Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

23.

EQUITY

23(a)Common shares

	As of December 31,
	2019		2018
Authorized shares	Number of shares		Number of shares
Common shares of US$0.01 each		50,000,000		50,000,000

Common shares issued and fully paid	Number of shares		US$’000
At December 31, 2019		13,830,769		138
At December 31, 2018		13,830,769		138
At January 1, 2018		13,830,769		138

23(b)Dividends

On November 11, 2016, the Company announced that the Board of Directors approved the implementation of a dividend policy as part of the Company's ongoing commitment to increasing shareholder value and return on investment. Pursuant to the dividend policy, subject to review and approval by the Board of Directors, the Company may pay cash dividends of at least 25% of its net post-tax audited consolidated profits attributable to shareholders. As APWC is a holding company, its ability to pay dividends is dependent upon distributions that it receives from its operating subsidiaries and affiliates, which are subject to a number of factors including operating results, capital requirements, expansion plans, debt covenants, business prospects, consideration for non-recurring items and other factors that are deemed relevant from time to time by the respective boards of our subsidiaries and affiliates. The dividend policy will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and updated at the discretion of the Board of Directors as business circumstances and available capital and capital requirements may change.

The Company recognized dividends distributed to owners amounting to $nil ($nil per share), $1,106 ($0.08 per share) and $1,382 ($0.1 per share) for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

23.	EQUITY (continued)

23(c)Other comprehensive income – net of tax

The disaggregation of changes of other comprehensive income by each type of reserve in equity is shown below:

	For the year ended December 31, 2019
	Remeasurement of defined benefit plans			Financial assets at FVOCI reserve		Foreign currency translation reserve		Total
	US$’000			US$’000		US$’000		US$’000
Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations		—			—		10,677		10,677
Re-measuring losses on defined benefit plans		(1,382	)		—		—		(1,382	)
Changes in faire value of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income		—			1,336		—		1,336
		(1,382	)		1,336		10,677		10,631

	For the year ended December 31, 2018
	Remeasurement of defined benefit plans			Available-for-sale reserve			Financial assets at FVOCI reserve			Foreign currency translation reserve			Total
	US$’000			US$’000			US$’000			US$’000			US$’000
Reclassification of application of IFRS 9		—			(1,717	)		1,717			—			—
Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations		—			—			—			(4,388	)		(4,388	)
Re-measuring losses on defined benefit plans		(328	)		—			—			—			(328	)
Changes in faire value of financial assets at fair value through other comprehensive income		—			—			(335	)		—			(335	)
		(328	)		(1,717	)		1,382			(4,388	)		(5,051	)

	For the year ended December 31, 2017
	Remeasurement of defined benefit plans			Available-for-sale reserve			Foreign currency translation reserve		Total
	US$’000			US$’000			US$’000		US$’000
Exchange difference on translation of foreign operations		—			—			15,882		15,882
Cumulative translation differences reclassified to profit or loss on liquidation of a subsidiary		—			—			248		248
Re-measuring losses on defined benefit plans		(618	)		—			—		(618	)
Net loss on available-for-sale financial assets		—			(64	)		—		(64	)
		(618	)		(64	)		16,130		15,448