Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 17237 

1Applicants request that any order issued 

granting the relief requested in the application also 

apply to any closed-end investment company 

(‘‘fund’’) that in the future: (a) Is advised by the 

Adviser (including any successor in interest) or by 

any entity controlling, controlled by, or under 

common control (within the meaning of section 

2(a)(9) of the Act) with the Adviser; and (b) 

complies with the terms and conditions of the 

requested order. A successor in interest is limited 

to entities that result from a reorganization into 

another jurisdiction or a change in the type of 

business organization. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A. 

Escobar, Office of Disaster Assistance, 

U.S. Small Business Administration, 

409 3rd Street, SW., Suite 6050, 

Washington, DC 20416. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is 

hereby given that as a result of the 

Administrator’s disaster declaration, 

applications for disaster loans may be 

filed at the address listed above or other 

locally announced locations. 

The following areas have been 

determined to be adversely affected by 

the disaster: 

Primary Counties: Erie. 

Contiguous Counties: 

New York: Chautauqua. 

Ohio: Ashtabula. 

Pennsylvania: Crawford, Warren. 

The Interest Rates are: 

Percent 

Homeowners With Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 4.375 

Homeowners Without Credit Available Elsewhere ........................... 2.187 

Businesses With Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 6.000 

Businesses & Small Agricultural 

Cooperatives Without Credit 

Available Elsewhere .................... 4.000 

Other (Including Non-Profit Organizations) With Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 4.500 

Businesses and Non-Profit Organizations Without Credit Available 

Elsewhere ................................... 4.000 

The number assigned to this disaster 

for physical damage is 11701 5 and for 

economic injury is 11702 0. 

The States which received an EIDL 

Declaration # are Pennsylvania, New 

York, and Ohio 

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Numbers 59002 and 59008) 

Dated: April 7, 2009. 

Karen G. Mills, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–8520 Filed 4–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Investment Company Act Release No. 

28690; 812–13235–55] 

Blackrock International Growth and 

Income Trust, et al.; Notice of 

Application 

April 7, 2009. 

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of application under 

section 6(c) of the Investment Company 

Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) for an exemption 

from section 19(b) of the Act and rule 

19b–1 under the Act. 

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants 

request an order to permit certain 

closed-end investment companies to 

make periodic distributions of long-term 

capital gains with respect to their 

outstanding common stock as frequently 

as twelve times each year, and as 

frequently as distributions are specified 

by or in accordance with the terms of 

any outstanding preferred stock that 

such investment companies may issue. 

APPLICANTS: BlackRock International 

Growth and Income Trust; BlackRock 

Global Equity Income Trust; BlackRock 

Preferred and Equity Advantage Trust; 

BlackRock Real Asset Equity Trust; 

BlackRock World Investment Trust; 

BlackRock Enhanced Dividend 

AchieversTM Trust; BlackRock Global 

Opportunities Equity Trust; BlackRock 

Health Sciences Trust; BlackRock 

Global Energy and Resources Trust; 

BlackRock S&P Quality Rankings Global 

Equity Managed Trust; BlackRock 

Strategic Dividend AchieversTM Trust; 

BlackRock Dividend AchieversTM Trust; 

BlackRock EcoSolutions Investment 

Trust; BlackRock Enhanced Government 

Fund, Inc.; BlackRock Enhanced Capital 

and Income Fund, Inc. (the ‘‘Funds’’) 

and BlackRock Advisors, LLC. (the 

‘‘Adviser’’). 

FILING DATES: June 21, 2007, July 23, 

2008, August 18, 2008, September 22, 

2008 and January 27, 2009. 

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An 

order granting the application will be 

issued unless the Commission orders a 

hearing. Interested persons may request 

a hearing by writing to the 

Commission’s Secretary and serving 

applicants with a copy of the request, 

personally or by mail. Hearing requests 

should be received by the Commission 

by 5:30 p.m. on May 4, 2009, and 

should be accompanied by proof of 

service on applicants, in the form of an 

affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of 

service. Hearing requests should state 

the nature of the writer’s interest, the 

reason for the request, and the issues 

contested. Persons who wish to be 

notified of a hearing may request 

notification by writing to the 

Commission’s Secretary. 

