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PACIFIC ASSETS TRUST PLC Fund Information / Factsheet 2012

Jan 31, 2012

4682_rns_2012-01-31_7aee402a-0742-4fb0-a7d7-45d0fb9c62aa.pdf

Fund Information / Factsheet

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Finsbury Worldwide Pacific Assets Trust plc

plc

Managed by Close Investments Limited Information as at 31 January 2012 www.pacific-assets.co.uk

Investment Objective and Benchmark Index

To achieve long-term capital growth through investment in selected companies in the Asia Pacific region and the Indian sub-continent, but excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The benchmark index is the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index (total return; Sterling adjusted).

Cumulative Performance (%)

maceutical

Trust: Pacific Assets Trust plc – NAV (total return)

Trust: Pacific Assets Trust plc – Share Price (total return) Index: MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan (total return; £ adjusted)

Peergoup: Share Price (total return)

Discrete Performance – Calendar Years (%)

Percentage
Growth
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 YTD First
State*
NAV 52.5 -50.1 57.2 19.1 -13.3 6.2 7.3
Share Price 49.0 -47.9 62.3 19.1 -15.1 3.4 5.4
Index 38.2 -33.9 53.6 23.7 -16.4 9.1 8.4
Peergroup 36.5 -35.6 63.2 24.4 -15.2 7.6 11.9

Source: Morningstar. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Peergroup performance basis: share price, percentage growth, bid to bid, net income reinvested in Sterling. *Performance since First State was appointed as Investment Manager with effect from the 1st July 2010

Commentary

During January, the NAV was up 6.2%, the share price was up 3.4%, the index was up 9.1% and the Peergroup was up 7.6%.

Asia ex-Japan markets rallied in January, outperforming World markets. Risk appetite returned to equity markets in January as economic data from the US was better-than-expected with declining unemployment, while the prospect of a hard landing in China seemed less likely. India was the bestperforming market, followed by Singapore and South Korea, while Indonesia and Thailand lagged.

In sector terms, Energy, Materials and Industrials outperformed, while Telecom Services and Utilities lagged. DBS Group (Singapore: Financials) rose as investors viewed it as one of the few beneficiaries of European bank de-leveraging in Asia. DGB Financial Group (Korea: Financials) outperformed on the back of improved sentiment towards the banking sector Axiata Group (Malaysia: Telecom Services) and KT Corp (Korea: Telecom Services) underperformed as defensive stocks lagged over the month. Transaction activity was limited over the month. We sold Indosat (Indonesia: Telecom Services) as valuations were getting stretched. The fund remains defensively positioned and we see the best value in companies with pricing power, strong sustainable cash flows and growing dividend yields. The outlook from the top down is negative and it is very difficult to see anything but bad news coming out of Europe. We believe that the political will to sort out structural problems is also lacking.

Investment Manager

Portfolio Manager: David Gait

Investment Manager Profile

First State was appointed as Investment Manager with effect from the 1st July 2010. First State is 100 per cent owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and is headquartered in Edinburgh. Its Asia Pacific ex Japan/Global Emerging Markets team is responsible for the portfolio and has 21 investment professionals, a number of whom are located in the firm's offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The First State team has specialised in Asian investment for 22 years and has built a highly creditable long term performance record managing a range of client portfolios including Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust plc, an investment company which invests in smaller companies in the Asian Pacific region. First State has a disciplined research procedure which seeks to identify high quality companies.

Investment Policy

To invest in companies with the aim of generating long term growth for shareholders. The Company invests principally in listed equities but may invest in other securities, including preference shares, debt instruments, convertible securities and warrants. In addition, the Company may invest in open and closedended investment funds and companies, up to a limit of 10 per cent of total assets, or in some cases 15 per cent. The Company is able to invest in unlisted securities but these will be limited to those which are expected to be listed on a stock exchange or which cease to be listed and which may be appropriate to continue to hold. Risk is diversified by investing in different countries, sectors and stocks within the Asia Pacific region and the Indian sub-continent, excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The Board has set a current limit for single investments of 7.5 per cent of total assets at the time of investment. The Board has set a current limit on gearing, net of cash, of 20 per cent of shareholders' funds at the time of borrowing.

