CORRESP 1 filename1.htm

 

JPMORGAN CHINA REGION FUND, INC.

1 Beacon Street, 18th Floor Boston,
Massachusetts 02108, USA

 

 

 

21 May 2015

 

 

Christina DiAngelo Fettig Senior Staff Accountant

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Division of Investment Management, Disclosure Review Office
100 F Street N.E.

Washington DC 20549

 

 

 

Dear Ms. DiAngelo,

 

RE: SEC REVIEW OF THE 12/31/2014 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR JPMORGAN CHINA REGION FUND, INC. (the 'Fund')

 

This letter is in response to the comments you provided on March 31, 2015 with respect to the Fund's financial statements and filings in connection with the Sarbanes-Oxley examination of the Fund. Our responses to your comments are set forth below. We will incorporate the changes referenced in our response for the Fund into the next shareholder report or applicable regulatory filing as noted below except as otherwise indicated.

 


 

1.Form N-PX August 26, 2014

 

Comment: The SEC staff advised that section 2 of the Form filed in August should have been signed by the Principal Executive Officer, not the Secretary

 

Response: Going forward Simon J. Crinage, Director and President, will sign this section.

 

2.Filing History

 

a.Form N-SAR

 

Comment: The SEC staff questioned why the Form N-SAR dated October 10, 2013 was amended and filed 4 different times.

 

 
 

 

Response: On October 10, 2013, the following four Form N-SARs ('N-SARs') were re-filed with the SEC; period-ended December 31, 2011, June 30, 2012, December 31, 2012 and June 30, 2013. These N-SARs were re-filed and submitted to the SEC in order to correctly submit them as 'confirmed copy', as they were originally filed and submitted as 'unconfirmed copy'. This was the result of a technical update in August 2011 by the software vendor used by J.P. Morgan Investor Services to file N-SARs, Merrill Corporation, where Merrill corrected their underlying application code that reset the related fields correctly to designate filings as 'confirmed copy' during final submission. Please refer to the attached letter in Annex 1 for further detail.

 

b.Security Counts

 

Comment: The SEC staff questioned why security counts Form N-17f-2 going back to 2011 were filed in bulk on February 13, 2015.

 

Response: This was an administrative oversight. However, despite the late filings, the Fund's independent public accountants, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") had conducted the security counts on an annual basis with no exceptions reported. A procedure is now in place to ensure all future security counts are filed on a timely basis.

 

3.JFC's Financial Statements

 

a.Exposure to A-Shares

 

Comment: The SEC staff questioned the Fund's exposure to A-Shares and highlighted a discrepancy between the statement on page 1 of the financial statements that the Fund intends to "maintain a $20m direct investment in China A-Shares" and the aggregate value of the A Share stocks held in the Fund's portfolio (pages 11-15 of the financial statements).

 

It was further noted that the Fund was initially granted access for up to $20m in QFII quota in October 2011, and the Fund made a statement at that time that it would seek to "maintain a

$20m direct investment in China A-Shares". This statement has remained in the Fund’s financial statements; however, the SEC staff noticed that the Fund's A Share portfolio investments exceeded $20m. This is due to asset appreciation.

 

Response: See Annex 2 containing the list of stocks in the Fund's portfolio as at 31 December 2014.

 

The $20m A-share quota was intended at the time of investment. This is consistent ·with the Board's announcement on 9 July 2010 that it seeks "to increase China A-Share exposure by approximately $20m at the time of investment". This strategic investment is in addition to the Fund's current ability to "invest up to 10% of its total assets in other China A-Share investment companies." Subsequent to the initial A-Share investment, the RMB assets have appreciated, and the Fund can buy or sell RMB assets accordingly. This explains why the Fund now holds circa $30m in direct A-Share assets. The 'quota' will reduce, however, if the Fund repatriates RMB to USD. No such repatriation has taken place to date.

 

 

 

 
 

 

Page 1 of the Annual Report will be amended in future financial statements to provide greater clarity on the Fund's intended A-Share exposure which is maintained by the Board in conjunction with the Investment Manager.

 

b.JFC's Benchmark Index

 

Comment: The SEC staff highlighted a discrepancy in the Annual Report regarding the Fund's current benchmark.

 

Response: It was agreed that going forward the 'Approval of Investment Advisory Contract' on page 30 would be corrected so that it states the correct benchmark index as per the footnote on page 3 of the Annual Report.\\!e do not believe that further disclosure is required for a closed end fund.

 

Comment: The SEC staff also suggested that the Annual Reports going forward should disclose the rationale for changing the Fund's benchmark with effect from October 1, 2013.

 

Response: The revision to the benchmark was announced and explained on September 27, 2013 and subsequently also noted in the Chairman's Statement of the December 31, 2013 Annual Report. We do not believe that further disclosure is required for a closed end fund.

 

c.Statement of Operations

 

Comment: The SEC staff queried the 'Interest income from affiliates' (US$ 465) on page 17 of the Annual Report. Rule 12-04 of Regulation S-X requires further disclosure.

 

Response: In the December 31, 2014 Annual Report, the 'Interest income from affiliates' line on the statement of operations is $465 (less than 0.01% of total income), which represents the interest income earned during the year on foreign currency balances held with the Fund’s custodian, and affiliate, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and is not derived from an investment in an affiliate of the Fund. Disclosure related to the affiliated custodian relationship is included in Note 4.iii). JPMIS Boston Financial Reporting provided the Fund's Auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers ('PWC') with support detailing this line item and did not receive any inquires from PWC during the audit.

