board meeting and has given the Investment Managers the flexibility to operate within the range of 90% to 120% invested. During the year the Company's gearing ranged between 105% and 120% and at the time of writing was 109.5%.

Review of Services Provided by the Manager

During the year, the Board carried out its customary formal review of the investment management, company secretarial, administrative and marketing services provided by the Manager, JF Asset Management ('JFAM') and the Company Secretary, J.P. Morgan Asset Management ('JPMAM'). The review encompassed the investment performance record, management processes, investment style, resources and risk control mechanisms as well as noting the Company's performance against its peers, performance against the benchmark, discount to net asset value, performance attribution and total expense ratio. After full consideration of the above factors, the Board concluded that the continued appointment of the Manager and Company Secretary was in the best interests of shareholders as a whole.

Subscription Shares

On 5th March 2009 the Company issued 7,798,873 Subscription shares as a bonus issue to Ordinary shareholders on the basis of one Subscription share for every five Ordinary shares held on 3rd March 2009. Each Subscription share confers the right (but not the obligation) to subscribe for one Ordinary share at predetermined prices on any business day during the period from 1st April 2009 until 31st March 2014, after which the rights on the Subscription shares will lapse. From 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010, 51,959 Subscription shares were exercised into Ordinary shares raising proceeds of £69,000. At the time of writing, a further 504,632 Subscription

shares have been exercised raising proceeds of £682,000.

From 1st April 2010, the initial exercise price of 135 pence per share has increased to 147 pence per share. Following this increase, the Company's Ordinary share price, which was 147.25p at the close of business on 15th June 2010, remains above the revised exercise price. The final step-up in exercise price, to 174 pence per share, takes place on 1st April 2012.

Further details on the Subscription shares, including their exercise prices, the apportionments for capital gains tax purposes and how they may be exercised, can be found on the Company's website at www.jpmfjapanesesmallercompanies.co.uk and in the Annual Report.

Share Issues and Repurchases

During the year, the Company repurchased 23,500 Ordinary shares into Treasury for a total consideration of £34,000. The Company did not issue any shares from Treasury nor issue any new Ordinary shares during this period, other than Ordinary shares issued as a result of the exercise of Subscription shares.

As I have stated in previous years, the Board believes that the ability to issue new Ordinary shares, repurchase Ordinary and Subscription shares for cancellation and to hold and reissue Ordinary shares from Treasury, is in the interests of shareholders in assisting the Company in managing any imbalance between the supply and demand for the Company's shares and in reducing the volatility of the discount. Accordingly, the Board will be seeking shareholders' approval to renew these authorities at this year's Annual General Meeting.

Articles of Association

At the Annual General Meeting, it is proposed that the Company adopt new Articles of Association. These latest amendments to the current Articles of Association reflect the changes in company law brought about by the Companies Act 2006 (the 'Act'), which came into effect on 1st October 2009, changes made to the Act in August 2009 (designed principally to implement the EU Shareholder Rights Directive in the UK) and some minor technical or clarifying changes. Further details on the proposed changes to the Articles are provided in the Annual Report.

Change of Company Name

Following discussions between the Board and the Manager, it is recommended that the Company shorten its name to 'JPMorgan Japan Smaller Companies Trust plc' and a Special Resolution to this effect will be put to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. The Company's Bloomberg code of 'JPS' will remain the same regardless of the outcome.

Board of Directors

In accordance with the Company's Articles of Association, John Gibbon will retire by rotation at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting and offers himself for re-election. The Nomination Committee has met to consider the attributes and contributions of John and, following this review, recommends his re-election.

Outlook

Global economic uncertainties and resurgent stock market volatility combine to make any assessment of the outlook for the Company difficult to construct. On the other hand, the attractiveness of the valuations of substantial numbers of small and medium sized Japanese companies offers the potential for further strong returns from a portfolio of well chosen stocks. Furthermore, the economy of Japan, despite its fiscal challenges and the unconvincing political background, remains less vulnerable than those of most G7 countries thanks to its significant exposure to the developing economies of south and east Asia. It is possible then to suggest that a measure of optimism regarding the immediate prospects may be justified, whilst cautioning that some further volatility of returns is highly likely. The Board has stressed to the Manager that particular vigilance must be exercised in shaping the portfolio in order that it can meet the challenges of this testing period.

Annual General Meeting

This year's Annual General Meeting will be held at the Armourers' Hall, 81 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ on Tuesday 27th July 2010 at 11.30 a.m.

