EX-99 2 b61680ssexv99.htm EX-99 MONTHLY INSIGHT REPORT OF THE FUND'S LISTED INVESTMENT MANAGER exv99
 

(MARTIN CURRIE LOGO)
(THE CHINA FUND LOGO)
IN BRIEF
 
Net asset value per share
  US$ 30.02  
Market price
  US$ 28.85  
Premium/(discount)
    (3.90 %)
Fund size
  US$ 435.2 m
 
Source:   State Street Corporation
                 
            US$ returns  
    China Fund NAV   MSCI Golden Dragon*  
At 30 June 2006     %     %  
One month
    (1.3 )     0.0  
Year to date
    29.4       9.5  
One year
    30.4       16.8  
Three years %pa
    22.5       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
 
Markets were choppy and turnover was low during June. Taiwan was the region’s worst performer, with a failed attempt to impeach the president dominating the news. In Hong Kong, investors’ appetite for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) faded and deals were pulled, reduced in size or priced towards the bottom of their indicative ranges. Meanwhile, China’s economy continued to grow rapidly — industrial production growth (+17.9%) hit its highest level for two years and the governor of the central bank predicted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 10% for the year as a whole. The government is attempting to cool this growth using a steady drip of policies; we saw a rise in the bank reserve requirement in June. Although the US may have finished raising interest rates for this cycle, China looks likely to raise rates again later in the summer. Now that global investors have stopped worrying about inflation, they will probably start worrying about growth. But look no further — we have plenty of it here.
The arrest of the deputy mayor of Beijing on corruption charges signals a campaign by the Hu/Wen administration to install its own men in local government. We expect further scandals, followed by a marked improvement in the ability of the central government to persuade the provinces to follow its dictates. June also witnessed further scandals at the state-owned banks, although the market now seems inured to bad news of this nature and their shares held up at high levels. It should be borne in mind that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has yet to make its market debut. On a more positive note, there was acceleration in corporate restructuring this month: Cathay Pacific cozied up to Air China, Shanghai Port Container Group privatised its ‘A’ share listed subsidiary and Murdoch sold Phoenix TV to China Mobile.
Chris Ruffle, Martin Currie Inc*
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
 
The Fund is 96.0% invested with holdings in 69 companies, two of which are unlisted.
All of the purchases that we made in June were of steady growth companies whose stocks had suffered during the recent sell-off: Zhejiang Expressway, China Oilfield Services and Shanghai Airport. We also took advantage of heavy short-selling of the iShare FTSE/Xinhua A Fund (which had driven it to a discount) to add to our weighting in the ‘A’ share market (now 22% of the Fund). We remain bullish on the ‘A’ share market, where liquidity remains good: corporate restructuring seems likely to be a theme in the second half of this year. We also expect to increase the Fund’s holdings in Taiwan, where we are finding excellent values. We funded these purchases by taking profits in Zijin Mining and Youngor. We also exited Agile, on the basis that the property market will continue to be the target of government cooling measures.
Chris Ruffle, Martin Currie Inc*
 
*   Martin Currie Ltd and Heartland Capital Management Ltd (HCML) have established Martin Currie China Ltd (MCCL), as a joint venture company, to provide investment management or investment advisory services to the range of China investment products managed by Martin Currie.
 
    MCCL has appointed Martin Currie Investment Management Ltd (MCIM), or its affiliates, as investment manager of Martin Currie’s China investment products.
 
    HMCL has seconded both Chris Ruffle and Shifeng Ke to MCIM or its affiliates on a full time basis with the same roles and responsibilities as if they were full time employees.

 


 

DIRECT INVESTMENT MANAGER’S COMMENTARY
 
On June 29 the Fund sold its stake in Global e-Business Services, which — among its other e-business services — provides an electronic submission service for customs clearance. We sold the stake at the investment cost of HK$23.4 million (approximately US$3 million). The company’s growth had been slower than expected and we negotiated an early exercise of the option we had to exit at cost should the company fail to meet certain profit targets. This sale has enabled the Fund to gain liquidity approximately one year earlier than had been expected.
Our other investments are performing satisfactorily and we are currently looking at a range of new investment opportunities.
KOH Kuek Chiang, Asian Direct Capital Management

 


 

FUND DETAILS
 
Market cap
    US$ 418.2 m
Shares outstanding
    14,496,220  
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
 
(PIE CHART)
 