 

d.Management Fee

 

Comment: The SEC staff highlighted that Note 4 to the financial statements on page 23 states that the Advisor has agreed to waive its entitlement to a management fee on any cash held when borrowings are drawn under a borrowing facility. The staff suggested that the 'waiver' should be presented differently in the Statement of Operations on page 17 going forward. Specifically, the SEC staff proposed that going forward, an additional line be added showing Gross then waiver, or footnote be added.

 

Response: The financial statements for the periods ended December 31, 2012 and June 30, 2013, the Statement of Operations presented the Investment advisory fees gross of all advisory fees incurred, along with a corresponding waiver line item which represented all advisory fees waived, including the related disclosure in Note 4.i). This presentation appears to be consistent with the SEC staff s suggested approach. Accordingly, in light of the staff s suggestions, the Fund will include a similar presentation in future shareholder reports.

 

 


 

 
 

 

In connection with your review of the shareholder reports, the undersigned hereby acknowledges on behalf of the Fund that: (1) the Fund is responsible for the adequacy and the accuracy of the disclosure contained in the filings; (2) comments of the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), if any, or changes to disclosure in response to SEC staff comments, if any, in the filings reviewed by the SEC staff do not foreclose the SEC from taking any action with respect to the filing made; and (3) the Fund may not assert SEC staff comments, or lack thereof, as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the SEC under the federal securities laws of the United States.

 

We hope that the SEC staff finds this letter responsive to the staff s comments. Should members of the staff have any questions or comments concerning this letter, please call the undersigned at +44 (0)207 742 3436

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

/s/ Neil Martin

 

Neil Martin

Treasurer

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Annex 1

 

 

 

  Rick Millard
  Vice President
  J.P. Morgan Investor Services
  70 Fargo St.
  Boston, MA 02210

 

 

 

 

October 10, 2013

 

Eric Swann

Vice President

AQR Capital Management LLC

Two Greenwich Plaza, 3rd Floor

Greenwich, CT 06830

 

Dear Eric,

 

J.P.Morgan would like to provide you with an update of the recently identified event regarding Form N-SAR (“NSARs”) filings made with the SEC.

 

Background:

 

Merrill Corporation, the software vendor used by J.P.Morgan to file NSARs with the SEC has recently informed us that those forms have been incorrectly submitted as “unconfirmed copies” since August 2011 due to a technical error with the vendor’s software. (See bottom of memo)

 

During Merrill’s internal review in July 2013, they self identified an August 2011 technical update to the database of their NSAR Manager Application that was not performed correctly. This resulted in the underlying application code to file NSARs with the “confirming copy” tag being set to YES. With the “confirming copy” tag value set to YES, the filings were not effective and deemed incomplete. The issue impacted all of Merrill’s clients that used the software during this period.

 

Although not considered effective, all filings were posted correctly to EDGAR by Merrill with the appropriate supporting documents. Please note, J.P.Morgan does not use Merrill’s software for any other regulatory filings beyond NSARs.

 

Action Steps:

 

·Merrill researched the SEC database and identified the full population of affected filings since August 2011 to J.P.Morgan. - Complete

 

·Merrill contacted the Investment Management staff at the SEC for guidance and was advised that all NSAR filings should be resubmitted to bring the SEC database up-to-date.  Further, the SEC advised that there would be no penalties assessed on the resubmitted fillings. - Complete

 

·Merrill will resubmit all filings and attachments as amendments to the original NSAR filing. Target date to complete this process is Wednesday October 9th. Amended files will be reconciled back to the original filings and tested prior to the transmission. Delivery will be done on a client/client basis and in chronological order. - Complete

 

 
 

 

·J.P.Morgan to confirm all amendments have been properly submitted to EDGAR. Merrill to verify to J.P.Morgan that all filings have been properly uploaded. - Target Date October 11th

 

·Merrill has updated their software to remove this flag for the NSAR filings. J.P.Morgan has confirmed the changes with the August 2013 test and NSAR submission. - Complete

 

·J.P.Morgan to update their procedures to look for the “confirmed copy” flag and ensure its reads “No” for all submissions. - Complete

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at 617-366-0575.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

 

Rick Millard

Vice President

 

 

Registrant CIK Report Name Registrant Name Company Date/time
0001444822 AQR Funds 12-31-2011 AQR Funds JP Morgan 2012-02-28 15:02:47.187
0001444822 AQR Funds 6/30/2012 AQR Funds JP Morgan 2012-08-29 09:11:37.847
0001444822 Report - 4767 6.30.2013 Semi annual   AQR Funds JP Morgan 2013-08-28 15:53:29.517
0001444822 AQR Funds 12/31/2012 AQR Funds   JP Morgan 2013-03-01 13:02:07.517

 

 
 

Annex 2

 

Account: 3094338200      
Pricing Appraisal (Long Positions)
JPM CHINA REGION FD INC
December 31, 2014

 

