The share price total return for the year was 7.8%, helped by the discount narrowing from 6.7% to 5.4%. A year earlier, the trust beat the index, with NAV up 12.4% against 7.1%.

The managers said the information technology weighting in the index rose from about 19% to 27% during the year, and that cutting the portfolio’s exposure early in the period hurt relative returns. The Taiwan Small Cap Index rose 43% in the second quarter of 2026 alone, after the trust had trimmed its holdings in those companies. Overweight positions in China and Indonesia also weighed on performance, with Indonesia the weakest market in the Asian universe.

The trust’s largest holding, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, was its leading contributor, while underweights in South Korea and India helped. A short position in a technology stock “performed poorly” in a momentum-led market, the managers said.

The managers, Nitin Bajaj and Ajinkya Dhavale, said 12 months is “a short period of time” in which to judge performance. Since Mr Bajaj took over in 2015, NAV total return has risen 161.6%, or 8.9% a year, against 7.3% a year for the index. The cumulative share price return over the period is 183.8%, or 9.6% a year.

The trust also marked 30 years since its launch in June 1996. A £1 investment at launch, with dividends reinvested, would have grown to £8.36 on a share price basis and £8.44 on a NAV basis by the end of July 2026, against £5.89 for the index. The share price fell as low as 33p during the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

The board has recommended a final dividend of 22.0p per share, up 7.3% from 20.5p, payable on 4 December if shareholders approve it at the annual general meeting on 25 November. Revenue return per share was 25.18p, up from 22.51p.

At the same meeting, shareholders will be asked to approve raising the maximum short exposure from 10% to 20% of net assets, with a matching increase in the gross asset exposure limit from 140% to 150% of NAV. Short exposure stood at 6.9% of net assets at the year end. The board said the shorting capability had “generally been additive” to performance since its introduction.

The trust’s accounts show a £23.1m loss on derivative instruments over the year, against a £12.0m gain in the previous year. This included £10.2m of realised losses on closed short CFD positions.

Gross gearing rose to 24.9% from 16.8%, and net gearing to 10.1% from 3.4%. Net assets fell to £389.9m from £402.7m, after share buybacks of 3.9m shares and the dividend payment.

Chairman Clare Brady described the year as one of “solid absolute returns” despite geopolitical volatility, and said the managers had delivered a “very good absolute return from a diversified portfolio” in a year dominated by narrow, AI-driven market leadership.