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LONDON (Alliance News) - Fidelity Asian Values PLC on Tuesday said its net asset value "strongly outperformed" its comparative index in the first half of its financial year.
In a statement, the trust said its NAV returned 3.1% in the six months ended January 31, compared with a fall of 6.6% for the MSCI All Countries Asia ex Japan Index. The trust's share price return was 1.2% in the half.
The discount at which its shares traded to NAV widened to 12.4% at the end of the half from 10.7% at the start of the period.
"Ongoing accommodative monetary policies, weak commodity prices and reforms in key Asian economies should continue to underpin a positive outlook for the region. Although economic growth in the region is likely to moderate in line with slowing growth in China, it will still be very attractive compared to the rest of the world," the trust's statement said.
"Most investors see the slowdown in the Chinese economy as a negative development, despite the focus on the quality of growth rather than the quantity, and this is expected to keep markets volatile in the near term. In the current market correction, stocks are being sold off indiscriminately, with many high quality stocks with strong long-term outlooks being sold down along with the low quality ones," the statement said.
"As a result, Asian valuations are near, or in some cases, below the 2007 global financial crisis levels. This is a promising backdrop for bottom-up stock pickers and there are diverse investment opportunities across a wide range of markets in Asia that offer exceptional growth potential at attractive valuations," the statement said.
Shares in Fidelity Asian Values were up 1.3% at 255.75 pence on Tuesday afternoon.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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