Security Description  Shares / Par  Market Value (USD) POI CLASS A
B85LKS1 AAC TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS                   236,000.0000 1,264,505.81  
6056074 ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR                1,156,802.0000 1,394,663.51  
B60LZR6 AGRICULTURAL BANK OF                6,639,000.0000 3,356,035.41  
B620Y41 AGRICULTURAL BANK OF                1,220,700.0000 729,980.17 A
B4TX8S1 AIA GROUP LTD NPV                   823,600.0000 4,582,842.55  
B4W4ZY6 AIER EYE HOSPITAL GROUP                    43,411.0000 192,774.51 A
6651297 AISINO CO LTD 'A'CNY1                    53,000.0000 260,643.13 A
01609W102 ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING                    16,701.0000 1,735,901.94  
6441595 ANHUI CONCH CEMENT CO LTD                    45,000.0000 160,154.74 A
6051046 ASUSTEK COMPUTER TWD10                   104,000.0000 1,140,307.58  
6004017 AVIC AIRCRAFT CO LTD                    39,200.0000 119,672.47 A
6110602 AVIC CAPITAL CO LTD                    76,000.0000 219,155.38 A
B1W9Z06 BANK OF COMMUNICAT                   875,000.0000 959,058.67 A
6307954 BAOSHAN IRON & STEEL CO                   212,000.0000 239,542.23 A
6320887 BEIJING CAPITAL                   165,000.0000 268,085.11 A
B4XRMZ4 BEIJING DABEINONG                   102,000.0000 220,638.30 A
B01YCG0 BEIJING ENTERPRISES WATER                1,980,000.0000 1,350,699.26  
B02RJ67 BEIJING SL PHARMACEUTICAL                    15,000.0000 95,744.68 A
6536112 BOC HONG KONG(HLDGS) ORD                   640,000.0000 2,141,682.73  
BQQP9S1 CAR INC COMMON STOCK HKD                   642,000.0000 862,661.76  
BSBMM04 CGN POWER CO LTD COMMON                1,426,000.0000 619,708.18  
B58J1S8 CHAILEASE HLDG CO LTD                   398,000.0000 992,418.20  
B14WZ47 CHAMPION REAL ESTATE                1,310,000.0000 608,151.24  
6212553 CHEUNG KONG                    11,000.0000 81,422.11  
6190273 CHEUNG KONG(HLDGS)                   122,000.0000 2,049,944.23  
6371896 CHINA AVIC ELECTRONICS                    46,006.0000 205,336.26 A
BGY6SV2 CHINA CINDA ASSET                1,696,000.0000 826,714.29  
B502464 CHINA CNR CORP LTD                   212,900.0000 243,647.65 A
B6Y7DS7 CHINA COMMUNICATIONS                   165,700.0000 370,982.11 A
BH7HM06 CHINA CONCH VENTURE                   513,000.0000 1,118,000.17  
B0LMTQ3 CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK                6,077,000.0000 4,991,906.79  
B24G126 CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK                   664,400.0000 720,730.50 A
6171375 CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES                   624,000.0000 299,340.40  
6630940 CHINA EVERBRIGHT                1,021,000.0000 1,519,390.30  
B53SCQ5 CHINA EVERBRIGHT BANK CO                   430,000.0000 338,233.40 A
B42G7J1 CHINA INTL TRAVEL SERVICE                    25,050.0000 179,274.66 A
B1LBS82 CHINA LIFE INSURANCE CO                    50,000.0000 275,225.66 A
B4Q2TX3 CHINA LONGYUAN POWER                   664,000.0000 691,002.17  
BSBMKM2 CHINA MAPLE LEAF                1,776,000.0000 558,818.26  
B59QNS2 CHINA MERCHANTS                    89,200.0000 406,460.99 A
B1DYPZ5 CHINA MERCHANTS BANK CO                   208,500.0000 523,222.84  
6518723 CHINA MERCHANTS BANK CO                   428,000.0000 1,144,506.77 A
6117885 CHINA MINMETALS RARE                    30,000.0000 145,019.34 A
B57JY24 CHINA MINSHENG BANKING                2,156,900.0000 2,837,056.48  
6310747 CHINA MINSHENG BANKING                   655,000.0000 1,148,678.27 A
B2Q5H56 CHINA PACIFIC INSURANCE                   470,000.0000 2,387,986.56  
B29WFR2 CHINA PACIFIC INSURANCE                    65,000.0000 338,410.70 A
6291819 CHINA PETROLEUM &                2,553,400.0000 2,057,958.77  
B2PPPG4 CHINA RAILWAY                   289,700.0000 712,576.08 A
6535517 CHINA RESOURCES GAS GROUP                   358,000.0000 930,241.85  
B281JM3 CHINA SHENHUA ENERGY CO                    69,000.0000 225,662.48 A
B4X9DB3 CHINA SHIPBUILDING                   493,600.0000 732,762.09 A
B4N0576 CHINA SOUTH PUBLISHING &                    20,000.0000 53,513.86 A
B3Y6LV2 CHINA STATE CONSTRUCTION                   587,000.0000 688,807.22 A
6136318 CHINA STEEL CHEMICAL CORP                   123,000.0000 603,284.60  
