EX-99.1 2 b58717cfexv99w1.htm INSIGHT NEWSLETTER exv99w1
 

(Martin Currie Letterhead)
IN BRIEF
 
         
Net asset value per share
  US$ 23.20  
Market price
  US$ 23.18  
Premium/(discount)
    (0.09 %)
Fund size
  US$ 333.8m  
Source: State Street Corporation
Note
Due to imprecise information regarding a distribution by one of the Fund’s portfolio companies, the net asset values per share (NAV) as originally reported in the Monthly Insights for October and November 2005 were incorrect. The revised Monthly Insights containing the corrected NAVs are available on the Fund’s website at www.chinafundinc.com and upon request by calling (1) 888-246-2255.
     
At December 31, 2005
  US$ returns
 
                 
    China Fund NAV     MSCI Golden Dragon*  
    %     %  
One month
    6.9       4.2  
Year to date
    6.1       10.3  
One year
    6.1       10.3  
Three years %pa
    24.2       23.3  
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source: State Street Corporation. NAV-NAV performance.
*Source for index data: MSCI.
MANAGER’S COMMENTARY
 
The Fund enjoyed a strong end to 2005. Two areas in which the Fund is heavily invested — the domestic A-share market and Taiwan — both recovered. Meanwhile, two sectors in which the Fund is not invested — Hong Kong’s property and banking stocks — struggled in the face of rising US interest rates. The Fund’s positive performance was achieved despite holding high cash levels in order to meet the payment of a cash dividend of US$2.51 per share at the end of the month. This is the third successive year in which the Fund has paid a large dividend. Strong individual performances came from several large holdings such as: the gold miner Zijin; TPV the world’s largest LCD monitor maker; the PCB leader Tripod; and Minsheng, the private-sector bank.
During December, China discovered that its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 17% larger than it had previously thought. Regular readers of this newsletter will be aware of our instinctive distrust of Chinese statistics, but my sympathy goes out to all those economists who need to make use of these questionable numbers. Recent electricity usage and oil import figures suggest that the economy may be slowing more than the GDP numbers suggest, and we are investing accordingly.
The government’s desire to boost consumption, in order to reduce the economy’s reliance on investment spending as a driver of growth, is emerging as the most important pillar of its new five-year policy. The doubling of the tax threshold comes into effect this month, at the same time that agricultural taxes are abolished. In 2006, we expect the government to address issues surrounding social security and health insurance as part of their attempt to persuade Chinese consumers to reduce their savings rate from 40%. The expected boost to consumption that these policies produces will be offset somewhat by rising prices, as subsidies on gas, electricity and water are reduced. It is difficult to predict the effect that these changes will have on the inflation rate, as the basket of goods and services used to calculate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will also be adjusted this month, with a smaller weighting being given to food, a greater weighting being accorded to property and services.
Chris Ruffle, Martin Currie Inc
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
 
The Fund is now 98.4% invested with holdings in 68 companies, two of which are unlisted.
Portfolio turnover has been low. During December we took profits on a couple of long-term holdings whose near-term growth prospects had dimmed, such as Shenzhen Expressway. We also took quick profits on the small allocations we received of hot Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) by Suntech and Agile. We invested instead in two consumer plays. Firstly, we took a holding in Taiwan-based food giant Uni-President, which has been a chronic underperformer despite its strong brand name, which should benefit from easing cost pressures and which is showing a willingness to rationalise its many product lines. At the other end of the spectrum in terms of size is the newly listed China Flavours & Fragrances, which is intent on cornering this portfolio niche market.
Chris Ruffle, Martin Currie Inc
DIRECT INVESTMENT MANAGER’S COMMENTARY
 
Consumer spending power continues to expand considerably and is thereby creating a significant domestic market for both local and foreign companies. The government considers that the steady growth of private consumption will promote more sustainable economic growth. On the investment front, we continue to look for companies that will benefit from the long-term development of the economy, and therefore consumer-related businesses are attractive targets for us.
KOH Kuek Chiang, Asian Direct Capital Management

 


 

FUND DETAILS
 
         
Market cap
  US$ 356.5m
Shares outstanding
    14,388,287
Exchange listed
  NYSE
Listing date
  July 10, 1992
Investment adviser
  Martin Currie Inc
Direct investment manager
  Asian Direct Capital Management
Source: State Street Corporation.
ASSET ALLOCATION
 
