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Daman UAE Value Fund up 30.44pc in 2003

DUBAI - Daman UAE Value Fund yesterday announced closing 2003 with gains of 30.44 per cent on the year, with a Net Asset Value (NAV) per share of Dh151.81 as on December 31, 2003.

The fund outperformed all other UAE mutual funds with similar objectives for the year. And on the strength of the performance the fund also announced an increase in dividend for the fourth quarter of 2003 to Dh2.75 per share, a rise of 25 fils over the previous quarter. The fund also registered a slight increase of 0.13 per cent for the month of December, whereby the NAV was up 20 fils to Dh151.81.

Shehab M Gargash, director of the Daman UAE Value Fund, said: "The UAE market has posted another year of strong growth, despite a year that saw the conflict in Iraq. Regional economies have benefited from higher than expected oil prices, low interest rates, high levels of liquidity, continuing economic reform and strong corporate results. During the year, the fund's active trading stance continued to deliver realised gains to investors with increased dividends throughout 2003."

During 2003, the Daman closed down on two months, while the NBAD Index registered declined in four months of the year. Gargash said that minimising the fund's volatility continues to be a key strategy of Daman. He also said that with the fourth quarter dividend distribution, the total distribution for 2003 stood at Dh10 per share. He said that the dividend yield of the fund is now 10 per cent of the par value and represents yield of 6.71 per cent on the current price, exceeding the UAE equity market average yield of 2.85 per cent. "During 2003, the fund has successfully distributed increased quarterly dividends and throughout its life achieved an annualised performance of 28.89 per cent, which is significantly greater than its long term annual objective of 10-15 per cent over a three year time horizon," he pointed out. The fund's performance over two and a half years of activity has permitted the quarterly distribution of dividends totaling Dh23.25 per share. The fund's ex-dividend NAV per share as of January 1 is Dh149.06 representing total growth of 72.31 per cent since inception, Gargash said.

Speaking about the expectations of 2004, he said that the outlook of the UAE economy remains positive, with strong corporate performance expected to be reflected in corporate dividends and continuation of strong oil prices into the coming year underpinning government budgets and general economic growth.

"Additionally, the UAE market has not witnessed the rates of growth observed in other Gulf countries during 2003, therefore opportunities would appear to remain for continued investments in the UAE at least in the first half of the year and as long as interest rates remain low, while other markets may enter a period of consolidation," he added.