6559335 CHINA TELECOM CORP                4,300,000.0000 2,517,457.27  
6263830 CHINA UNICOM                   976,000.0000 1,308,943.67  
6803708 CHINA VANKE CO 'A'CNY1                   559,000.0000 1,252,433.91 A
BN320P8 CHINA VANKE CO LTD                   811,300.0000 1,809,945.00  
6711630 CHINA YANGTZE POWER CO                   209,000.0000 359,450.35 A
6432801 CHIPBOND TECHNOLOGY CORP                   374,000.0000 686,412.25  
6159478 CHONGQING CHANGAN                   449,619.0000 1,018,138.75  
6193948 CHONGQING CHANGAN                    78,902.0000 208,955.49 A
B4R39F7 CHOW TAI FOOK JEWELLERY                   815,600.0000 1,093,826.28  
6579355 CITIC SECURITIES CO                   334,937.0000 1,830,168.33 A
B00G0S5 CNOOC HKD0.02                   739,000.0000 994,907.57  
6191997 CSPC PHARMACEUTICAL GROUP                1,154,000.0000 1,017,887.33  
B284BK4 DAH CHONG HONG HLDGS                   646,000.0000 349,047.35  
6249799 DAH SING FINANCIAL GROUP                   213,769.0000 1,247,386.70  
B193HF0 DAQIN RAILWAY CO LTD CNY1                    64,980.0000 111,651.64 A
6260734 DELTA ELECTRONIC TWD10                   279,000.0000 1,664,182.65  
6201498 DR PENG TELCOM & MEDIA                    66,600.0000 193,015.47 A
6433912 E SUN FINANCIAL HLDGS                2,131,044.0000 1,325,074.82  
26852W103 E-HOUSE CHINA HLDGS ADS                    75,138.0000 543,999.12  
6003531 FAW CAR CO 'A'CNY1                    45,800.0000 111,768.54 A
B3Y2110 FOUNDER SECURITIES CO                   113,000.0000 256,636.04 A
6411673 FUBON FINANCIAL HLDGS CO                1,429,989.0000 2,294,172.59  
6353537 FUYAO GROUP GLASS IND                    91,200.0000 178,460.35 A
6019389 GANSU YASHENG INDUSTRIAL                   101,000.0000 152,053.51 A
6107284 GD POWER DEVELOPMENT CO                   200,000.0000 149,258.54 A
6107176 GF SECURITIES CO LTD                   132,700.0000 555,055.61 A
6990257 GREE ELECTRICAL APP INC                    46,001.0000 275,234.87 A
6389316 GUANGXI LIUGONG MACHINERY                    75,000.0000 152,079.30 A
B71SXC4 HAITONG SECURITIES CO LTD                   381,600.0000 960,563.27  
6766555 HAITONG SECURITIES CO LTD                   197,000.0000 763,994.20 A
6030506 HANG LUNG PROPERTIES HKD1                   410,000.0000 1,149,955.19  
B450X03 HANGZHOU HIKVISION                   100,380.0000 361,944.00 A
6320984 HENAN PINGGAO ELECTRIC                    56,600.0000 135,387.49 A
6128780 HENAN SHUANGHUI                    25,500.0000 129,678.43 A
6267359 HONG KONG EXCHANGES &                    29,100.0000 644,319.21  
6434915 HONG KONG LAND HLDGS ORD                   207,000.0000 1,399,320.00  
6158163 HSBC HLDGS ORD USD0.50                    38,444.0000 366,858.08  
BRB3857 HUA HONG SEMICONDUCTOR                   420,000.0000 554,609.17  
6422136 HUANENG POWER                   172,000.0000 244,803.35 A
B61VK25 HUATAI SECURITIES CO LTD                    65,000.0000 256,374.92 A
6801713 HUAYU AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS                   129,900.0000 324,121.86 A
6448068 HUTCHISON WHAMPOA HKD0.25                   132,000.0000 1,519,217.50  
45174L108 IKANG HEALTHCARE GROUP                    49,779.0000 748,676.16  
B1P13B6 INDUSTRIAL BANK CO LTD                   279,000.0000 742,021.28 A
6042017 INNER MONGOLIA BAOTOU                    35,000.0000 146,002.58 A
6458841 INNER MONOGOLIA YILI                    96,654.0000 446,035.46 A
BC4DNG5 INTIME RETAIL GROUP CO                   810,500.0000 587,390.79  
47215P106 JD.COM INC ADR USD                    10,006.0000 231,538.84  
6475282 JIANGLING MOTORS CORP                    19,452.0000 95,002.51 A
6288457 JIANGSU HENGRUI MEDICAL                    50,745.0000 306,563.93 A
B55JM22 JIANGSU YANGHE BREWERY JS                    17,805.0000 226,867.38 A
6170015 JIZHONG ENERGY RESOURCES                   139,000.0000 186,856.87 A
6579292 JOHNSON HEALTH TECH TWD10                   180,288.0000 407,904.31  
B5319W9 JOINTOWN PHARMACEUTICAL                    24,802.0000 72,239.22 A
6414832 KWEICHOW MOUTAI CO LTD                    10,500.0000 320,923.60 A
6451668 LARGAN PRECISION CO LTD                    20,000.0000 1,515,726.85  
50187J108 LEJU HOLDINGS LTD ADR                      3,756.9000 40,424.24  
B00LN47 LIFESTYLE INTERNATIONAL                   502,000.0000 1,056,480.95  