Source:   State Street Corporation
SECTOR ALLOCATION
 
                 
    The China   MSCI Golden
    Fund, Inc   Dragon
Industrials
    18.2 %     10.2 %
Information technology
    13.0 %     24.9 %
Consumer discretionary
    12.3 %     5.9 %
Financials
    12.1 %     31.5 %
Energy
    10.3 %     6.9 %
Materials
    7.4 %     6.6 %
Consumer staples
    7.1 %     1.1 %
Utilities
    6.2 %     5.3 %
Healthcare
    4.3 %      
Telecommunications
    3.6 %     7.6 %
Index fund
    1.5 %      
Other assets & liabilities
    4.0 %      
 
Total
    100.0 %     100.0 %
 
Source:   State Street Corporation. Source for index data: MSCI
 
     
PERFORMANCE   (US$ RETURNS)
 
                 
    NAV     Market price  
    %     %  
One month
    (1.3 )     (5.7 )
Year to date
    29.4       24.5  
Three years %pa
    22.5       17.5  
 
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
 
Source:   State Street Corporation
DIRECT INVESTMENTS (2.8%)
 
CDW Holdings Ltd
  Information technology     2.0 %
Captive Finance
  Financials     0.7 %
teco Optronics
  Information technology     0.1 %
15 LARGEST LISTED INVESTMENTS (42.7%)
 
China Life Insurance
  Financials     4.9 %
Chaoda Modern Agriculture
  Consumer staples     4.9 %
Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery
  Industrials     3.8 %
Shanghai International Airport
  Industrials     3.6 %
Cathay Financial
  Financials     2.7 %
Tripod Technology
  Information technology     2.6 %
Xinao Gas
  Utilities     2.5 %
Huaneng Power International
  Energy     2.4 %
Golden Meditech
  Healthcare     2.4 %
China Petroleum & Chemical
  Energy     2.3 %
Zijin Mining
  Materials     2.2 %
TPV Technology
  Industrials     2.2 %
Anhui Expressway
  Utilities     2.1 %
Merry Electronics
  Consumer discretionary     2.1 %
China Shenhua Energy
  Energy     1.9 %
 
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.
    (1.3 )     5.9       29.4       30.4       22.5       20.3       9.6  
MSCI Golden Dragon
    0.0       1.0       9.5       16.8       23.3       9.9       n/a  
Hang Seng Chinese Enterprise
    1.7       1.1       27.1       39.7       35.7       24.1       n/a  
Shanghai Stock Exchange 180
    2.0       30.6       48.0       58.6       5.1       n/a       n/a  
 
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source:  State Street Corporation. Launch date 10 July 1992. Three year, five year and since launch returns are all annualised.
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 IN PERSPECTIVE
 
(LINE GRAPH)
 
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source:  Martin Currie Inc as of 30 June 2006.
THE CHINA FUND INC. PREMIUM/DISCOUNT
 
(LINE GRAPH)
 
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source:  Martin Currie Inc as of 30 June 2006.
DIVIDEND HISTORY CHART
 
(BAR CHART)
                                                                                                         
Total
    0.91       0.61       0.09       0.08       0.50       0.08       0.11       0.00       0.13       0.21       1.78       3.58       2.51  
Income
    0.09       0.01       0.09       0.08       0.50       0.08       0.11       0.00       0.13       0.06       0.07       0.20       0.22  
Long-term capital
    0.04       0.24       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.67       3.27       2.29  
Short-term capital
    0.79       0.36       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.00       0.15       1.04       0.11       0.00  
 
Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
Source:  State Street Corporation.

 


 