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090; 

Applicants, c/o BlackRock Advisors, 

LLC, 100 Bellevue Parkway, 

Wilmington, Delaware 19809. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Wendy Friedlander, Senior Counsel, at 

(202) 551–6837, or James M. Curtis, 

Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6825 

(Division of Investment Management, 

Office of Chief Counsel). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

following is a summary of the 

application. The complete application 

may be obtained for a fee at the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 

20549–1520 (telephone (202) 551–5850). 

Applicants’ Representations 

1. Each of the Funds is a closed-end 

management investment company 

registered under the Act.1 The common 

stock issued by each Fund is traded on 

either the New York Stock Exchange or 

NYSE Alternext US. Currently, only the 

BlackRock Preferred and Equity 

Advantage Trust has preferred stock 

outstanding, which stock is not traded 

on any exchange. Applicants believe 

that, in general, the common 

stockholders of the Funds are 

conservative, dividend-sensitive 

investors who desire current income 

periodically. 

2. The Adviser is registered under the 

Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Each 

Fund and the Adviser have entered into 

an investment advisory agreement 

pursuant to which the Adviser provides 

investment advisory and portfolio 

management services to such Fund. The 

Adviser is a wholly-owned subsidiary of 

BlackRock, Inc. 

3. Applicants represent that on 

September 25, 2008, the Board of 

Directors or Board of Trustees (‘‘Board’’) 

of each of the Funds, including a 

majority of the members of each Board 

who are not ‘‘interested persons’’ of 

such Fund, as defined in section 

2(a)(19) of the Act (‘‘Independent 

Members’’), met and considered the 

adoption of a periodic pay-out policy 

(‘‘Plan’’) with respect to the Fund’s 

common stock. Applicants represent 

that each Plan would provide for 

periodic level distributions to the 

Fund’s common stockholders based 

upon a fixed amount per share, a fixed 

percentage of market price or a fixed 

percentage of net asset value (‘‘NAV’’) 

per share of common stock. 

4. Applicants represent that each 

Board requested and evaluated, and the 

Adviser furnished, such information as 

17238 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 

the Board believed was reasonably 

necessary to make an informed 

determination of whether the Fund 

should adopt and implement a Plan. 

Applicants represent that at the 

meeting, each Board, including a 

majority of the Independent Members of 

the Board, determined that adoption 

and implementation of the Plan was 

consistent with the Fund’s investment 

objectives and policies and in the best 

interest of the Fund and its 

stockholders, after considering 

information such as the purpose(s) of 

the Plan, any potential or actual 

conflicts of interest that the Adviser or 

any affiliated person of the Adviser may 

have relating to the adoption or 

implementation of the Plan, whether the 

rate of distribution under the Plan 

would exceed the Fund’s expected total 

return (in relation to NAV per share of 

common stock) and the reasonably 

foreseeable material effects of such Plan 

on the Fund’s long-term total return (in 

relation to market price and NAV). 

5. Applicants represent that at the 

September 25, 2008 meeting, each 

Board, including a majority of 

Independent Members of the Board, 

adopted compliance policies and 

procedures in accordance with rule 

38a–1 under the Act that are reasonably 

designed to ensure that all notices 

required to be sent to Fund stockholders 

pursuant to section 19(a) of the Act and 

rule 19a–1 thereunder (‘‘Notices’’) 

comply with Condition II below, and 

that all other written communications 

by a Fund or its agents regarding 

distributions under a Fund’s Plan 

comply with condition III below. 

Applicants represent that each Board 

also adopted policies and procedures at 

that meeting that require the Fund to 

keep records that demonstrate the 

Fund’s compliance with all of the 

conditions of the requested Order and 

that are necessary for the Fund to form 

the basis for, or demonstrate the 

calculation of, the amounts disclosed in 

its Notices. 