BNQ4GF3 LUYE PHARMA GROUP LTD                   852,000.0000 1,097,596.93  
6372480 MEDIATEK INC COMMON                   108,000.0000 1,578,887.41  
585464100 MELCO CROWN ENTERTAINMENT                    26,426.0000 671,220.40  
6584445 MERIDA INDUSTRY CO LTD                    47,950.0000 325,462.79  
BDVHRJ8 MIDEA GROUP CO LTD                    99,000.0000 437,872.34 A
B0RJCG9 MINTH GROUP LTD COM SHS                   140,000.0000 290,664.31  
6633767 NEW WORLD DEVELOPMENT CO                   607,207.0000 698,456.60  
6659116 ORIENT OVERSEAS INT                   199,500.0000 1,166,696.76  
BN7Q3G8 OZNER WATER                1,195,000.0000 459,221.24  
B67ZJ91 PANG DA AUTOMOBILE TRADE                   137,300.0000 131,678.76 A
B05DVL1 PCHOME ONLINE INC. TWD10                    66,917.0000 725,241.20  
BGFBMX6 PHOENIX HEALTHCARE GROUP                   532,000.0000 981,037.18  
6802006 PING AN BANK CO LTD                   340,264.0000 868,759.15 A
B01FLR7 PING AN INSURANCE(GR)CO                   386,500.0000 3,942,428.09  
B1SVWB6 PING AN INSURANCE(GR)CO                   141,776.0000 1,707,299.32 A
B19RB38 POLY REAL ESTATE GROUP CO                   294,450.0000 513,531.43 A
6696157 POU CHEN CORP TWD10                   108,000.0000 131,403.08  
B4TH690 POWER CONSTRUCTION CORP                    62,200.0000 84,517.41 A
6599676 POWERTECH TECHNOLOGY INC                   292,000.0000 500,803.75  
6704986 PRESIDENT CHAIN STR TWD10                   143,000.0000 1,106,369.85  
6716884 QINGDAO HAIER CO 'A'CNY1                   135,000.0000 403,868.47 A
6110107 QINGHAI SALT LAKE                    74,249.0000 259,703.95 A
6727284 REXLOT HLDGS LTD HKD0.01                2,773,240.0000 225,302.39  
6748423 RUENTEX DEVELOPMENT CO                   394,992.0000 629,947.37  
6086974 SAIC MOTOR CORP LTD                   107,200.0000 370,983.88 A
B4Q1532 SAMSONITE INTL SA NPV                   308,100.0000 913,813.00  
B5B23W2 SANDS CHINA LTD COMMON                   230,000.0000 1,131,514.64  
6648824 SANY HEAVY INDUSTRY CO                   203,000.0000 326,553.84 A
6412687 SDIC POWER HOLDINGS CO                   118,100.0000 217,773.05 A
6532897 SHANDONG HUALA HENGSHENG                    45,000.0000 79,352.03 A
6817088 SHANGHAI BAILIAN GROUP                    75,800.0000 218,578.66 A
6104780 SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL                    73,000.0000 230,860.74 A
6783941 SHANGHAI PHARMACEU                   157,000.0000 417,553.19 A
6182043 SHANGHAI PUDONG                   220,000.0000 556,382.98 A
B3XCR35 SHENZHEN O-FILM TECH CO                    36,000.0000 110,019.34 A
6188052 SHENZHEN ZHONGJIN LINNAN                   191,000.0000 292,164.73 A
6545970 SHINVA MEDICAL INSTRUMENT                    26,000.0000 131,299.16 A
6806633 SHUN TAK HLDGS HKD0.25                1,892,000.0000 875,897.69  
B4W6RJ1 SIASUN ROBOT &                    12,500.0000 79,364.12 A
B01Y301 SICHUAN HAITE HIGH-TECH                    38,900.0000 137,943.26 A
B00XSF9 SINO BIOPHAMACEUTICAL                1,004,000.0000 910,179.05  
6673172 ST SHINE OPTICAL TWD10                    24,000.0000 396,430.61  
B4XRPN3 SUNAC CHINA HLDGS LTD                1,293,000.0000 1,315,568.08  
B01Y312 SUNING COMMERCE GP                    96,200.0000 139,555.13 A
6889106 TAIWAN SEMICNDCTR TWD10                1,737,057.0000 7,750,301.78  
BMMV2K8 TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD                   422,800.0000 6,133,739.11  
6541525 TIANJIN TASLY                    59,447.0000 393,822.00 A
6903556 TINGYI(CAYMAN                   346,000.0000 790,637.88  
B2Q14Z3 WANT CHINA HOLDINGS                   717,000.0000 944,947.87  
B1WPGD4 WEICHAI POWER CO 'A' SHS                    50,660.0000 222,841.94 A
6435576 WHARF HOLDINGS LTD/THE                    33,000.0000 238,308.63  
6984120 WUHAN DEPARTMENT STORE                    64,535.0000 164,562.17 A
B3V4ND5 YONGHUI SUPERSTORES CO                   128,000.0000 179,703.42 A
6346678 YONYOU SOFTWARE CO                    12,000.0000 45,435.20 A
B0TLGM7 YUEXIU REAL ESTATE                1,201,000.0000 602,463.04  
98426T106 YY INC ADR USD 0.00001                    12,006.0000 748,454.04  
6289977 ZOOMLION HEAVY INDUSTRY                   210,000.0000 238,974.85 A
         
