EXPOSURE to Southeast Asia and an underweight position in Korea helped the Aberdeen Asian Smaller Companies Investment Trust put in a solid performance during the six months to the end of January.

The £449 million trust delivered a net asset value per share total return of 8.9 per cent against the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan Small Cap Index’s return of 5.1 per cent. But chairman Nigel Cayzer said the fact the share price traded at a “stubbornly high” discount of 13.1 per cent was “disappointing”.

Mr Cayzer said while Asia markets “cannot be immune from external shocks impacting markets elsewhere in the world” the trust “should continue to grow given the quality of the businesses and their domestic focus”.