(ASSET ALLOCATION)
Source: State Street Corporation
SECTOR ALLOCATION
 
                 
    The China     MSCI Golden  
    Fund, Inc     Dragon  
Information technology
    17.6 %     27.8 %
Financials
    14.0 %     29.0 %
Industrials
    12.7 %     10.8 %
Consumer discretionary
    12.3 %     6.1 %
Energy
    8.2 %     6.1 %
Utilities
    8.2 %     5.2 %
Consumer staples
    7.5 %     0.9 %
Materials
    7.4 %     6.2 %
Telecommunications
    5.6 %     7.9 %
Healthcare
    3.9 %      
Index fund
    1.0 %      
Other assets & liabilities
    1.6 %      
 
               
Total
    100.0 %     100.0 %
Source: State Street Corporation. Source for index data: MSCI
     
PERFORMANCE
  (US$ RETURNS)
 
                 
    NAV     Market price  
    %     %  
One month
    6.9       3.7  
Year to date
    6.1       (21.5 )
Three years %pa
    24.2       29.9  
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source: State Street Corporation
DIRECT INVESTMENTS (4.2%)
 
             
CDW Holdings Ltd
  Information technology     2.4 %
Global e Business
  Information technology     0.9 %
Captive Finance
  Financials     0.9 %
15 LARGEST LISTED INVESTMENTS (43.2%)
 
             
Chaoda Modern Agriculture
  Consumer staples     4.3 %
China Life Insurance
  Financials     3.6 %
Zijin Mining
  Materials     3.3 %
China Netcom
  Telecommunications     3.1 %
Cathay Financial
  Financials     2.9 %
TPV Technology
  Industrials     2.9 %
Tripod Technology
  Information technology     2.9 %
China Minsheng Banking
  Financials     2.8 %
Xinao Gas
  Utilities     2.7 %
Lenovo
  Information technology     2.7 %
Merry Electronics
  Consumer discretionary     2.6 %
Solomon Systech
  Information technology     2.6 %
Li Ning
  Consumer staples     2.4 %
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering
  Information technology     2.2 %
Shangri-La Asia
  Consumer discretionary     2.2 %
Source: State Street Corporation
 
FUND PERFORMANCE (BASED ON NET ASSET VALUE)   (US$ RETURNS)
 
                                                         
    One     Three     Calendar     One     Three     Five     Since  
    month     months     year to date     year     years     years     launch  
    %     %     %     %     % pa     % pa     % pa  
The China Fund, Inc.
    6.9       3.2       6.1       6.1       24.2       19.9       7.9  
MSCI Golden Dragon
    4.2       2.7       10.3       10.3       23.3       6.1       n/a  
Hang Seng Chinese Enterprise
    5.9       2.0       12.7       12.7       39.1       27.0       n/a  
Shanghai Stock Exchange 180
    5.6       (0.1 )     (5.9 )     (5.9 )     (4.5 )     n/a       n/a  
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source: State Street Corporation. Launch date July 10, 1992. Three year, five year and since launch returns are all annualized.
Source for index data: MSCI for the MSCI Golden Dragon and Copyright 2006 Bloomberg LP for the Hang Seng Chinese Enterprise and the
Shanghai Stock Exchange 180. For a full description of each Index please see the final page of this document.

 


 

(PERFORMANCE GRAPH)
(PERFORMANCE GRAPH)
(BAR CHART)

 


 

     
THE PORTFOLIO — IN FULL
  AT DECEMBER 31, 2005
                                         
Sector   Company (BBG ticker)     Price     Holding     Value $     % of portfolio  
 