  Total                  82,340,436.90      138,764,499.65  

 

 

 
 

Annex 3

 

 

JPMORGAN CHINA REGION FUND, INC.

1 Beacon Street, 18th Floor Boston,
Massachusetts 02108, USA

 

 

February 27, 2015

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

300 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10017

 

Attention: Beth Savino

 

We are providing this letter in connection with your audit of the statement of assets and liabilities, including the investment portfolio of JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") as of December 31, 2014 and the related statements of operations and cash flows for the year then ended, changes in net assets for the two years then ended, and the financial highlights for the five years then ended, (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "financial statements"), for the purpose of expressing an opinion as to whether such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position, results of operations, cash flows, changes in net assets, and financial highlights of the Fund in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. We acknowledge and confirm that we have fulfilled our responsibility, as set out in our engagement letter of November 4, 2014 for the preparation and fair presentation in the financial statements of financial position, results of operations, cash flows, changes in net assets, and financial highlights in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, including the appropriate selection and application of accounting policies.

 

Certain representations in this letter are described as being limited to those matters that are material. Items are considered material, regardless of size, if they involve an omission or misstatement of accounting information that, in the light of surrounding circumstances, makes it probable that the judgment of a reasonable person relying on the information would have been changed or influenced by the omission or misstatement. Materiality used for purposes of this letter is 0.05% of the net assets of the Fund.

 

We confirm, to the best of our knowledge and belief, as of February 27, 2015, the date of your report, the following representations made to you during your audit.

 

General

 

1.The financial statements referred to above are fairly presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), and include all disclosures necessary for such fair presentation and disclosures otherwise required to be included therein by the laws and regulations to which the Fund is subject. We have prepared the Fund's financial statements on the basis that the Fund is able to continue as a going concern, including its ability to meet its obligations in the ordinary course of business, and we are not aware of any significant information to the contrary.

 

2.We have made available to you:

 

a.All financial records and related data.

 

b.Unconditional access to persons within the Investment Advisor entity (the "Investment Advisor") and the Fund's service providers from whom you have requested audit evidence.

 

c.All minutes of the meetings of shareholders, Directors, and audit or other committees of Directors, and summaries of actions of recent meetings for which minutes have not yet been prepared. The most recent meetings held were: Board and Audit Committee meetings held on February 23, 2015.

 

 
 

 

d.All contracts or other agreements with the Fund's service providers.

 

e.All reports, findings, recommendations and communications (whether written or oral) from specialists or professional advisors engaged to review investments, systems, processes, operations, or compliance programs of the Investment Advisor, its affiliates, or the Fund.

 

3.We are responsible for all significant estimates and judgments affecting the financial statements. Significant estimates and judgments and their underlying assumptions, methods, procedures and the source and reliability of supporting data are reasonable and based on applicable guidance, are completely and appropriately disclosed in the financial statements, and appropriately reflect management's intent and ability to carry out specific courses of action, where relevant. The procedures and methods utilized in developing assumptions, estimates and judgments are appropriate and have been consistently applied in the periods presented. There have been no subsequent events which would require the adjustment of any significant estimate and related disclosures.

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

 

4.We have communicated to you all regulatory agencies to which the Fund is subject, and for which noncompliance with their respective statutes, laws or regulations would have a material effect on the Fund's financial statements. There have been no communications from such regulatory agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, concerning noncompliance with or deficiencies in financial reporting practices.

 

5.There have been no violations or possible violations of laws or regulations whose effects should be considered for disclosure in the financial statements or as a basis for recording a loss contingency. We have received no communications from employees, former employees, regulators, service providers, counterparties, current or former investors, or anyone else relating to any violations or possible violations of laws or regulations affecting the Fund. We have informed you of all legal counsel retained by or on behalf of the Fund or any affiliated entity in connection with the affairs of the Fund.

 

6.The Fund has complied with all aspects of debt and other contractual agreements that would have a material effect on the financial statements in the event of noncompliance.

 

7.The Fund has complied with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder, complied with the provisions of its prospectus and the requirements of the various state "Blue Sky" laws under which the Fund operates, and complied with its Code of Ethics.

 

8.The Fund does not have outstanding a past-due share of its accounting support fees collectible by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

 

9.The periodic net asset value has been properly computed throughout the year in accordance with Rule 2a-4 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended

 

 
 

 

Fraud

 

10.We acknowledge our responsibility for the design and implementation of programs and controls to provide reasonable assurance that fraud is prevented and detected.

 

11.We have disclosed to you the results of our assessment of the risk that the financial statements may be materially misstated as a result of fraud and have no knowledge of any fraud or suspected fraud affecting the Fund involving:

 

a.Management,

 

b.Employees of the Fund or its service agents who have significant roles in the Fund's internal control over financial reporting, or

 

c.Others where the fraud could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

12.We have no knowledge of any allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the Fund. We have received no communications from employees, former employees, regulators, service providers, counterparties, current or former investors, or anyone else relating to allegations of fraud or suspected fraud affecting the Fund.

 

(As to items 10, 11 and 12, we understand the term "fraud" to mean those matters described in PCAOB AU 316.)

