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8-K - CHINA FUND INCfp0028649_8k.htm
 

Data as of 9/30/17

Manager's Commentary

Market Review
In September, Greater China equities were slightly lower with gains in China being offset by a weaker market in Taiwan. The weakness in Taiwan came mainly from the technology sector. In particular, the delay in the rollout of new iPhone models, and potentially lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 8, caused some sell-off in smartphone component makers. Generally, we saw some profit taking across the markets in the second half of the month, with the real estate sector in China selling off after the imposition of new measures designed to curb rapid price increases in residential properties. Broader concerns about slowing economic activity also impacted the financials sector, although these were somewhat alleviated after month-end by a cut by The Peoples' Bank of China ("PBoC") in the Reserve Ratio Requirement ("RRR"), a central bank regulation employed by most, but not all, of the world's central banks, that sets the minimum amount of reserves that must be held by a commercial bank.

Fund Review
The China Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") slightly lagged its benchmark in September. At the stock level, China Merchants Bank Co. Ltd was the top detractor. The stock is our preferred name in the Chinese banking sector, due to its focus on retail banking and strong management with a proven track record. There were no company announcements during the month and we believe the weakness in September was due to profit taking after a very strong rally. Post month-end, the stock rebounded sharply following the announcement of the RRR cut.

On the other hand, we saw positive contributions from the technology sector. Taiwan-listed Globalwafers Co. Ltd, a maker of silicon wafers for semiconductors and Hong Kong-listed ASM Pacific Technology Ltd, also in the semiconductor value chain, were both resilient in the technology sell-off.

Outlook
We believe that, the profit taking in Greater China equity markets in the second half of September was a healthy event, given the very strong rally that has occurred year-to-date. The pre-emptive action by regulators to tighten controls in the property market is also to be welcomed. This policy should be seen alongside others - such as the clampdown on bitcoin exchanges and peer-to-peer lending - as an effort to build greater macro and market stability. The upcoming National Party Congress will now come into focus. Specific policy announcements are unlikely, but commentators will be watching closely for signals of commitment to much-needed reform.

We believe that in the short-term, the announcement of the RRR cut targeted at stimulating credit support for smaller- and micro-sized companies will be modestly positive and select banks will benefit from improved margins. We also believe this signals that authorities are prepared to take action to mitigate any economic deceleration as we head into 2018.

In terms of the portfolio, the Fund's key positioning remains in place. We continue to have significant exposure to the technology sector across a range of companies that we believe have sustainable growth potential, either because of the industry dynamics or because of their specialist product positioning. In recent months we have reduced exposure to telecommunication stocks, where we increasingly believe that high ongoing levels of capital expenditure will dampen the earnings outlook. At the same time, we have increased allocations to other areas with better growth momentum, such as consumer-related stocks.

In Brief
  
Fund Data
 
Description
Seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investments in China companies.
Listing Date (NYSE)
July 10, 1992
Total Fund Assets (millions)
$349.1
Median Market Cap (in billions)
$11.0
Distribution Frequency
Annual
Management Firm
Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC
Portfolio Management
Christina Chung, CFA, CMA Lead Portfolio Manager

Performance (US$ Returns)
(as of 9/30/17)
  
Fund
Benchmark1
One Month
-0.85%
-0.24%
Three Month
7.98%
9.53%
One Year
20.10%
26.75%
Three Year
8.65%
11.61%

Net Asset Value / Market Price
Net Asset Value (NAV) / Market Price at Inception
$13.15 / $14.26
NAV / Market Price (as of 9/30/17)
$22.20 / $20.35

High / Low Ranges (52-Week)
High / Low NAV
$22.88 / $17.00
High / Low Market Price
$20.99 / $14.53
Premium/Discount to NAV (as of 9/30/17)
-8.33%

Fund Data (Common Shares)
Shares Outstanding
15,722,675
Average Daily Volume
27,043
Expense Ratio
1.53%

Fund Manager



Christina Chung, CFA, CMA
Lead Portfolio Manager
 
1.
MSCI Golden Dragon Index.
 


The China Fund, Inc.

Investment Objective
The investment objective of the Fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective through investment in the equity securities of companies and other entities with significant assets, investments, production activities, trading or other business interests in China or which derive a significant part of their revenue from China.

