Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc. Announces Special Cash Election Distribution

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc. (the "Fund") (NYSE: GCH), announced today that the Fund's Board of Directors has declared a long-term capital gain distribution in the amount of $1.3369 per share.

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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 20% of the aggregate dollar amount of the total distribution.  Any cash paid in lieu of fractional shares will not count toward this limit.  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.  Stockholders electing cash, who do not receive 100% of the 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 Shareowner Services, LLC, the Fund's Election Agent, not later than 4:00 p.m. (New York time) on January 22, 2014.  All fractional shares will be paid in cash.

The per share value of shares of the Fund's common stock to be issued in the 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 New York Stock Exchange as of the close of trading during a three-business day period ending on January 23, 2014.  Although the distribution is payable in 2014, it will be treated as having been paid by the Fund and received by stockholders as of December 31, 2013.

The Board of Directors considered available options, including an all-cash distribution and a cash election distribution with higher caps or no cap on the cash component, and approved the capped cash election distribution at the proposed 20% level for the following reasons:

• The size of the distribution relative to the size of the Fund.

• The adverse long-term impact on the Fund's gross total expense ratio and investable capital 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 stockholders' long-term interests and the transaction costs associated with such disposals.

• The 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.

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.

Stockholders who have questions regarding the distribution may contact AST Fund Solutions, LLC at 1-866-530-8655. 

Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc. is a closed-end management investment company that seeks long-term capital appreciation through investment in listed equity securities of China companies that (i) are organized under the laws of, and have their principal place of business in, China and/or Hong Kong and/or Taiwan; or (ii) during their most recent fiscal year derived at least 50% of their revenues or profits from goods produced or sold, investments made or services performed in China and/or Hong Kong and/or Taiwan or have at least 50% of their assets in China and/or Hong Kong and/or Taiwan. The Fund's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "GCH."

International investing entails special risk considerations, including currency fluctuations, lower liquidity, economic and political risks, and differences in accounting methods; these risks are generally heightened for emerging market investments. Concentrating investments in the China region subjects the Fund to more volatility and greater risk of loss than geographically diverse funds. Equity stocks of small and mid-cap companies carry greater risk, and more volatility than equity stocks of larger, more established companies.

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.aberdeengch.com

SOURCE Aberdeen Greater China Fund, Inc.