Alan Clifton

Chairman                                                                                            

16^th June 2010

Investment Managers' Report

Investment Review

The portfolio outperformed over the last year returning 46.1% against 27.6% for the benchmark. During the year, the Company was geared towards a cyclically recovering Japanese and global economy. This meant that we shunned defensive sectors such as utilities and regional banks and focused on the upside potential from stocks exposed to technology, machinery and emerging markets. We balanced growth opportunities in domestically focused internet and services companies with the cyclical value opportunities that the distressed market offered us last year. In Japan, we can still find many stocks that have yet to see any strong recovery in either trading conditions or share price and recently we have shifted our focus towards some of these lagging, very cheap and more domestic stocks.

During the year, we contributed 4% to the portfolio's return through the use of liability management. This meant that we successfully increased the portfolio's gearing through periods of strong performance and reduced our exposure as markets contracted. We continue to monitor the Company's liability management on a daily basis and have frequent discussions with the Board on this matter.

Last year was typified by a recovery in stocks geared to production volumes such as semiconductors and automobiles. In particular, the aggressive reduction in inventory, alongside understandable caution on demand levels, meant that the production schedules of these companies were continually revised higher. Although we expect these firms to continue to see growth and to operate at a higher level we can also see better investment opportunities elsewhere. This year our investment policy will focus on beneficiaries of increased corporate cash flows - investment in retooling plant and equipment, increased hiring and advertising as companies try to expand their sales. In terms of domestic stocks, we also expect some better retail sales performance as wages normalise and consumer confidence recovers from very low levels.

Investment Outlook

Our investment stance remains positive as stocks continue to trade near historically low valuations. At the time of writing, the Japanese smaller company index has seen valuations rise by just 17% since the start of 2010 and yet it continues to trade in-line with prior bottom-of-the-cycle levels and still well below book value. At the same

time, markets overseas are clearly recovering, especially in Asia, whilst restructuring is moving at an unprecedented pace reflecting the near death experience of many corporations last year. The structural problems in Japan are well documented and there are some signs that overseas investors are reappraising the 'least preferred' status accorded to Japan in asset allocation, as well as the extremely low valuations of the Japanese stock market.

Japan tends to sell high value, discretionary goods to companies and individuals. These areas have been among the most affected by tight credit markets and weak utilisation rates. Now that utilisation rates have increased and the credit cycle has recovered, Japan is experiencing a rise in demand for machinery and technology products. Whilst Japan has been a laggard in this cycle so far, it is now beginning to improve, while other economies have already seen a strong recovery. This improving situation has not yet been rewarded by investors. One of the most important reasons for the Japanese markets' lacklustre performance remains the Bank of Japan's very tight monetary policy. In stark contrast to other global markets, where central banks have injected liquidity very aggressively, the monetary base in Japan has been contracting. The Democratic Party of Japan ('DPJ') government is making a concerted effort to switch this policy focus towards a tougher anti-deflation stance. The government also has different expenditure priorities from the Liberal Democrat Party ('LDP') and is refocusing spending on social welfare provisions, as reflected in their 2009 election manifesto slogan of 'people not concrete'. The Eurozone crisis will undoubtedly focus attention on their policies as they are being forced to grapple with many of the same issues affecting other mainstream economies; high levels of debt, a large fiscal deficit and a rapidly ageing population. Unlike Greece, Japan has the advantage of a strong ability to fund itself internally, is almost entirely exposed to yen denominated debt and retains control of its currency. We expect that any concern about the Japanese fiscal position will be seen in yen weakness.

The generally depressed valuations of domestically oriented stocks in part reflect the very tough domestic demand conditions. That said, we do not believe that it reveals the underlying earnings power and we feel that any good news could cause some of these stocks to re-rate to higher valuation levels. With the recovery in exports over the last year, we anticipate that some of the emergency cuts to wages and investment will be gradually reduced which will allow a modest improvement in domestic demand. Employment is already picking up, as are overtime hours. We are not arguing for a sustained shift to strong domestic growth, merely that expectations and valuations are much too low in this unloved part of the market. Reflecting this, we have been buying software companies, supermarkets, rental housing and beneficiaries of increased domestic industrial activity all at very low valuation levels. One of our larger positions is towards the condominium markets where recent data is beginning to support the domestic growth story, such as rising secondary market real estate transaction volumes and reduced housing inventory levels and vacancy rates that look set to peak in the next few quarters. We have exposure especially to low end housing where cheap land pricing is enabling previously priced-out customers, such as first time buyers, to access the market. Our other domestic exposure comes through financials, where we are focused on brokers and stock exchanges such as SBI Holdings and Osaka Securities Exchange. These investments are positive overweight positions against the benchmark on the undervalued Japanese stock market where we believe that the firms have a distinct edge and attractive valuations.