6. Applicants represent that each 

Board recorded the information in its 

meeting minutes that it considered and 

that formed the basis for the Board’s 

approval of each Fund’s Plan. 

Applicants represent that such minutes 

will be preserved for a period of not less 

than six years from the date of such 

meeting, the first two years in an easily 

accessible place, or for such longer 

period as may otherwise be required by 

law. 

Applicants’ Legal Analysis 

1. Section 19(b) generally makes it 

unlawful for any registered investment 

company to make long-term capital 

gains distributions more than once each 

year. Rule 19b–1 limits the number of 

capital gains dividends, as defined in 

section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Internal 

Revenue Code (‘‘Code’’) 

(‘‘distributions’’), that a fund may make 

with respect to any one taxable year to 

one, plus a supplemental ‘‘clean up’’ 

distribution made pursuant to section 

855 of the Code not exceeding 10% of 

the total amount distributed for the year, 

plus one additional capital gain 

dividend made in whole or in part to 

avoid the excise tax under section 4982 

of the Code. 

2. Section 6(c) provides that the 

Commission may, by order upon 

application, conditionally or 

unconditionally exempt any person, 

security, or transaction, or any class or 

classes of persons, securities or 

transactions, from any provision of the 

Act, if and to the extent that the 

exemption is necessary or appropriate 

in the public interest and consistent 

with the protection of investors and the 

purposes fairly intended by the policy 

and provisions of the Act. 

3. Applicants state that the one of the 

concerns underlying section 19(b) and 

rule 19b–1 is that shareholders might be 

unable to differentiate between regular 

distributions of capital gains and 

distributions of investment income. 

Applicants argue that by providing the 

information required by section 19(a) 

and rule 19a–1, and by complying with 

the procedures adopted under the Plans 

and the conditions listed below, each 

Fund will ensure that its stockholders 

are provided sufficient information to 

understand that their periodic 

distributions are not tied to the Fund’s 

net investment income (which for this 

purpose is the Fund’s taxable income 

other than from capital gains) and 

realized capital gains to date, and may 

not represent yield or investment return. 

Accordingly, applicants assert that 

continuing to subject the Funds to 

section 19(b) and rule 19b–1 would 

afford shareholders no extra protection. 

4. Applicants note that section 19(b) 

and rule 19b–1 also were intended to 

prevent certain improper sales practices, 

including, in particular, the practice of 

urging an investor to purchase shares of 

a fund on the basis of an upcoming 

capital gains dividend (‘‘selling the 

dividend’’), where the dividend would 

result in an immediate corresponding 

reduction in NAV and would be in 

effect a taxable return of the investor’s 

capital. Applicants assert that the 

‘‘selling the dividend’’ concern should 

not apply to closed-end investment 

companies, such as the Funds, which do 

not continuously distribute shares. 

According to applicants, if the 

underlying concern extends to 

secondary market purchases of shares of 

closed-end funds that are subject to a 

large upcoming capital gains dividend, 

adoption of a Plan actually helps 

minimize the concern by avoiding, 

through periodic distributions, any 

buildup of large end-of-the-year 

distributions. 

5. Applicants also note that the 

common stock of closed-end funds that 

invest primarily in equity securities 

often trade in the marketplace at a 

discount to their NAV. Applicants 

believe that this discount may be 

reduced for closed-end funds that pay 

relatively frequent dividends on their 

common stock at a consistent rate, 

whether or not those dividends contain 

an element of long-term capital gain. 