The Fund has an operating policy that the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in China companies. For this purpose, 'China companies' are (i) companies for which the principal securities trading market is in China; (ii) companies for which the principal securities trading market is outside of China or in companies organized outside of China, that in both cases derive at least 50% of their revenues from goods or services sold or produced, or have at least 50% of their assets in China; or (iii) companies organized in China. Under the policy, China means the People's Republic of China, including Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The Fund will provide its stockholders with at least 60 days' prior notice of any change to this policy.

Returns For Periods Ended September 30, 2017*
           
   
1 Month
3 Month
YTD
1 Year
3 Year
5 Year
10 Year
Inception
NAV
-0.85%
7.98%
27.51%
20.10%
8.65%
10.35%
4.81%
10.54%
Market Price
-1.55%
8.94%
35.22%
27.03%
9.86%
10.64%
5.58%
9.80%
MSCI Golden Dragon Index
-0.24%
9.53%
35.26%
26.75%
11.61%
10.66%
3.77%

Calendar Year Returns
               
  
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
NAV
72.83%
27.26%
-24.37%
12.12%
18.31%
7.82%
-5.51%
0.60%
Market Price
72.19%
23.60%
-27.51%
20.52%
12.70%
5.29%
-6.38%
-0.47%
MSCI Golden Dragon Index
67.12%
13.60%
-18.35%
22.65%
7.25%
8.06%
-7.12%
5.75%

Past performance is not a guide to future returns.
*
Annualized for periods greater than one year.

Source: State Street Bank and Trust Company. Source for index data: MSCI as at September 30, 2017. Investment returns are historical and do not guarantee future results. Investment returns reflect changes in net asset value and market price per share during each period and assumes that dividends and capital gains distributions, if any, were reinvested. The net asset value (NAV) percentages are not an indication of the performance of a shareholder's investment in the Fund, which is based on market price. NAV performance includes the deduction of management fees and other expenses. Market price performance does not include the deduction of brokerage commissions and other expenses of trading shares and would be lower had such commissions and expenses been deducted. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

Premium/Discount



Sector Allocation
   
Fund
Benchmark1
Information Technology
43.85%
37.61%
Financials
20.62%
22.90%
Consumer Discretionary
7.52%
8.92%
Industrials
7.28%
5.78%
Real Estate
6.68%
8.09%
Telecom Services
5.17%
4.27%
Energy
2.51%
2.96%
Consumer Staples
1.74%
2.10%
Health Care
1.13%
1.17%
Utilities
0.92%
3.47%
Materials
0.28%
2.73%
Other assets & liabilities
2.28%
0.00%

Source: IDS GmbH - Analysis and Reporting Services, a subsidiary of Allianz SE.
 
Country Allocation
   
Fund
Benchmark1
China
74.37%
77.42%
Hong Kong Red Chips
19.51%
8.36%
Hong Kong 'H' shares
18.29%
18.73%
Equity linked securities ('A' shares)
0.00%
0.00%
China 'A' & 'B' shares
0.00%
0.10%
Other Hong Kong securities
36.57%
33.17%
Others
0.00%
17.07%
Taiwan
22.35%
22.58%
United States
1.00%
0.00%
Other assets & liabilities
2.28%
0.00%

Top 10 Holdings
TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD (China)
9.64%
ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD (China)
9.14%
TAIWAN SEMIC CO LTD (Taiwan)
8.88%
CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP (China)
5.68%
SUN HUNG KAI PROPERTIES LTD (H.K.)
5.27%
CHINA MERCHANTS BANK CO LTD (China)
4.77%
PING AN INSURANCE (China)
4.20%
LARGAN PRECISION CO LTD (Taiwan)
2.72%
HK EXCHANGES & CLEARING LTD (H.K.)
2.27%
CHINA EVERBRIGHT INTL (China)
2.21%

Portfolio Characteristics
 
Fund
Benchmark¹
P/E Ratio
15.66
14.96
P/B Ratio
1.84
1.68
Issues in Portfolio
47
283
Foreign Holdings (%)
97.72
100.00
Other assets & liabilities (%)
2.28
0.00
Yield (%)
2.31
2.36

Source: IDS GmbH - Analysis and Reporting Services, a subsidiary of Allianz SE
 
1.
MSCI Golden Dragon Index.
 

The China Fund, Inc.

