The Cathay Investment Fund, which invests in mainland-backed companies, says net losses for the year to December were $19.35 million, mainly due to the volatile stock market since late last year. New asset value fell about 20 per cent to $1.02 billion from $1.28 billion. Losses per share were 24 cents against previous profit of 24.8 cents.

Directors recommended the payment of a dividend out of share premium equal to 1 per cent of new asset value, which is equivalent to $10.24 million. As of December 31, Cathay's net assets were over 91 per cent invested, the remainder being held in cash or cash equivalents. Of the total invested amount, 80.4 per cent represented investment in listed companies, and 19.6 per cent represented investment in unlisted companies. During the period, investment portfolio of the fund included China Resources Beijing Land, Wuxi Little Swan and China Yuchai International.