Nippon Active Value Fund PLC - Japan-focused investment firm - Net asset value per share climbs 20% to 169.2 pence as at December 31, from 140.5p a year prior. NAV total return per share improves to 23% in 2023 from 3.5% in 2022, and outperforms the MSCI Japan Small Cap index sterling terms, which had a total return of 7.8%. Declares dividend of 1.6p per share for 2023, halved from 3.2p in 2022. Chair Rosemary Morgan says: ‘Global markets ended the year strongly, as investors had more confidence that inflation had been brought under control, a recession would be averted and that interest rates were at or near their peak. A return to modest inflation in Japan after years of embedded deflation has been seen as positive and the Nikkei 225 index recently reached its highest levels since 1989 in yen terms.’ Looking ahead, she says: ‘We remain confident that the investment adviser will continue to identify attractive new targets within a broader spectrum of the market capitalisation range and to continue to deliver significant returns for shareholders.’

Current stock price: 177.18 pence each, down 0.5% on Wednesday afternoon in London

12-month change: up 25%

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