Distribution History (10 Year)
 
Declaration Date
Ex-dividend Date
Record Date
Payable Date
Distribution/
Share
Income
Long-term
Capital Gain
Short-term
Capital Gain
12/7/07
12/19/07
12/21/07
1/25/08
$12.12000
$0.28000
$9.00000
$2.84000
12/8/08
12/22/08
12/24/08
1/23/09
$5.81740
$0.48130
$5.33610
12/9/09
12/22/09
12/24/09
12/29/09
$0.25570
$0.25570
12/8/10
12/21/10
12/24/10
12/29/10
$2.27420
$0.37460
$1.89960
12/8/11
12/21/11
12/23/11
12/29/11
$2.99640
$0.17420
$2.82220
12/10/12
12/20/12
12/24/12
12/28/12
$3.25170
$0.34730
$2.90440
12/13/13
12/19/13
12/23/13
12/27/13
$3.31400
$0.43870
$2.87530
12/8/14
12/18/14
12/22/14
1/5/15
$3.76510
$0.29820
$3.46690
12/16/15
12/23/15
12/28/15
1/6/16
$1.49580
$0.21330
$0.84620
$0.43630
12/9/16
12/19/16
12/21/16
1/5/17
$0.46780
$0.46780

Distribution/Share includes Income, Long-term Capital gains and Short-term Capital gains.

The China Fund NAV Performance of $10,000 since inception
 



Past performance is not a guide to future returns.

Index Description

MSCI Golden Dragon Index

The MSCI Golden Dragon Index captures the equity market performance of large and mid cap China securities (H shares, B shares, Red-Chips and P-Chips) and non-domestic China securities listed in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

It is not possible to invest directly in an index.


The China Fund, Inc.

Portfolio in Full

Sector
Company
(exchange ticker)
Market Price
Holding
Value US$
% of
net assets
Information Technology
       
43.86
TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD
700
336.20
781,600
33,640,660
9.64
ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD
BABA
172.71
184,832
31,922,335
9.14
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO LTD
2330
216.50
4,341,000
30,992,827
8.88
LARGAN PRECISION CO LTD
3008
5,330.00
54,000
9,491,492
2.72
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO LTD
2317
105.00
2,054,100
7,112,535
2.04
BAIDU INC
BIDU
247.69
24,101
5,969,577
1.71
DIGITAL CHINA HOLDINGS LTD
861
4.40
9,305,000
5,241,448
1.50
ASM PACIFIC TECHNOLOGY LTD
522
112.50
351,200
5,058,122
1.45
PRIMAX ELECTRONICS LTD
4915
75.00
1,779,000
4,399,980
1.26
MEDIATEK INC
2454
284.50
456,000
4,278,195
1.23
GLOBALWAFERS CO LTD
6488
296.00
403,000
3,933,782
1.13
DELTA ELECTRONICS INC
2308
156.00
676,359
3,479,488
1.00
ADVANTECH CO LTD
2395
216.00
442,199
3,149,815
0.90
SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL CORP
981
8.82
2,470,900
2,790,012
0.80
GOLDPAC GROUP LTD
3315
2.55
4,970,000
1,622,478
0.46
Financials
       
20.62
CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP
939
6.48
23,898,000
19,825,256
5.68
CHINA MERCHANTS BANK CO LTD
3968
27.45
4,737,000
16,646,693
4.77
PING AN INSURANCE GROUP CO OF CHINA LTD
2318
59.95
1,911,000
14,666,690
4.20
HONG KONG EXCHANGES & CLEARING LTD
388
210.00
294,300
7,912,101
2.27
CATHAY FINANCIAL HOLDING CO LTD
2882
48.20
2,880,000
4,577,760
1.31
FUBON FINANCIAL HOLDING CO LTD
2881
47.30
2,805,000
4,375,297
1.25
CITIC SECURITIES CO LTD
6030
17.18
1,810,000
3,980,925
1.14
Consumer Discretionary
       
7.53
JD.COM INC ADR
JD
38.20
198,940
7,599,508
2.18
QINGLING MOTORS CO LTD
1122
2.55
14,816,000
4,836,747
1.39
SAIC MOTOR CORP LTD A
600104
30.20
999,407
4,543,580
1.30
SANDS CHINA LTD
1928
40.65
810,800
4,219,457
1.21
NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP
EDU
88.26
39,421
3,479,297
1.00
LI & FUNG LTD
494
3.92
3,128,000
1,569,766
0.45
Industrials
       