                                       
Hong Kong
                                    45.5 %
Chaoda Modern Agriculture
  682 HK   HK$3.2     34,089,900       14,179,302       4.3 %
China Life Insurance
  2628 HK   HK$6.9     13,497,000       11,924,145       3.6 %
Zijin Mining
  2899 HK   HK$3.4     24,800,000       10,875,019       3.3 %
China Netcom
  906 HK   HK$12.6     6,435,500       10,250,585       3.1 %
TPV Technology
  903 HK   HK$7.6     9,968,000       9,706,315       2.9 %
Xinao Gas
  2688 HK   HK$6.2     11,560,000       9,169,219       2.7 %
Lenovo
  992 HK   HK$3.6     19,222,000       8,862,863       2.7 %
Solomon Systech
  2878 HK   HK$3.2     20,698,000       8,542,358       2.6 %
Li Ning
  2331 HK   HK$5.5     11,400,000       8,086,619       2.4 %
Shangri-La Asia
  0069 HK   HK$13.0     4,318,000       7,211,935       2.2 %
Golden Meditech
  8180 HK   HK$1.9     27,900,000       6,692,934       2.0 %
Comba Telecom Systems
  2342 HK   HK$2.7     16,118,000       5,664,702       1.7 %
Ports Design
  589 HK   HK$9.0     4,721,500       5,480,522       1.6 %
China Fire Safety
  8201 HK   HK$0.7     50,380,000       4,613,345       1.4 %
China Shineway Pharmaceutical
  2877 HK   HK$3.9     7,615,000       3,830,310       1.1 %
China Power International
  2380 HK   HK$2.6     10,349,000       3,403,596       1.0 %
Fountain Set
  420 HK   HK$3.6     6,714,000       3,095,685       0.9 %
Digital China
  861 HK   HK$2.1     10,692,000       2,930,335       0.9 %
FU JI Food & Catering
  1175 HK   HK$12.7     1,758,000       2,856,859       0.9 %
Natural Beauty Bio-Technology
  157 HK   HK$0.6     32,780,000       2,452,090       0.7 %
TCL Multimedia Technology
  1070 HK   HK$1.1     15,988,000       2,309,466       0.7 %
Ocean Grand Chemicals
  2882 HK   HK$1.0     17,379,000       2,151,768       0.6 %
Asia Aluminium
  930 HK   HK$0.7     23,250,000       2,009,080       0.6 %
China Rare Earth
  769 HK   HK$0.8     15,254,000       1,613,232       0.5 %
Beiren Printing Machinery
  187 HK   HK$1.5     7,000,000       1,327,134       0.4 %
Parkson Retail
  3368 HK   HK$14.0     535,000       966,009       0.3 %
Asia Zirconium
  395 HK   HK$0.5     13,196,000       816,926       0.3 %
Arcontech
  8097 HK   HK$0.1     18,386,000       237,130       0.1 %
 
                                       
Hong Kong ‘H’ shares
                                    9.5 %
Anhui Expressway
  995 HK   HK$3.8     13,938,000       6,741,106       2.0 %
Sinotrans
  598 HK   HK$3.2     12,835,000       5,214,418       1.6 %
China Shenhua Energy
  1088 HK   HK$8.6     4,536,500       4,973,238       1.5 %
BYD
  1211 HK   HK$12.0     3,225,000       4,970,465       1.5 %
Shenzhen Expressway
  548 HK   HK$2.6     14,514,000       4,773,388       1.4 %
China Oilfield Services
  2883 HK   HK$3.1     9,546,000       3,847,431       1.1 %
Lianhua Supermarket
  980 HK   HK$7.3     1,500,000       1,402,583       0.4 %
 
                                       
Taiwan
                                    18.2 %
Cathay Financial
  2882 TT   NT$59.5     5,438,000       9,857,452       2.9 %
Tripod Technology
  3044 TT   NT$94.5     3,334,095       9,598,829       2.9 %
Merry Electronics
  2439 TT   NT$96.0     3,012,016       8,809,211       2.6 %
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering
  2311 TT   NT$30.1     8,046,000       7,378,278       2.2 %
Radiant Opto-Electronics
  6176 TT   NT$80.0     1,500,000       3,655,862       1.1 %
Cheng Shin Rubber
  2105 TT   NT$29.0     4,129,481       3,648,396       1.1 %
Fubon Financial
  2881 TT   NT$28.2     4,134,721       3,552,252       1.1 %
Data Systems Consulting
  2447 TT   NT$26.0     4,362,043       3,455,189       1.0 %
Taiwan Green Point
  3007 TT   NT$83.8     1,286,783       3,285,170       1.0 %
Taiwan FamilyMart
  5903 TT   NT$54.5     1,645,592       2,732,292       0.8 %
Uni-President Enterprises
  1216 TT   NT$15.6     5,500,000       2,613,941       0.8 %
Yieh United Steel
  9957 TT   NT$8.1     9,483,000       2,325,681       0.7 %
 
                                       
Singapore
                                    2.0 %
Bio-Treat Technology
  BIOT SP   SG$1.1     9,799,000       6,599,050       2.0 %
 
                                       
Shenzhen ‘B’ shares
                                    0.8 %
China International Marine
  200039 CH   HK$6.3     3,425,890       2,761,549       0.8 %
 
                                       
United States ‘N’ shares
                                    1.7 %
The9
  NCTY US   US$ 15.3       184,861       2,826,525       0.8 %
China Techfaith Wireless
  CNFT US   US$ 13.5       197,700       2,668,930       0.8 %
Chindex International
  CHDX US   US$ 5.1       69,987       356,234       0.1 %

 


 

                                         
Sector   Company (BBG ticker)     Price     Holding     Value $     % of portfolio  
 