THE PORTFOLIO — IN FULL   AT 30 JUNE 2006
 
                                         
Sector   Company (BBG ticker)     Price     Holding     Value $     % of portfolio
Hong Kong
                                    39.0 %
China Life Insurance
    2628 HK     HK$12.3     13,497,000       21,287,273       4.9 %
Chaoda Modern Agriculture
    682 HK     HK$4.9     34,089,900       21,286,985       4.9 %
Xinao Gas
    2688 HK     HK$7.4     11,560,000       11,013,776       2.5 %
Golden Meditech
    8180 HK     HK$2.3     35,040,000       10,376,207       2.4 %
Zijin Mining
    2899 HK     HK$3.9     19,418,000       9,687,749       2.2 %
TPV Technology
    903 HK     HK$7.4     9,968,000       9,432,831       2.2 %
Shangri-La Asia
    0069 HK     HK$15.0     4,318,000       8,311,330       1.9 %
China Netcom
    906 HK     HK$13.6     4,078,000       7,140,569       1.6 %
China Shineway Pharmaceutical
    2877 HK     HK$5.9     7,615,000       5,784,537       1.3 %
China Fire Safety
    8201 HK     HK$0.9     50,380,000       5,772,911       1.3 %
Lenovo
    992 HK     HK$2.6     15,858,000       5,257,416       1.2 %
Solomon Systech
    2878 HK     HK$2.0     19,892,000       5,019,740       1.1 %
Zhejiang Expressway
    576 HK     HK$4.7     7,638,000       4,646,524       1.1 %
Ports Design
    589 HK     HK$12.5     2,678,500       4,310,706       1.0 %
Comba Telecom Systems
    2342 HK     HK$2.1     16,118,000       4,254,139       1.0 %
Li Ning
    2331 HK     HK$7.6     3,726,000       3,693,859       0.8 %
China Travel
    0308 HK     HK$1.9     15,142,000       3,645,621       0.8 %
China Ting
    3398 HK     HK$1.9     13,148,000       3,233,254       0.7 %
Parkson Retail
    3368 HK     HK$22.1     1,080,500       3,067,468       0.7 %
Digital China
    861 HK     HK$2.2     10,692,000       2,994,090       0.7 %
Ocean Grand Chemicals
    2882 HK     HK$1.3     17,379,000       2,796,929       0.6 %
China Rare Earth
    769 HK     HK$1.4     15,254,000       2,729,891       0.6 %
Shimao Property
    813 HK     HK$7.4     3,346,000       2,719,664       0.6 %
China Insurance International
    966 HK     HK$5.0     4,026,000       2,578,776       0.6 %
Natural Beauty Bio-Technology
    157 HK     HK$0.6     32,780,000       2,574,456       0.6 %
Fountain Set
    420 HK     HK$2.7     6,714,000       2,290,730       0.5 %
Sinochem Hong Kong
    297 HK     HK$3.1     5,000,000       1,963,435       0.4 %
Beiren Printing Machinery
    187 HK     HK$1.7     7,000,000       1,523,111       0.4 %
Asia Zirconium
    395 HK     HK$0.7     12,916,000       1,213,941       0.3 %
Arcontech
    8097 HK     HK$0.1     18,386,000       236,719       0.1 %
 
                                       
Hong Kong ‘H’ shares
                                    8.5 %
Anhui Expressway
    995 HK     HK$5.8     12,406,000       9,264,169       2.1 %
China Shenhua Energy
    1088 HK     HK$14.4     4,536,500       8,323,049       1.9 %
BYD
    1211 HK     HK$15.9     3,225,000       6,581,209       1.5 %
China Oilfield Services
    2883 HK     HK$4.0     12,650,000       6,433,308       1.5 %
Sinotrans
    598 HK     HK$2.5     11,134,000       3,512,077       0.8 %
Lianhua Supermarket
    980 HK     HK$8.3     2,859,000       3,055,195       0.7 %
 
                                       
Taiwan
                                    20.1 %
Cathay Financial
    2882 TT     NT$70.8     5,438,000       11,894,234       2.7 %
Tripod Technology
    3044 TT     NT$110     3,334,095       11,330,124       2.6 %
Merry Electronics
    2439 TT     NT$98.6     3,012,016       9,174,834       2.1 %
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering
    2311 TT     NT$32.0     7,838,000       7,748,529       1.8 %
Yuanta Core Pacific Securities
    6004 TT     NT$21.4     8,983,000       5,938,807       1.4 %
Uni-President Enterprises
    1216 TT     NT$28.2     6,729,000       5,862,241       1.4 %
China Metal Products
    1532 TT     NT$48.7     3,584,000       5,392,138       1.2 %
Premier Image Technology
    2394 TT     NT$48.5     3,371,000       5,050,850       1.2 %
ShenMao Technology
    3305 TT     NT$158     948,000       4,627,319       1.1 %
Novatek Microelectronics
    3034 TT     NT$157     920,000       4,462,225       1.0 %
Cheng Shin Rubber
    2105 TT     NT$28.4     4,129,481       3,616,700       0.8 %
Data Systems Consulting
    2447 TT     NT$25.5     4,362,043       3,429,586       0.8 %
Yieh United Steel
    9957 TT     NT$10.5     9,483,000       3,061,442       0.7 %
Taiwan Green Point
    3007 TT     NT$73.8     1,286,783       2,933,767       0.7 %
Taiwan FamilyMart
    5903 TT     NT$50.5     1,645,592       2,567,306       0.6 %
 
