10th Sep 2015 09:35
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pacific Horizon Investment Trust PLC on Thursday said it was left frustrated after being hit by falls in the Chinese market in the last 10 days of its last financial year.
The trust's net asset value per share fell 1.6% in the year to July 31, while its comparative index, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, fell 0.9% in sterling terms.
"For much of the financial year the company was in a position to report positive absolute returns. It is, however, frustrating to note that weak performance at the end of July, which is the last month of the financial year, resulted in an overall annual loss for the portfolio. The company's NAV performance was hit particularly hard by falls in the Chinese market in the last 10 days of the month," Chairman Jean Matterson said in a statement.
Matterson said Asian markets have been extremely volatile despite "some encouraging" signs of growth from specific companies and sectors.
"The Chinese market moved up sharply in the early part of the year and then fell just as rapidly; this had a negative impact on Hong Kong's Hang Seng index where a number of companies in the portfolio are listed. The company's other major exposure is to the Korean market where some of the gains were eroded by the weakness of the currency," Matterson said.
"The Indian investments continue to make progress, albeit more modest than in the previous year. Notwithstanding the recent and continuing volatility, the directors continue to believe that these markets, and in particular the information technology stocks held within them, offer the potential for good returns," Matterson added.
Shares in the trust were untraded on Thursday morning at 158.75 pence.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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