Given our expectations for Asian growth, we are maintaining our long standing bias towards Asian consumer demand companies. These often trade at substantial discounts to their Asia quoted counterparts and to their own history. We have used the weak performance by Asian oriented companies in the first quarter of 2010 as an opportunity to increase exposure to some of the most undervalued stocks. One sector where we have a notable stake is motorcycle parts. In many cases there is good visibility into demand as they are key suppliers to larger automobile companies who have clear and aggressive expansion plans from which they will benefit. For instance, Nissin Kogyo will supply parts for the new Honda Civic that will generate income of 20,000 yen per car compared to just 2,000 yen per car in the current model. The technology sector offers some attractive opportunities as many areas, such as HDD and Flash memory, are now experiencing capacity constraints and we have positioned the portfolio to benefit from a new round of investment. This point remains contentious with many analysts pricing these stocks lower than our expectations.

Our overall stance remains bullish. Japanese smaller company stocks are cheap (often very cheap), the business cycle is gradually improving and stocks are moving upwards. Given this backdrop we are emphasising those economically sensitive parts of the market where valuations remain at rock bottom levels and where sentiment has yet to turn positive.

David Mitchinson

Nicholas Weindling

Investment Managers                                                             

16th June 2010

Principal Risks

With the assistance of the Manager, JF Asset Management Limited ('JFAM'), and Secretary, JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited ('JPMAM'), the Board has drawn up a risk matrix, which identifies the key risks to the Company. These key risks fall broadly under the following categories:

• Investment and Strategy: An inappropriate investment strategy, for example excessive concentration of investment, asset allocation or the level of gearing, may lead to under-performance against the Company's benchmark index and peer companies, which may result in the Company's shares trading on a wider discount. The Board manages these risks by diversification of investments through its investment restrictions and guidelines which are monitored and reported on. JPMAM provides the Directors with timely and accurate management information, including performance data and attribution analyses, revenue estimates, liquidity reports and shareholder analyses. The Board monitors the implementation and results of the investment process with the Investment Managers, who attend all Board meetings, and reviews data which shows statistical measures of the Company's risk profile. The Investment Managers employ the Company's gearing tactically, within a strategic range set by the Board. In addition to regular Board meetings, the Board visits the offices of JF Asset Management in Tokyo on an annual basis to discuss strategy.

• Discount: In order to manage the Company's discount, which can be volatile, the Company operates a share issuance and repurchase programme.

• Market: The fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument held by the Company may fluctuate because of changes in market prices. This market risk comprises three elements - currency risk, interest rate risk and other price risk. Information to enable an evaluation of the nature and extent of these three elements of market price risk is given in note 20(a) of the Annual Report, together with details of how the Board manages these risks.

• Liquidity: This is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations associated with financial liabilities that are settled by delivering cash or another financial asset. Details of how the Board manages these risks can be found in note 20(b) of the Annual Report.

• Credit: Credit risk is the risk that the failure of the counterparty to a transaction to discharge its obligations

under that transaction could result in loss to the Company. Details of the Company's exposure to Credit risk and how the Board manages this risk can be found in note 20(c) of the Annual Report.

• Accounting, Legal and Regulatory: In order to qualify as an investment trust, the Company must comply with Section 842 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 ('Section 842'). Should the Company breach Section 842, it may lose its investment trust status and as a consequence gains within the Company's portfolio would be subject to Corporation Tax. The Section 842 qualification criteria are continually monitored by JPMAM and the results reported to the Board each month. The Company must also comply with the provisions of The Companies Act 2006 (the 'Act') and, since its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the UKLA Listing Rules. A breach of the Act could result in the Company and/or the Directors being fined or the subject of criminal proceedings. Breach of the UKLA Listing Rules may result in the Company's shares being suspended from listing which in turn would breach Section 842 (replaced on 1st April 2010 by Section 1158 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010). The Board relies on the services of its Company Secretary, JPMAM, and its professional advisers to ensure compliance with the Act and The UKLA Listing Rules.

• Corporate Governance and Shareholder Relations: Details of the Company's compliance with Corporate Governance best practice, including information on relations with shareholders, are set out in the Corporate Governance section of the Annual Report.