                                       
’A’ share access products
                                    16.5 %
China Minsheng Banking
          US$ 0.5       18,401,722       9,256,066       2.8 %
China Yangtze Power
          US$ 0.9       7,577,738       6,497,728       1.9 %
Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery
          US$ 1.1       5,287,861       5,556,373       1.7 %
Shenergy
          US$ 0.7       5,940,000       4,080,780       1.2 %
Qinghai Salt Lake Potash
          US$ 1.4       2,396,122       3,432,277       1.0 %
China Merchants Bank
          US$ 0.8       4,199,962       3,424,418       1.0 %
Shanghai Port Container
          US$ 1.4       2,434,945       3,412,459       1.0 %
iShares Asia Trust-FTSE/Xinhua
          HK$ 44.3       580,000       3,313,837       1.0 %
Xinjiang Tebian Electric
          US$ 0.9       3,577,791       3,223,035       1.0 %
Shanghai International Airport
          US$ 1.8       1,799,974       3,216,231       1.0 %
China Petroleum & Chemical
          US$ 0.6       5,539,000       3,196,003       1.0 %
Youngor
          US$ 0.4       7,562,730       3,195,571       1.0 %
Kweichow Moutai
          US$ 5.7       547,906       3,097,256       0.9 %
 
                                       
Direct
                                    4.2 %
CDW Holdings Ltd
                    60,000,000       7,914,437       2.4 %
Global e Business
                    40,000       3,053,238       0.9 %
Captive Finance
                    2,000,000       3,045,000       0.9 %
 
                                       
Other assets & liabilities
                                    1.6 %
OBJECTIVE
 
The investment objective of the Fund is to achieve long term capital appreciation through investment in companies and other entities with significant assets, investments, production activities, trading or other business interests in China or which derive a significant part of their revenue from China.
The Board of Directors of the Fund has adopted an operating policy of the Fund, effective June 30, 2001, that the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in China companies. For this purpose, “China companies” are (i) companies for which the principal securities trading market is in China; (ii) companies for which the principal securities trading market is outside of China or in companies organized outside of China, that in both cases derive at least 50% of their revenues from goods or services sold or produced, or have a least 50% of their assets in China; or (iii) companies organized in China. Under the policy, China will mean the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Fund will provide its stockholders with at least 60 days’ prior notice of any change to the policy described above.
The fundamental policy, which applies to not less than 65% of the Fund’s assets as set out in the Fund’s prospectus dated July 10, 1992, remains in place. The fundamental policy is the same as the operating policy set out above, except that China only includes the People’s Republic of China.
The Fund is subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940 which limits the means in which it can access the ‘A’ share market. The Fund will continue to seek the most efficient way in which to increase its ‘A’ share exposure ensuring ongoing compliance with its legal and regulatory obligations.
CONTACTS
 
The China Fund, Inc.
c/o State Street Bank and Trust Company
225 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
Tel: (1) 888 CHN-CALL (246 2255)
www.chinafundinc.com

 


 

MSCI Golden Dragon Index
The MSCI Golden Dragon is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance in the China region. As of May 2005 the MSCI Golden Dragon Index consisted of the following country indices: China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Hang Seng China Enterprise Index
The Hang Seng China Enterprise Index is a capitalization-weighted index comprised of state-owned Chinese companies (H-shares) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and included in HSMLCI index.
Shanghai Stock Exchange 180 Index
The Shanghai Stock Exchange 180 ‘A’ Share Index is a capitalization-weighted index. The index tracks the daily price performance of the 180 most representative ‘A’ share stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Important information: This document is issued and approved by Martin Currie Inc (MC Inc), as investment adviser of the listed equity portfolio of the China Fund Inc (the Fund). MC Inc is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and incorporated under limited liability in New York, USA. Registered in Scotland (No BR2575), registered address Saltire Court, 20 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2ES. Information herein is believed to be reliable but has not been verified by MC Inc. MC Inc makes no representation or warranty and does not accept any responsibility in relation to such information or for opinion or conclusion which the reader may draw from the newsletter. It explicitly does not accept responsibility for the views and opinions expressed by Asia Direct Capital Management.
The Fund is classified as a ‘non-diversified’ investment company under the US Investment Company Act of 1940. It meets the criteria of a closed ended US mutual fund and its shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. MC Inc has been appointed investment adviser to the listed equity portfolio of the Fund. Asian Direct Capital Management is the direct investment manager to the Fund.
Investors are advised that they will not generally benefit from the rules and regulations of the United Kingdom Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the FSA for the protection of investors, nor benefit from the United Kingdom Financial Services Compensation Scheme, nor have access to the Financial Services Ombudsman in the event of a dispute. Investors will also have no rights of cancellation under the FSA’s Conduct of Business Sourcebook of the United Kingdom.
This newsletter does not constitute an offer of shares. MC Inc, its ultimate and intermediate holding companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, clients, directors or staff may, at any time, have a position in the market referred to herein, and may buy or sell securities, currencies, or any other financial instruments in such markets. The information or opinion expressed in this newsletter should not be construed to be a recommendation to buy or sell the securities, commodities, currencies or financial instruments referred to herein.
The information provided in this report should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security. There is no assurance that any securities discussed herein will remain in an account’s portfolio at the time you receive this report or that securities sold have not been repurchased.
It should not be assumed that any of the securities transactions or holdings discussed here were or will prove to be profitable, or that the investment recommendations or decisions we make in the future will be profitable or will equal the investment performance of the securities discussed herein.
Investing in the Fund involves certain considerations in addition to the risks normally associated with making investments in securities. The value of the shares issued by the Fund, and the income from them, may go down as well as up and there can be no assurance that upon sale, or otherwise, investors will receive back the amount originally invested. There can be no assurance that you will receive comparable performance returns, or that investments will reflect the performance of the stock examples contained in this document. Movements in foreign exchange rates may have a separate effect, unfavorable as well as favorable, on the gain or loss otherwise experienced on an investment. Past performance is not a guide to future returns. Accordingly, the Fund is only suitable for investment by investors who are able and willing to withstand the total loss of their investment. In particular, prospective investors should consider the following risks:
à   The companies quoted on Greater Chinese stock exchanges are exposed to the risks of political, social and religious instability, expropriation of assets or nationalization, rapid rates of inflation, high interest rates, currency depreciation and fluctuations and changes in taxation, which may affect income and the value of investments.
 