7.28
CHINA EVERBRIGHT INTERNATIONAL LTD
257
9.80
6,146,000
7,710,825
2.21
CN STATE CONSTRUCTION INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LTD
3311
11.38
2,906,000
4,233,700
1.21
QINGDAO PORT INTERNATIONAL CO LTD
6198
5.00
6,077,000
3,889,927
1.11
BEIJING ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS LTD
392
42.00
653,500
3,513,801
1.01
KING SLIDE WORKS CO LTD
2059
413.00
239,000
3,255,078
0.93
ZHUZHOU CRRC TIMES ELECTRIC CO LTD
3898
43.75
505,300
2,830,151
0.81
Real Estate
       
6.68
SUN HUNG KAI PROPERTIES LTD
16
126.90
1,132,000
18,390,363
5.27
CHINA OVERSEAS LAND & INVESTMENT LTD
688
25.40
1,516,000
4,929,639
1.41
Telecom Services
       
5.18
CHINA UNICOM HONG KONG LTD
762
10.86
4,162,000
5,786,476
1.66
CHINA MOBILE LTD
941
79.15
462,500
4,686,460
1.34
PCCW LTD
8
4.23
8,623,000
4,669,614
1.34
CHUNGHWA TELECOM CO LTD
2412
104.50
846,000
2,915,414
0.84
Energy
       
2.52
CHINA OILFIELD SERVICES LTD
2883
7.15
5,860,000
5,363,965
1.54
CHINA PETROLEUM & CHEMICAL CORP
386
5.85
4,552,000
3,409,105
0.98
Consumer Staples
       
1.74
CHINA MENGNIU DAIRY CO LTD
2319
21.85
1,508,000
4,218,276
1.21
VINDA INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LTD
3331
14.68
984,000
1,849,283
0.53


The China Fund, Inc.
Portfolio in Full

Sector
Company
(exchange ticker)
Market Price
Holding
Value US$
% of
net assets
Health Care
       
1.13
CSPC PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP LTD
1093
13.08
2,364,000
3,958,562
1.13
Utilities
       
0.92
CHINA RESOURCES POWER HOLDINGS CO LTD
836
14.10
1,778,000
3,209,468
0.92
Materials
       
0.28
TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL CO LTD
826
0.89
8,612,000
981,242
0.28

Source: State Street Bank and Trust Company, IDS GmbH - Analysis and Reporting Services, a subsidiary of Allianz SE.

Important Information:

Holdings are subject to change daily. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective through investment in the equity securities of companies and other entities with significant assets, investments, production activities, trading or other business interests in China or which derive a significant part of their revenue from China. Investing in non-U.S. securities entails additional risks, including political and economic risk and the risk of currency fluctuations, as well as lower liquidity. These risks, which can result in greater price volatility, will generally be enhanced in less diversified funds that concentrate investments in a particular geographic region.

The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable but Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC and its affiliates do not warrant the information to be accurate, complete or reliable. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change at any time and without notice. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This material is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any financial instrument. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of any mutual fund carefully before investing. This and other information is contained in the Fund's annual and semiannual reports, proxy statement and other Fund information, which may be obtained by contacting your financial advisor or visiting the Fund's website at www.chinafundinc.com. This information is unaudited and is intended for informational purposes only. It is presented only to provide information on the Fund's holdings, performance and strategies. The Fund is a closed-end exchange traded management investment company. This material is presented only to provide information and is not intended for trading purposes. Closed-end funds, unlike open-end funds, are not continuously offered. After the initial public offering by a closed-end fund, its shares can be purchased and sold on the open market through a stock exchange, where shares may trade at a premium or a discount. The market price of holdings is subject to change daily.

P/E is a ratio of security price to earnings per share. Typically, an undervalued security is characterized by a low P/E ratio, while an overvalued security is characterized by a high P/E ratio. P/B is a ratio of the current stock price to the book value. This is used to identify undervalued stocks. Dividend yield is the annual percentage of return earned by an investor on a common or preferred stock. The average dividend yield is the dividend rate divided by current share price.

©2017 Allianz Global Investors Distributors LLC.

Investment Products: Not FDIC Insured | May Lose Value | Not Bank Guaranteed
FS-CHN-0917