• Operational: Disruption to, or failure of, JFAM's or JPMAM's accounting, dealing or payments systems or the custodian's records may prevent accurate reporting and monitoring of the Company's financial position. Details of how the Board monitors the services provided by JFAM, JPMAM and its associates and the key elements designed to provide effective internal control are included within the Annual Report under the Internal Control section of the Corporate Governance report.

• Loss of Investment Team: A sudden departure of several members of the investment management team could result in a short-term deterioration in investment performance. The Manager takes steps to reduce the likelihood of such an event by ensuring appropriate succession planning and the adoption of a team-based approach.

• Political and Economic: Administrative risks, such as the imposition of restrictions on the free movement of capital.

Related Parties Transactions

During the financial year, no transactions with related parties have taken place which have materially affected the financial position or the performance of the Company during the year.

Directors' Responsibilities

The Directors each confirm to the best of their knowledge that:

a)         the accounts; prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and return or loss of the Company; and

b)         the Annual Report, to be published shortly, includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

For and on behalf of the Board

Alan Clifton

Chairman

16th June 2010

Income Statement

for the year ended 31st March 2010

			2010			2009
		Revenue	Capital	Total	Revenue	Capital	Total
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Gains/(losses) on investments held at
fair value through profit or loss		-	25,071	25,071	-	(22,282)	(22,282)
Net foreign currency losses		-	(862)	(862)	-	(1,811)	(1,811)
Income from investments		1,019	-	1,019	1,215	-	1,215
Other interest receivable and
similar income		25	-	25	206	-	206
Gross return/(loss)		1,044	24,209	25,253	1,421	(24,093)	(22,672)
Management fee		(938)	-	(938)	(945)	-	(945)
Other administrative expenses		(301)	-	(301)	(585)	-	(585)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
before finance costs and taxation		(195)	24,209	24,014	(109)	(24,093)	(24,202)
Finance costs		(304)	-	(304)	(191)	-	(191)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
before taxation		(499)	24,209	23,710	(300)	(24,093)	(24,393)
Taxation		(67)	-	(67)	(85)	-	(85)
Net (loss)/return on ordinary activities
after taxation		(566)	24,209	23,643	(385)	(24,093)	(24,478)
(Loss)/return per Ordinary share
- undiluted (note 2)		(1.45)p	62.19p	60.74p	(0.98)p	(61.45)p	(62.43)p
(Loss)/return per Ordinary share
- diluted (note 2)		(1.45)p	62.01p	60.56p	(0.98)p	(61.45)p	(62.43)p

All revenue and capital items in the above statement derive from continuing operations. No operations were acquired or discontinued in the year.

The 'Total' column of this statement is the profit and loss account of the Company and the 'Revenue' and 'Capital' columns represent supplementary information prepared under guidance issued by the Association of Investment Companies. The total column represents all the information that is required to be disclosed in a Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses ('STRGL'). For this reason a STRGL has not been presented.

Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds

for the year ended 31st March 2010

	Called up			Capital
	share	Share	Other	redemption	Capital	Revenue
	capital	premium	reserve	reserve	reserves	reserve	Total
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
At 31st March 2008	3,930	-	315,427	1,794	(234,161)	(10,714)	76,276
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	(492)	-	-	-	(492)
Bonus issue of Subscription shares	78	-	(78)	-	-	-	-
Net loss on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	(24,093)	(385)	(24,478)
At 31st March 2009	4,008	-	314,857	1,794	(258,254)	(11,099)	51,306
Repurchase of shares into Treasury	-	-	(34)	-	-	-	(34)
Exercise of Subscription shares into
Ordinary shares	(1)	1	-	-	-	-	-
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of
Subscription shares	5	64	-	-	-	-	69
Net return/(loss) on ordinary activities	-	-	-	-	24,209	(566)	23,643
At 31st March 2010	4,012	65	314,823	1,794	(234,045)	(11,665)	74,984

Balance Sheet

at 31st March 2010

		2010	2009
		£'000	£'000
Fixed assets
Investments held at fair value through profit or loss		87,948	50,409
Current assets
Debtors		1,442	1,499
Cash and short term deposits		2,385	12,042
		3,827	13,541
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year		(16,791)	(12,644)
Net current (liabilities)/assets		(12,964)	897
Total assets less current liabilities		74,984	51,306
Total net assets		74,984	51,306
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital		4,012	4,008
Share premium		65	-
Other reserve		314,823	314,857
Capital redemption reserve		1,794	1,794
Capital reserves		(234,045)	(258,254)
Revenue reserve		(11,665)	(11,099)
Shareholders' funds		74,984	51,306
Net asset value per Ordinary share - undiluted (note 3)		192.6p	131.8p
Net asset value per Ordinary share - diluted (note 3)		182.8p	131.6p

