BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC 
By
BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
All information is at 31 December 2013 and unaudited.
Performance at month end with net income reinvested
One Three Six One Three Since
month months months year years launch*
Sterling:
Share price 2.2% 4.1% 10.6% 45.9% 16.2% 24.6%
Net asset value 2.3% 6.3% 8.4% 33.2% 23.7% 23.3%
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 1.1% 4.2% 3.7% 23.6% 5.3% 6.6%
MSCI EM Markets (NR) -2.5% -0.4% -1.4% -4.4% -11.2% -8.4%
US Dollars:
Net asset value 3.3% 8.7% 18.4% 35.7% 30.9% 31.0%
MSCI Frontiers Index (NR) 2.2% 6.6% 13.3% 25.9% 11.4% 13.3%
MSCI EM Markets (NR) -1.4% 1.8% 7.7% -2.6% -6.1% -2.7%
Sources: BlackRock and Standard & Poor's Micropal
* 17 December 2010.
At month end
US Dollar:
Net asset value - capital only: 184.25c
Net asset value - cum income: 184.22c
Sterling:
Net asset value - capital only: 111.29p
Net asset value - cum income: 111.27p
Share price: 114.50p
Total assets (including income): £167.6m
Premium to cum-income NAV: 2.9%
Gearing: nil
Gearing range (as a % of gross assets): 0-20%
Net yield: 4.5%
Ordinary shares in issue: 150,621,621
*Yield calculations are based on dividends announced in the last 12 months as
at the date of the release of this announcement, including the 2012 final
dividend per share of 2.60 cents per share (1.64557 pence per share) announced
on 30 November 2012, the 2013 interim dividend of 2.00 cents per share and the
special interim dividend of 3.40 cents per share announced on 30 May 2013,
payable to shareholders on 5 July 2013. The interim and special dividends
announced on 30 May 2013 that total 5.40 cents per share (3.45003 pence per
share) are the total dividends for the financial year ending 30 September 2013.
The special dividend represents the final dividend which is normally paid in
March each year. Therefore, a more accurate indication of the annual yield for
the year to 30 September 2013 would be 3.0% (based on the latest available
share price as at the date of this announcement of 114.50 pence per share).
Benchmark
Sector Analysis Gross assets(%)* Country Analysis Gross assets(%)*
Financials 34.2 United Arab Emirates 13.4
Energy 16.5 Nigeria 12.4
Consumer Staples 12.6 Saudi Arabia 10.9
Health Care 9.6 Qatar 9.4
Telecommunication 8.9 Bangladesh 7.3
Industrials 8.6 Kazakhstan 5.9
Materials 6.5 Kuwait 5.5
Consumer Discretionary 4.4 Pakistan 4.7
Utilities 2.0 Iraq 4.4
----- Oman 3.8
Total 103.3 Sri Lanka 3.5
----- Ukraine 3.2
Short positions -1.5 Vietnam 3.2
===== Turkmenistan 3.1
Slovenia 2.3
Pan Africa 2.1
Panama 1.9
Kyrgyzstan 1.5
Romania 1.4
Estonia 1.3
Croatia 1.3
Argentina 0.8
-----
103.3
=====
Short positions -1.5
=====
*reflects gross market exposure from contracts for difference (CFDs)
Market Exposure
31.01 28.02 31.03 30.04 31.05 30.06 31.07 31.08 30.09 31.10 30.11 31.12
2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013 2013
% % % % % % % % % % % %
Long 105.1 104.1 99.5 99.2 99.8 95.9 103.2 98.9 98.8 100.4 100.5 103.3
Short 3.5 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.1 2.5 3.0 3.3 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.5
Gross 108.6 105.3 100.7 100.4 100.9 98.4 106.2 102.2 100.2 102.0 102.1 104.8
Net 101.6 102.9 98.3 98.0 98.7 93.4 100.2 95.6 97.4 98.8 98.9 101.8
Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company Country of Risk % of gross assets
Zenith Bank Nigeria 5.3%
Aldar Properties United Arab Emirates 5.1%
Emaar Properties United Arab Emirates 3.7%
Halyk Bank Kazakhstan 3.5%
Qatar National Bank Qatar 3.3%
Dragon Oil Turkmenistan 3.1%
Qatar Gas Transport Qatar 3.1%
Doha Bank Qatar 3.0%
Kuwait Food Kuwait 3.0%
Square Pharmaceuticals Bangladesh 3.0%
Commenting on the markets, Sam Vecht and Emily Fletcher, representing the
Investment Manager noted:
Market overview
The MSCI Frontier Market Index returned 2.2% in December, bringing the total
benchmark return for 2013 to 25.9%. This outstripped mainstream Emerging
Markets which fell by 1.5% in December, capping a poor year in which the index
fell by 2.6%. (All calculations are on a US dollar basis with net income
reinvested.)
