Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund, Inc. Announcement Of A Special Cash Election Distribution

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") (NYSE MKT: ETF), announced today that the Fund's Board of Directors has declared a capital gain and net investment income distribution in the amount of $6.02616 per share.  The capital gain portion of the distribution is comprised of long-term capital gains of $5.68085 and short-term capital gains of $0.17209.  The net investment income portion of the distribution will be $0.17322.

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The distribution will be payable on January 31, 2014 to stockholders of record on December 20, 2013.  The distribution will be paid in shares of the Fund's common stock.  Stockholders may, however, request that their distribution be paid in cash in lieu of common stock.  The Fund will limit the aggregate amount of cash to be paid out in the distribution to all stockholders to 60% of the aggregate dollar amount of the total distribution.  If cash distribution requests exceed this limit, the Fund will pro-rate the cash distribution among all stockholders who have made such requests, based on the amounts requested.  Requesting stockholders who do not receive 100% of their distribution in cash, will receive the balance in shares of common stock of the Fund.  Stockholder requests to receive cash in lieu of stock must be received by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the Fund's transfer agent, not later than 4 p.m. (New York time) on January 22, 2014. All fractional shares will be paid in cash. A written notice of the planned distribution will be sent to stockholders.  The written notice will include instructions on how stockholders can request to receive cash in lieu of stock.

The per share value of shares of the Fund's common stock to be issued in the special cash distribution will be determined on January 23, 2014.  The per share value will be the average trading price of the Fund's common shares on the NYSE MKT as of the close of trading during a three-business day period ending on January 23, 2014.

The Board of Directors of the Fund considered available options, including an all-cash distribution or a cash election distribution with higher caps or no cap on the cash component, and approved the capped cash election distribution at the proposed 60% level for the following reasons:

• The size and anticipated non-recurring nature of the gains.
• The adverse long-term impact on the Fund's total expense ratio and investable capital expected if the distribution was paid entirely in cash.
• The potential market impact of selling the Fund's portfolio securities at a time when market conditions may be less favorable to shareholders' long-term interests and the transaction costs associated with such disposals.
• The additional tax implications if further gains were generated as a result of the sale of portfolio securities to raise cash to meet an all-cash or high-cash distribution.

Stockholders who have questions regarding the distribution may contact AST Fund Solutions, LLC at 1-866-796-3420. In addition, the Fund has posted on its website, www.aberdeenetf.com, information regarding the distribution.

The Fund is a closed-end management investment company that seeks long-term capital appreciation. The Fund's investment policy is to invest at least 80% of the Fund's net assets in equity securities of emerging market smaller company issuers.

Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund, Inc. is listed on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol "ETF". 

Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the U.S. Treasury, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

Closed-end funds are traded on the secondary market through one of the stock exchanges. The Fund's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares may be worth more or less than the original cost. Shares of closed-end funds may trade above (a premium) or below (a discount) the net asset value (NAV) of the fund's portfolio. There is no assurance that a fund will achieve its investment objective. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

If you wish to receive this information electronically, please contact: [email protected]

www.aberdeenetf.com

SOURCE Aberdeen Emerging Markets Smaller Company Opportunities Fund, Inc.