The Company’s AGM was held at 9.00 am on 20 July 2021 at the offices of Aberdeen Standard Investments, Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London, EC4M 9HH. At the date of writing the Notice of Meeting, Government guidelines on future gatherings and social distancing measures were still under review. The Board therefore decided to seek to limit attendance at this year’s AGM to the minimum quorum requirements for an AGM, in the best interests of shareholders in the current circumstances. Considering the public health and government advice related to the COVID-19 pandemic, shareholders were advised not to attend the AGM in person.
The Company's 2021 Annual Report can be found below. The Manager has also prepared an AGM presentation which can be watched on demand below.
An update from our investment manager, Hisashi Arakawa - 6 July 2021
Japanese equities closed higher in June, as expectations of a global economic recovery continued to buoy the market, offsetting concerns following comments by the Federal Reserve on potential tapering and interest rate hikes. The market was also supported by firm economic data, as exports showed a 50% year-on-year growth in May, the fastest rate of growth since 1980. While the numbers were helped by weakness a year earlier due to the pandemic, exports of products such as vehicles and semiconductor equipment remained elevated. Small caps outperformed large caps for the month, while the Japanese yen weakened against US dollars on expectation of interest rate differential between the two currencies.
Japan is home to world-class companies with strong franchises that can play an essential role in any diversified portfolio seeking to deliver long-term growth.
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Chern-Yeh Kwok is head of Japanese equities having transferred from the Singapore team in January 2011. Chern-Yeh joined Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) in 2005 from MSCI Barra where he was an equity research analyst.
Chern-Yeh graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Missouri- Columbia and holds an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.
Hisashi Arakawa joined Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) in 2016 and is based in the Tokyo office. He has a MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford and a MBA from INSEAD and is a CFA® charterholder. He was previously vice president in the corporate banking group of Development Bank of Japan.
Flavia Cheong is the Head of Asia Pacific Equities on the Asian Equities team at Aberdeen Standard Investments, where, as well as sharing responsibility for company research, she oversees regional portfolio construction. Before joining Aberdeen Asset Management in 1996, she was an economist with the Investment Company of the People’s Republic of China, and earlier with the Development Bank of Singapore. Flavia graduated with a BA in Economics and an MA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Auckland. She is a CFA charterholder.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
Head of Investment Management, Japan
Chern-Yeh Kwok is head of Japanese equities having transferred from the Singapore team in January 2011. Chern-Yeh joined Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) in 2005 from MSCI Barra where he was an equity research analyst.
Chern-Yeh graduated with a BA in Journalism from the University of Missouri- Columbia and holds an MSc in Finance from the London Business School.
Deputy Head of Investment Management, Japan
Hisashi Arakawa joined Aberdeen Standard Investments (Asia) in 2016 and is based in the Tokyo office. He has a MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford and a MBA from INSEAD and is a CFA® charterholder. He was previously vice president in the corporate banking group of Development Bank of Japan.
Head of Equities - Asia Pacific
Flavia Cheong is the Head of Asia Pacific Equities on the Asian Equities team at Aberdeen Standard Investments, where, as well as sharing responsibility for company research, she oversees regional portfolio construction. Before joining Aberdeen Asset Management in 1996, she was an economist with the Investment Company of the People’s Republic of China, and earlier with the Development Bank of Singapore. Flavia graduated with a BA in Economics and an MA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Auckland. She is a CFA charterholder.
CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.
Karen Brade was appointed a director on 1 May 2013 and assumed the Chair in July 2018. She has over 25 years of investment experience in a range of sectors and markets. She began her career at Citibank, working on various multi-national project finance transactions. Between 1994 and 2004 she was an investment principal at CDC Group plc (the UK Government’s Development Finance Institution) where she directed equity and debt investing, portfolio management, fund raising and investor development including India, South Asia, Africa and China. Since 2005 she has been an adviser to hedge funds, family offices and private equity houses and is currently the Audit Committee Chairman of Augmentum Fintech and Chairman of Keystone Investment Trust.
Sam Dean was appointed a director on 1 December 2020. He has a long career in investment banking, working in Equity Capital Markets and corporate finance on behalf of corporate and government clients globally. After starting his career in 1993 at Kleinwort Benson, he subsequently worked as a Managing Director at Citibank (1998-2001), Deutsche Bank (2001-2009), and Barclays (2009-2017). At Deutsche and Barclays, he held senior management positions as Global Head of Equity Capital Markets and Head of Corporate Finance, whilst continuing to work on client transactions.
Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director
Karen Brade was appointed a director on 1 May 2013 and assumed the Chair in July 2018. She has over 25 years of investment experience in a range of sectors and markets. She began her career at Citibank, working on various multi-national project finance transactions. Between 1994 and 2004 she was an investment principal at CDC Group plc (the UK Government’s Development Finance Institution) where she directed equity and debt investing, portfolio management, fund raising and investor development including India, South Asia, Africa and China. Since 2005 she has been an adviser to hedge funds, family offices and private equity houses and is currently the Audit Committee Chairman of Augmentum Fintech and Chairman of Keystone Investment Trust.
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Independent Non-Executive Director
Sam Dean was appointed a director on 1 December 2020. He has a long career in investment banking, working in Equity Capital Markets and corporate finance on behalf of corporate and government clients globally. After starting his career in 1993 at Kleinwort Benson, he subsequently worked as a Managing Director at Citibank (1998-2001), Deutsche Bank (2001-2009), and Barclays (2009-2017). At Deutsche and Barclays, he held senior management positions as Global Head of Equity Capital Markets and Head of Corporate Finance, whilst continuing to work on client transactions.
| Year End | 31 March |
| Accounts Published | June |
| Annual General Meeting | July |
| Dividend Paid | July, December |