                                       
Singapore
                                    1.5 %
Bio-Treat Technology
  BIOT SP     SG$1.1     9,799,000       6,621,364       1.5 %
 
                                       
United States ‘N’ shares
                                    2.1 %
China Techfaith Wireless
  CNFT US       US$14.8     290,316       4,287,967       1.0 %
The9
  NCTY US       US$23.2     184,861       4,286,927       1.0 %
Chindex International
  CHDX US       US$7.9     69,987       553,597       0.1 %

 


 

                                         
Sector   Company (BBG ticker)     Price     Holding     Value $     % of portfolio
A’ share access products
                                    22.0 %
Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery
            US$2.5       6,609,826       16,319,660       3.8 %
Shanghai International Airport
            US$1.8       8,624,267       15,543,891       3.6 %
Huaneng Power International
            US$0.6       16,819,531       10,579,485       2.4 %
China Petroleum & Chemical
            US$0.8       12,555,997       9,818,790       2.3 %
Xinjiang Tebian Electric
            US$1.6       4,676,642       7,538,747       1.7 %
China Yangtze Power
            US$0.9       8,714,399       7,000,552       1.6 %
iShares Asia Trust-FTSE/Xinhua
            HK$63.1       780,000       6,376,980       1.5 %
Qinghai Salt Lake Potash
            US$2.5       2,396,122       6,083,754       1.4 %
Youngor
            US$0.8       7,562,730       5,966,994       1.4 %
China Merchants Bank
            US$1.0       5,290,407       5,099,952       1.2 %
Baoding Tianwei Babian Electric
            US$2.7       1,761,193       4,821,382       1.1 %
 
                                       
Direct
                                    2.8 %
CDW Holdings Ltd
                    60,000,000       8,525,418       2.0 %
Captive Finance
                    2,000,000       3,045,000       0.7 %
teco Optronics
                    1,861,710       150,000       0.1 %
 
                                       
Other assets & liabilities
                            17,451,829       4.0 %
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 organised 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 organised 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
2 Avenue de Lafayette, 6th Floor
PO Box 5049
Boston, MA 02206-5049
Tel: (1) 888 CHN-CALL (246 2255)
www.chinafundinc.com

 


 

MSCI Golden Dragon Index
The MSCI Golden Dragon is a free float-adjusted market capitalisation 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 capitalisation-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 capitalisation-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 authorised 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.
Martin Currie Ltd and Heartland Capital Management Ltd (HCML) have established Martin Currie China Ltd (MCCL), as a joint venture company, to provide investment management or investment advisory services to our China product. MCCL has appointed Martin Currie Investment Management Ltd (MCIM), or its affiliates, as investment manager of our China funds. HMCL has seconded both Chris Ruffle and Shifeng Ke to MCIM or its affiliates on a full time basis with the same roles and responsibilities as if they were full time employees.
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:
è   The companies quoted on Greater Chinese stock exchanges are exposed to the risks of political, social and religious instability, expropriation of assets or nationalisation, rapid rates of inflation, high interest rates, currency depreciation and fluctuations and changes in taxation, which may affect income and the value of investments.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   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.
 
è   It should be noted that the position with regard to PRC taxation of the Company and its gains and profits remains unclear. Until such time as the PRC taxation position of the Company is clarified, the Company will process all subscription and redemption requests based upon provisional Net Asset Value calculations, determined without making any provision for PRC capital gains taxation, but with a provision for withholding tax of 10% on all dividend income received. The number of Ordinary shares allotted to any investor, and the final redemption price per share, will be recalculated upon the taxation position being clarified. The Company will require an indemnity in respect of such amount of any redemption proceeds as they consider prudent to allow for potential PRC taxation liabilities that may be included in the final Net Asset Value calculation.
 
    In practice this means that, should any tax be payable retrospectively, the Company’s Net Asset Value will be adjusted to the extent that existing shareholders are liable. All shareholders will be required to sign an indemnity prior to being permitted to redeem all or part of their shareholding to protect the Company and the existing shareholders. Any change to the withholding tax rate which is applied to the Company on an retrospective basis will result in an adjustment of the Net Asset Value of the Company for the benefit of, or if charged at a higher rate than the existing provision, detriment of existing shareholders.
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
Authorised and registered by the Financial Services Authority and incorporated with limited liability in New York, USA.