LONDON (Alliance News) - Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Ltd, managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd, Wednesday said it trailed the MSCI All Country Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index in 2014, although it still reported a high single-digit total return in the year.
The trust, which focuses on investing in Asia Pacific, said its net asset value total return was 7.6% for 2014, while the index made a 9.5% gain.
It said its share price total return was 6.7% in 2014, compared to a negative 9.2% in 2013. Aberdeen Asian Income Fund shares were flat at 201.97 pence on Wednesday.
Although Chairman Peter Arthur conceded that the trust's performance was disappointing in 2014, he pointed to its track record in the longer term.
The trust's NAV total return over five years including 2014 was 76.6% against the 36.0% for the index, Arthur said.
Although Arthur expects Asia's growth in 2015 to be muted in relation to the levels of the past, he still think it will be the region that grows fastest.
"Notably, while Chinese authorities will undoubtedly cushion the impact of a slowdown with targeted easing measures, its growth forecasts this year are still hovering at the decade-low level of 7%. The rest of the region, previously buoyed by China's insatiable appetite for their exports, will similarly have to adjust to lower levels of expansion," Arthur said.
The chairman said that the case for investing in Asia remains attractive in the long term.
"Young populations with rising wealth, coupled with relatively stable political environments and proactive central banks, will continue to underpin growth in the decades ahead. On the corporate front, investment flows into high-yielding stocks are likely to be dictated in the near term by the vacillating expectations regarding US interest rates. But your company's holdings continue to warrant confidence. Selected for their defensiveness and solid fundamentals, they are well-positioned to produce healthy dividend growth in the longer-term despite the challenging macroeconomic environment," Arthur said.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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Abrdn Asn Inc (AAIF)