United Arab Emirates was the strongest performer over the month, rising by
17.0%, as the region continues its buoyant recovery. Investors were encouraged
by Dubai winning the Expo 2020 as significant infrastructure investments will
be required to host the event. The market was led by property company Emaar,
which rose by 21% after reporting strong interest in its most recent project
launches.
Bulgaria also performed well in December, up by 10.9%, as investors shrugged
off the decision of Standard & Poor's to revise its outlook for the country to
negative from stable. Investors preferred to concentrate on the country's
fledgling economic recovery and low levels of public debt, relative to GDP.
Sri Lanka ended the year on a positive note. Recent economic data releases have
shown that the economic outlook for the country is improving, GDP growth
accelerated to reach 7.8% in Q3 2013, whilst inflation currently remains
contained at 4.7% year-on-year in December, the lowest level since February 2012.
Argentina was the weakest performer in December, falling by 8.1%. Investors took
profits after the market rose by more than 20% in November. The sentiment in
Buenos Aires was not helped by a wave of blackouts as the summer heat took its
toll on the inadequate power infrastructure. The government, which had already
imposed price freezes on the utility sector, announced further freezes on up to
200 goods and services.
Portfolio
The Company's NAV increased by 3.3% in December, outperforming the benchmark by
1.1%. Year to date, the Company's NAV has returned 35.7% compared to the MSCI
Frontier Markets Index return of 25.9%. (All calculations are on a US dollar
basis with net income reinvested.)
Kyrgyzstan miner, Centerra, recovered much of the ground lost in the previous
month, rising by 35.9%. Speculation that improved terms would be agreed with the
Kyrgyz government drove the stock upwards.
Caribbean stock, Cable and Wireless Communications rose by 19.4% on the back of
speculation in the financial press that the company could be a takeover
target.
In the Middle East, hospital operator NMC also performed well, up by 7.8%. We have
long highlighted the value discrepancy between the Middle Eastern hospital
companies trading on 10-12 times earning per share and Asian peers trading on
30-50 times earnings per share.
Activity
The Company initiated a new position in energy producer, Afren. We believe
that the company's assets in both Iraq and Nigeria are being assigned
insufficient value by the market. In Iraq, we believe that the recovery factor
being applied to the company's reserves is over-conservative and in Nigeria, we
believe that the exploration programme that the company is embarking on looks
extremely interesting.
We rotated positions in the UAE reducing financial Emaar Properties and exiting
First Gulf Bank (which we have held for over three years) and investing this
capital into the Abu Dhabi based property company Aldar.
We also took profits on two other strong performing stocks: Caribbean telecoms
operator, Cable and Wireless Communications and Kyrgyzstan miner, Centerra,
both of which have already been mentioned above. The Company increased its
position in Americana, a Kuwaiti listed fast food chain which operates over
1,000 restaurants across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
As a result of the strong performance of a number of financials stocks over the
last quarter of 2013, the weight of financials within the Company rose to 34%
as at the end of December. This is a high level compared to where it has been
historically. We expect this weighting to fall gradually as we continue to
take profits in those stocks which have done well. A sharper decline in our
weighting in this sector will take place before June 2014, as we exit positions
in financial heavy Qatar and UAE which are leaving the Frontier Index at the
end of May 2014.
Outlook
In 2013, Frontier Markets attracted increasing attention from international
investors and subsequently saw substantial inflows. However, with an
institutional AUM of approximately $20bn in Frontier Markets, the asset class
is still small versus the approximately $1 trillion of institutional assets
under management which tracks emerging markets. As a result, the typical
investor base within Frontier Markets remains significantly different to more
developed markets and Frontier Markets remain relatively immune from the
short-term vagaries of global financial markets.
Whilst Frontier Markets have shown relatively strong performance since the
inception of the Company, we would highlight that the majority of the index
performance has been driven by earnings growth rather than an expansion in
valuation multiples. Therefore, in general, Frontier Markets are no more
expensive now than they were just over 3 years ago when we launched the Company
and we continue to find attractive investment opportunities across various
countries.
Within certain Frontier Markets, the recent performance has been exceptionally
strong, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by a number of unlisted companies in
these countries. We expect 2014 to be the year when both private and state
owners of companies take the opportunity to crystallise the value of their
holdings by listing their companies on the stock market and anticipate the
start of an IPO (initial public offering) boom in Frontier Markets.
20 January 2014
ENDS
Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brfi on the
internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of
any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager's website (or any other
website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.Blackrock Frontiers Inv Tst PLC : BLACKROCK FRONTIERS INVESTMENT TRUST PLC - Portfolio Update
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