 

Assets, Liabilities and Capital

 

Assets:

 

13.The Fund has satisfactory title to all owned assets, including investments, and there are no liens or encumbrances on such assets nor has any asset been pledged as collateral, including, but not limited to, assets pledged or assigned as security for liabilities and performance of contracts, except as disclosed in the financial statements. All deposit and brokerage accounts and all investments and other assets of the Fund of which we are aware are included in the financial statements.

 

14.Receivables recorded in the financial statements, including, but not limited to, receivables for unsettled transactions, dividend income, foreign taxes withheld on foreign dividends and interest income earned by the Fund, represent bona fide claims against debtors, including brokers, for transactions arising on or before December 31, 2014, and valid claims against foreign taxing authorities at December 31, 2014. Receivables do not include any material amounts which are collectible after one year. No losses are expected to be sustained on realization of the receivables.

 

Investments:

 

With respect to Fund investments held:

 

15.Portfolio securities included in the Fund's financial statements as of December 31, 2014 are stated at values as determined by us in accordance with the valuation method set forth in the registration statement. Such policies are in accordance with GAAP

(e.g. fair value of an investment is that price which would be received to sell or paid to transfer, respectively, those assets or liabilities in orderly transactions between market participants).

 
 

 

16.The valuation policies used for investments whose fair values have been estimated by the Board of Directors are appropriate and have been consistently applied and documented. The policies for fair value measurement are appropriately disclosed in the Fund's financial statements. The methods, assumptions, and inputs used are appropriate and result in a fair value appropriate for financial statement measurement and disclosure purposes.

 

17.All portfolio securities are marketable, except as disclosed in the financial statements. The Fund, except to the extent indicated in the financial statements, has not purchased any restricted securities during the year ended December 31, 2014, and does not hold any securities on December 31, 2014 which are restricted in any way as to their resale. The Fund has not entered into any agreements, nor is it in the process of entering into any agreements, to acquire restricted securities.

 

18.The cost of portfolio securities was determined on the basis of specific identification method.

 

19.All Fund investments made during the year ended December 31, 2014 were in accordance with the investment policies stated in the registration statement.

 

Liabilities:

 

20.All liabilities of the Fund of which we are aware are included in the financial statements at the statement of assets and liabilities date. There are no other liabilities or gain or loss contingencies that are required to be accrued or disclosed by ASC 450, Contingencies, and no unasserted claims or assessments that our legal counsel has advised us are probable of assertion and required to be disclosed in accordance with that Topic.

 

Statement of Operations

 

21.All expenses incurred by the Fund during the period are permissible under the terms of the registration statement. Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Advisor agrees to reduce its fee for: investments in funds for which the Advisor charges a management fee; and for cash held when borrowings are drawn under a borrowing facility.

 

Tax Matters

 

22.The Fund has qualified as a regulated investment company pursuant to Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Code"), as amended, and intends to continue to so qualify.

 

23.We have made the necessary provisions and disclosures in the financial statements as required by ASC 740, Income Taxes. The resulting liabilities are supported by specifically identified income tax exposures.

 

24.We have provided you with all information and our assessment related to all significant uncertain income tax positions that we have taken, or expect to take, of which we are aware. We have also provided you with access to all opinions, rulings, memoranda and analyses that relate to positions we have taken in regard to significant income tax matters. We have made you aware of and have disclosed all significant tax positions for which it is reasonably possible the amount of unrecognized tax benefit will either increase or decrease in the next 12 months.

 

25.The Fund is in compliance, other than non-compliance which would not have a material effect on the Fund's financial statements, with applicable tax laws in the jurisdictions where it invests, and does business, including provisions for withholding taxes and payment of taxes on realized gains, tax accruals on unrealized gains or currency repatriation. The Fund or certain affiliates of the Fund are entitled to the benefits claimed under certain income tax treaties. The Fund follows appropriate guidelines to ensure compliance with all tax treaties. In this regard, the Fund is in compliance, other than any non-compliance which would not have a material effect on the Fund's financial statements, with applicable local and tax law, including, but not limited to, the filing of tax returns, the conducting of board meetings and the establishment of bank accounts. For any treaty benefits claimed by the Fund with respect to any of its investments, we have determined the availability of reduction in rates and have accrued all applicable amounts.
 
 

 

26.The Fund has filed all required federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax forms in which non-compliance or failure to file would have a material effect on the Fund's financial statements with respect to its activities by the applicable statutory deadlines, and for required tax filings not yet completed, we have plans to file by the applicable statutory deadlines.

 

27.The Fund has properly identified all holdings in passive foreign investment companies (PFICs) as defined under the Code.

 

Disclosure and Presentation of Financial Statements

 

28.We have appropriately reviewed, and take responsibility for, the reconciliation of the Fund's books and records (including, but not limited to, general ledger accounts, financial accounts maintained outside the general ledger and trial balances) performed by the Fund's service providers underlying the financial statements to their related supporting information (e.g., sub ledger, third-party data). All related reconciling items considered to be material were identified and included on the reconciliations and were appropriately adjusted in the financial statements, as necessary. There were no material unreconciled differences or material general ledger suspense account items that should have been adjusted or reclassified to another account balance. There were no other material general ledger suspense account items reclassified to a statement of assets and liabilities account, which should have been written off to a statement of operations account and vice versa.