Cash Flow Statement

for the year ended 31st March 2010

		2010	2009
		£'000	£'000
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities		(371)	17
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest paid		(289)	(180)
Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing
of finance		(289)	(180)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchases of investments		(88,297)	(92,588)
Sales of investments		76,687	102,721
Other capital charges		(11)	(15)
Net cash (outflow)/inflow from capital expenditure and
financial investment		(11,621)	10,118
Net cash (outflow)/inflow before financing		(12,281)	9,955
Financing
Net drawdown/(repayment) of loans		3,091	(376)
Issue of Ordinary shares on exercise of Subscription shares		69	-
Repurchase of shares into Treasury		(98)	(428)
Net cash inflow/(outflow) from financing		3,062	(804)
(Decrease)/increase in cash in the year		(9,219)	9,151

 Notes to the Accounts

for the year ended 31st March 2010

1.             Accounting policies

The accounts are prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice ('UK GAAP') and with the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Financial Statements of Investment Trust Companies and Venture Capital Trusts' (the 'SORP') issued by the AIC in January 2009. All of the Company's operations are of a continuing nature.

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments at fair value.

 

2.         (Loss)/return per Ordinary share

	2010	2009
	£'000	£'000
(Loss)/return per Ordinary share is based on the following:
Revenue loss	(566)	(385)
Capital return/(loss)	24,209	(24,093)
Total return/(loss)	23,643	(24,478)
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year used
for the purpose of the undiluted calculation	38,928,451	39,207,211
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year used
for the purpose of the diluted calculation	39,040,383	39,207,211
Undiluted
Revenue loss per share	(1.45)p	(0.98)p
Capital return/(loss) per share	62.19p	(61.45)p
Total return/(loss) per share	60.74p	(62.43)p
Diluted
Revenue loss per share	(1.45)p	(0.98)p
Capital return/(loss) per share	62.01p	(61.45)p
Total return/(loss) per share	60.56p	(62.43)p

 The diluted (loss)/return per Ordinary share represents the (loss)/return on ordinary activities after taxation divided by the weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the year as adjusted in accordance with the requirements of Financial Reporting Standard 22 'Earnings per share'.

                There was no dilution to the returns for the year ended 31st March 2009.

3.         Net asset value per Ordinary share

	2010	2009
Undiluted
Ordinary shareholders funds (£'000)	74,984	51,306
Number of Ordinary shares in issue	38,941,882	38,913,423
Net asset value per Ordinary share	192.6p	131.8p
Diluted
Ordinary shareholders funds assuming exercise of dilutive Subscription shares and
reissuance of Treasury shares (£'000)	86,126	51,721
Number of potential dilutive Ordinary shares in issue	47,108,296	39,309,423
Net asset value per Ordinary share	182.8p	131.6p

The diluted net asset value per Ordinary share assumes that all outstanding dilutive Subscription shares were converted into Ordinary shares at the year end and all shares held in Treasury at the year end were reissued in accordance with the Board's policy on the reissuance of Treasury shares

4.             Status of Announcement

2009 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2009 are extracted from the published Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2009 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for that year.  The Annual Report and Accounts has been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and included the Report of the Independent Auditors which was unqualified and did not contain a statement under either section 237(2) or section 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985.

2010 Financial Information

The figures and financial information for 2010 are extracted from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2010 and do not constitute the statutory accounts for the year.  The Annual Report and Financial Accounts includes the Report of the Independent Auditors which is unqualified and does not contain a statement under either section 498(2) or section 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The Annual Report and Accounts will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies in due course.

Annual Report and Accounts

The Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders on or around 23rd June 2010 and will shortly be available on the Company's website (www.jpmfjapanesesmallercompanies.co.uk) or in hard copy format from the Company's Registered Office, Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London EC2Y 9AQ. 

JPMORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED

Please note that up to date information on the Company, including daily NAV and share prices, factsheets and portfolio information can be found at www.jpmfjapanesesmallercompanies.co.uk

For further information please contact:

Christopher Legg

For and on behalf of

JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Limited, Secretary - 020 7742 6000

16th June 2010

 

END

 

 

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