à   At present, the securities market and the regulatory framework for the securities industry in China is at an early stage of development. The CSRC is responsible for supervising the national securities markets and producing relevant regulations. The Investment Regulations, under which the Fund invests in the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) and which regulate repatriation and currency conversion, are new. The Investment Regulations give CSRC and SAFE wide discretions and there is no precedent or certainty as to how these discretions might be exercised, either now or in the future. The Fund may, from time to time, obtain access to the securities markets in China via Access Products. Such products carry additional risk and may be less liquid than the underlying securities which they represent.
 
à   During the past 15 years, the PRC government has been reforming the economic and political systems of the PRC, and these reforms are expected to continue, as evidenced by the recently announced changes. The fund’s operations and financial results could be adversely affected by adjustments in the PRC’s state plans, political, economic and social conditions, changes in the policies of the PRC government such as changes in laws and regulations (or the interpretation thereof), measures which may be introduced to control inflation, changes in the rate or method of taxation, imposition of additional restrictions on currency conversion and the imposition of additional import restrictions.
 
à   PRC’s disclosure and regulatory standards are in many respects less stringent than standards in certain OECD countries, and there may be less publicly available or less reliable information about PRC companies than is regularly published by or about companies from OECD countries.
 
à   The Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange have lower trading volumes than most OECD exchanges and the market capitalisations of listed companies are small compared to those on more developed exchanges in developed markets. The listed equity securities of many companies in the PRC are accordingly materially less liquid, subject to greater dealing spreads and experience materially greater volatility than those of OECD countries. These factors could negatively affect the Fund’s NAV.
 
à   The Fund invests primarily in securities denominated in other currencies but its NAV will be quoted in US dollars. Accordingly, a change in the value of such securities against US dollars will result in a corresponding change in the US dollar NAV.
 
à   The marketability of quoted shares may be limited due to foreign investment restrictions, wide dealing spreads, exchange controls, foreign ownership restrictions, the restricted opening of stock exchanges and a narrow range of investors. Trading volume may be lower than on more developed stockmarkets, and equities are less liquid. Volatility of prices can also be greater than in more developed stockmarkets. The infrastructure for clearing, settlement and registration on the primary and secondary markets may be underdeveloped. Under certain circumstances, there may be delays in settling transactions in some of the markets.
 
à   The value of the fund’s investment in any Quota will be affected by taxation levied against the relevant QFIIs or in respect of investments held in the relevant Quotas. The PRC taxation regime that will apply to QFIIs and investments made in or through QFII quotas is not clear. The Investment Regulations are new and do not currently expressly contemplate the treatment of QFIIs and investment made through QFII Quotas.
Martin Currie Inc, registered in Scotland (no BR2575)
Registered office: Saltire Court, 20 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH11 2ES Tel: (44) 131 229 5252 Fax: (44) 131 222 2532
www.martincurrie.com/china
North American office: 1350 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 3010, New York, NY 10019, USA Tel: (1) 212 258 1900 Fax: (1) 212 258 1919
Authorized and registered by the Financial Services Authority and incorporated with limited liability in New York, USA.