Pacific Assets Trust plc

Ten Largest Equity Holdings as at 31 January 2012 (% of total investments)

Name Country Total
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Taiwan 6.2
Manila Water Philippines 5.0
Hong Kong & China Gas Hong Kong 4.8
DBS Group Singapore 4.8
Singapore Telecommunications Singapore 4.3
Towngas China Hong Kong 3.9
DGB Financial Group South Korea 3.7
Kasikornbank Thailand 3.7
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Philippines 3.6
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance South Korea 3.6
Total 43.6

Portfolio Allocation as at 31 January 2012

Singapore 17.4%
Hong Kong 17.2%
Taiwan 14.9%
India 12.7%
South Korea 11.3%
Philippines 10.5%
Thailand 6.0%
Liquidity 4.5%
Malaysia 3.4%
China 1.0%
Indonesia 0.6%
Sri Lanka 0.5%
Total: 100.0%

Source: All portfolio information sourced from Frostrow Capital LLP.

Standardised Discrete Performance (%)

Percentage Growth
12 Month Return
Jan 07-
Jan 08
Jan 08-
Jan 09
Jan 09-
Jan 10
Jan 10-
Jan 11
Jan 11-
Jan 12
NAV 24.9 -42.2 56.8 21.4 -4.4
Share Price 24.8 -40.4 55.0 27.6 -11.5
Index 20.6 -27.7 54.2 26.4 -5.9
Peergroup 13.9 -27.9 58.4 30.8 -6.5

Source: Morningstar. Peergroup performance basis: share price, percentage growth, bid to bid, net income reinvested in Sterling.

Important Information

Pacific Assets Trust plc (the "Company") is a UK investment trust listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the Association of Investment Companies. As this Company may implement a gearing policy investors should be aware that the share price movement may be more volatile than movements in the price of underlying investments. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. An investor may not get back the original amount invested. Changes in the rates of exchange between currencies may cause the value of investments to fluctuate. Fluctuation may be particularly marked in the case of a higher volatility fund and the value of an investment may fall suddenly and substantially. Shares in companies in the Asia Pacific region can prove volatile and above average price movements can be expected. There can be no assurance that the Company's investment objective will be achieved and investment results may vary substantially over time. This document is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase shares in the Company and has not been prepared in connection with any such offer or invitation. Investment Trust share prices may not fully reflect underlying net asset values. There may be a difference between the prices at which you may purchase ("the offer price") or sell ("the bid price") a share on the stock market which is known as "bid-offer" or "dealing" spread. This is set by the market makers and varies from share to share. This spread typically averages 1-2% each way on the mid-market price (the price halfway between the bid and offer prices), and can fluctuate and at times be higher than average. Net Asset Value per share is calculated in accordance with the guidelines of the Association of Investment Companies in that income received by the company in the period since the last annual accounts is excluded. Total net assets are stated inclusive of income received. Any opinions on individual stocks are those of the Company's Investment Manager and no reliance should be given on any such views. Any research in this document has been procured and may have been acted upon by First State Investment Management (UK) Limited ("First State") for its own purposes. The results are being made available to you only incidentally. The views expressed herein do not constitute investment or any other advice and are subject to change. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Frostrow Capital LLP and no assurances are made as to their accuracy.

www.pacific-assets.co.uk

Fast Facts as at 31 January 2012

Launch Date 1985

Annual Management Fee

0.75% of net assets plus 0.20% of market cap (payable by the Trust)

Performance Fee

The performance fee is 12.5% of that portion of the NAV outperformance over the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan Index, which exceeds a 1.75% hurdle, measured over a rolling three year period. See Annual Report for more details

Year / interim end 31 January / 31 July
Capital Structure 116,848,386 Ordinary Shares

Trust Characteristics

Number of Holdings 55
Total Assets (£m) 153.9
Dividend June
Current Net Yield 1.1%
Gearing (AIC basis) 100
Share Price (p) 115.25
NAV (p) (ex income) 128.53
(Discount) / Premium (10.3%)

Codes

Sedol – Shares 0667438
ISIN – Shares GB0006674385
Bloomberg – Shares PAC LN
Epic – Shares PAC

How to Contact Us

Frostrow Capital LLP

25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1AL Tel.: 0203 0084910 Fax: 0203 0438889 Website: www.frostrow.com

Grant Challis

Tel.: 0203 0084912 [email protected]

Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.