 

29.The Fund has not violated any covenants in connection with its ISDA agreements, line of credit or other borrowings, during the period and through the date of this letter. We have fully disclosed to you all covenants to which the Fund is subject and have made available to you all supporting schedules and other information related to how we determined our compliance with the terms of such covenants.

 

30.There are no material transactions, agreements or accounts that have not been properly recorded in the accounting records underlying the financial statements.

 

31.The following, if material, have been properly recorded or disclosed in the financial statements:

 

a.Securities of persons who are directly affiliated with the Fund, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

b.Income from (or realized gain or loss on sales of investments in or indebtedness of) such affiliated persons.

 

c.Expenses for management or other service fees payable to such affiliated persons or other transactions with such affiliated persons.

 

d.Capital stock repurchase options or agreements, or capital stock reserved for options, warrants, conversions or other requirements.

 

e.Arrangements with financial institutions involving compensating balances, or other arrangements involving restrictions on cash balances, lines of credit, collateral posted or similar arrangements.

 

f.All financial instruments, including those with off-balance-sheet risk (including, but not limited to, swaps, forwards and futures), as required under GAAP. This includes the following information with respect to the off-balance-sheet risks and the concentrations of credit risk:

 

 
 

 

i.The extent, nature, and terms of financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk.

 

ii.The amount of credit risk of financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk and information about the collateral supporting such financial instruments.

 

g.Each significant concentration of credit risk arising from all financial instruments, and information about the collateral supporting such financial instruments, whether from an individual counterparty or group of counterparties in accordance with ASC 825, Financial Instruments, and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815), 815-10-50.

 

h.Relationships and transactions with related parties, as described in ASC 850, Related Party Disclosures, including sales, purchases, loans, transfers, leasing arrangements, and guarantees, and amounts receivable from or payable to related parties.

 

i.Commitments to purchase or sell securities.

 

j.Transactions made in foreign currencies.

 

k.Significant estimates and material concentrations known to us that are required to be disclosed in accordance with ASC 275, Risks and Uncertainties, 275-10-50. (Significant estimates are estimates at the statement of assets and liabilities date that could change materially within the next year. Concentrations refer to matters such as volume of investment activity, available sources of financing, markets or geographic areas for which events could occur that would significantly disrupt investment performance within the next year.)

 

l.Significant concentration of shareholders and the potential impact of these significant shareholders redeeming from the Fund.

 

m.There are no:

 

1.Guarantees, whether written or oral, under which the Fund is contingently liable.

 

2.Transactions made on margin or selling short.

 

3.Agreements to repurchase assets previously sold.

 

4.Fee income and expenses associated with stock lending and borrowing arrangements.

 

32.The Fund has classified and disclosed financial assets and liabilities in the financial statements as Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 in accordance with ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement, including a description of inputs and information used to develop valuation techniques as well as facts that required a change to such techniques, where applicable.

 

33.We have disclosed to you the identity of the Fund's related parties and all the related party relationships and transactions of which we are aware.

 

34.All borrowings and financial obligations of the Fund have been disclosed to you and are properly recorded in the financial statements.

 

35.We have evaluated the Fund's obligations or potential obligations as described in ASC 460, Guarantees, and have concluded that there are no oral and contractual indemnifications that need to be disclosed in the notes to the Fund's financial statements.

 

 
 

 

36.The Fund has not made any commitments during the year as underwriter, nor did they engage in joint trading or a joint investment account.

 

Other

 

37.We have no plans or intentions that may materially affect the Fund's carrying value or classification of assets and liabilities, and we have no plans or intentions to liquidate the Fund or to cease operations.

 

38.All directed brokerage and other expense reimbursement agreements, if any, have been properly disclosed in the financial statements.

 

39.We have notified you of (i) our current or planned offerings of securities on a regulated market in a non-U.S. country or (ii) when we have provided or plan to provide audited financial statements to a non-U.S. regulator or government in connection with our access to its public capital markets, whether or not we include or refer to your report or include reference to your Firm.

 

40.We have disclosed to you all current material arrangements, whether written or oral, between the Fund and its service providers. We have disclosed to you all material information and arrangements relating to the use of Fund assets and to compensate such service providers. We are not aware that Fund assets subject to these current material arrangements are being used for purposes other than as originally set forth or as set forth subject to written amendments and/ or formal Board approval. Additionally, we are not aware of any quantitatively and/or qualitatively significant current arrangements, whether written or oral, between the individual service providers to the Fund and the Fund's advisor, which provide referral, rebate or other transfers of money or other assets that lack appropriate business purpose.

 

41.We acknowledge and confirm that we have fulfilled our responsibility, as set out in our engagement letter of November 4, 2014, for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error and we are not aware of any deficiencies in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting. In addition we are not aware of any deficiencies in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting at the Fund's administrator, fund accounting agent, custodian or transfer agent.

 

 
 

 

To the best of our knowledge and belief, no events have occurred subsequent to the date of the statement of assets and liabilities and through the date of this letter that would require adjustments to, or disclosure in, the aforementioned financial statements.

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Simon J. Crinage

 

Simon J. Crinage

Managing Director

JPMorgan Asset Management and

President and Principal Executive Officer

of JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ Neil S. Martin

 

Neil S. Martin,

Executive Director

JPMorgan Asset Management and

Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer of

JPMorgan China Region Fund, Inc.