Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 7285A

Schroder AsiaPacific Fund PLC

04 February 2011

 



SCHRODER ASIAPACIFIC FUND PLC

Interim Management Statement for the Quarter ended 31 December 2010

The Board of Schroder AsiaPacific Fund plc ("the Company") is pleased to announce its Interim Management Statement as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. This Statement is in respect of the period from 1 October 2010 to 31 December 2010.

Investment Objective

The Company's investment objective is to achieve capital growth through investment primarily in equities of companies located in the continent of Asia (excluding the Middle East and Japan), together with the Far Eastern countries bordering the Pacific Ocean (excluding Australasia), with the aim of achieving growth in excess of the MSCI All Countries Far East excluding Japan Index in sterling (Benchmark Index) over the longer term.

With effect from 31 January 2011, the Company's benchmark Index has changed to the MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Index. The main effect is to include the Indian stock market in the benchmark.

Company Statistics as at 31 December 2010

Gross Assets	£442.3 million
Net Asset Value per Ordinary Share (Diluted, cum income)	247.36p
Ordinary Share Price	224.50p
Discount	9.24%
Number of Holdings	69
Net Effective Gearing	-5.01%
Yield	1.2%

Cumulative Performance to 31 December 2010 (%)

Performance over	3 months	6 months	1 year
Share Price (Total Return)	10.2	20.1	24.4
Net Asset Value (Total Return)	10.4	21.3	27.1
MSCI AC Far East (ex Japan) Index	7.5	19.7	23.6

Data Source: Fundamental Data.

Portfolio Information as at 31 December 2010

Ten Largest Holdings

Stock Name	Country	Market Value (£)	% of NAV
Samsung Electronics	Korea	27,672,423	6.67
Jardine Strategic	Singapore	24,990,055	6.02
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing	Taiwan	22,307,853	5.38
Swire Pacific A	Hong Kong	15,210,011	3.67
Jardine Matheson	Hong Kong	14,782,359	3.56
Hon Hai Precision Industries	Taiwan	11,288,316	2.72
Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust	Singapore	11,176,493	2.69
Hyundai Motor	Korea	10,962,292	2.64
Niko Resources	India	10,135,146	2.44
Siliconware Precision	Taiwan	9,850,400	2.37

Country Allocation

Country                       % of NAV

Hong Kong                  25.00

Korea                          16.72

Taiwan                         16.61

Singapore                     15.27

China                           11.57

India                               4.98

Philippines                      4.43

Australia                         2.45

Indonesia                        1.24

Malaysia                         0.97

Thailand                         0.50

Vietnam                          0.26

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Company was held on 31 January 2011. All resolutions, including Resolution 10 that the Company continues as an investment trust for a further five year period, set out in the Notice of Meeting, were duly passed.

General Meeting and Tender Offer

At the General Meeting, also held on 31 January 2011 at 12.00 noon, the special resolution authorising the Company to buy back up to 25,711,701 ordinary shares in connection with a tender offer was duly passed.

Tender Offer

The Company announced on 2 February 2011 that the Tender Price, which had been calculated in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part IV of the circular to Shareholders dated 6 January 2011 (the "Circular"), was 234.5853 pence per Share.

A total of 69,731,610 shares were validly tendered under the Tender Offer. As a result, the Basic Entitlement of all Shareholders who have validly tendered their shares will be accepted in full and excess tenders will be satisfied to the extent of approximately 21.29 per cent. of the excess shares tendered.

25,711,701 shares will be repurchased by the Company under the Tender Offer and cancelled; this equates to 15% of the Company's shares in issue at 23 December 2010.

It is expected that cheques will be despatched and CREST accounts will be credited with proceeds in respect of successfully tendered shares and with unsold uncertificated Shares by 10 February 2011.  It is expected that balancing certificates in respect of unsold certificated Shares will be despatched during the week commencing 14 February 2011.

Following the implementation of the Tender Offer, the Company will have 145,801,291 ordinary shares in issue.

Directorate Change

The Company announced on 1 February 2011 that, as part of the refreshment of the Board, Lord Cromer retired as a Director of the Company at the Annual General Meeting held on 31 January 2011, and did not seek re-election. The Directors extend their gratitude for the invaluable contribution that Lord Cromer has made to the success of the Company since 1995.

Final Dividend

The Directors recommended the payment of a final dividend of 2.65 pence per share for the year ended 30 September 2010. Following approval from shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held on 31 January 2011, the dividend was paid on 2 February 2011 to shareholders on the Register on 7 January 2011.

Conversion of Subscription Shares

On 8 October 2010, the Company issued 3,674,104 ordinary shares following the exercise of conversion rights by a number of subscription shareholders. The ordinary shares rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares and commenced trading on 11 October 2011.

On 12 January 2011, the Company issued 101,651 ordinary shares following the exercise of conversion rights by a number of subscription shareholders. The ordinary shares rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares and commenced trading on 12 January 2011.

Material Events or Transactions

There have been no other material events or transactions that have taken place between 30 September 2010 and the date of publication of this Statement.

Changes to Ordinary Share Capital during the quarter ended 31 December 2010

	Issued Ordinary shares of 10p each
As at 30 September 2010	167,737,237
Ordinary shares issued during the period (on conversion of subscription shares) Shares bought back and cancelled during the period	3,674,104 Nil
Shares in issue as at 31 December 2010	171,411,341

Company Information

Sedol Code                                         0791887

Sector                                                 Equity Investment Instruments

Launch Date                                       November 2005

Financial Year End                             30 September

Last Dividend Payment                     2 February 2011

Last Ex Div Date                               7 January 2011

2012 AGM                                         January 2012   

4 February 2011

Enquiries:

John Spedding

Schroder Investment Management Limited

Company Secretary

Tel: [phone]

 

END

 

 

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