6. Applicants assert that the 

application of rule 19b–1 to a Plan 

actually could have an undesirable 

influence on portfolio management 

decisions. Applicants state that, in the 

absence of an exemption from rule 19b– 

1, the implementation of a Plan imposes 

pressure on management (i) not to 

realize any net long-term capital gains 

until the point in the year that the fund 

can pay all of its remaining distributions 

in accordance with rule 19b–1, and (ii) 

not to realize any long-term capital 

gains during any particular year in 

excess of the amount of the aggregate 

pay-out for the year (since as a practical 

matter excess gains must be distributed 

and accordingly would not be available 

to satisfy pay-out requirements in 

following years), notwithstanding that 

purely investment considerations might 

favor realization of long-term gains at 

different times or in different amounts. 

Applicants thus assert that the 

limitation on the number of capital gain 

distributions that a fund may make with 

respect to any one year imposed by rule 

19b–1 may prevent the efficient 

operation of a Plan whenever that fund’s 

realized net long-term capital gains in 

any year exceed the total of the periodic 

distributions that may include such 

capital gains under the rule. Applicants 

assert that the requested order would 

minimize these effects of rule 19b–1 by 

enabling the Funds to realize long-term 

capital gains as often as investment 

considerations dictate without fear of 

violating rule 19b–1. 

7. Applicants state that Revenue 

Ruling 89–81 under the Code requires 

that a fund that has both common stock 

and preferred stock outstanding 

designate the types of income, e.g., 

investment income and capital gains, in 

the same proportion as the total 

distributions distributed to each class 

for the tax year. To satisfy the 

proportionate designation requirements 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 17239 

2Applicants state that a future fund that relies on 

the requested order will satisfy each of the 

representations in the application except that such 

representations will be made in respect of actions 

by the board of directors or board of trustees of such 

future fund and will be made at a future time. 

3This disclosure will be included only if the 

current distribution or the fiscal year-to-date 

cumulative distributions are estimated to include a 

return of capital. 

of Revenue Ruling 89–81, whenever a 

fund has realized a long-term capital 

gain with respect to a given tax year, the 

fund must designate the required 

proportionate share of such capital gain 

to be included in common and preferred 

stock dividends. Applicants state that 

although rule 19b–1 allows a fund some 

flexibility with respect to the frequency 

of capital gains distributions, a fund 

might use all of the exceptions available 

under the rule for a tax year and still 

need to distribute additional capital 

gains allocated to the preferred stock to 

comply with Revenue Ruling 89–81. 

8. Applicants assert that the potential 

abuses addressed by section 19(b) and 

rule 19b–1 do not arise with respect to 

preferred stock issued by a closed-end 

fund. Applicants assert that such 

distributions are fixed or determined in 

periodic auctions by reference to shortterm interest rates rather than by 

reference to performance of the issuer 

and Revenue Ruling 89–81 determines 

the proportion of such distributions that 

are comprised of the long-term capital 

gains. 

9. Applicants also submit that the 

‘‘selling the dividend’’ concern is not 

applicable to preferred stock, which 

entitles a holder to no more than a 

periodic dividend at a fixed rate or the 

rate determined by the market, and, like 

a debt security, is priced based upon its 

liquidation value, credit quality, and 

frequency of payment. Applicants state 

that investors buy preferred shares for 

the purpose of receiving payments at the 

frequency bargained for, and do not 

expect the liquidation value of their 

stock to change. 

10. Applicants request an order under 

section 6(c) granting an exemption from 

the provisions of section 19(b) and rule 

19b–1 to permit each Fund to distribute 

periodic capital gains dividends (as 

defined in section 852(b)(3)(C) of the 

Code) as often as monthly in any one 

taxable year in respect of its common 

stock and as often as specified by or 

determined in accordance with the 

terms thereof in respect of its preferred 

stock.2

Applicants’ Conditions 

Applicants agree that, with respect to 

each fund seeking to rely on the order, 

the order will be subject to the following 

conditions: 

I. Compliance Review and Reporting 

The fund’s chief compliance officer 

will: (a) report to the fund Board, no less 

frequently than once every three months 

or at the next regularly scheduled 

quarterly board meeting, whether (i) the 

fund and the Adviser have complied 

with the conditions to the requested 

order, and (ii) a Material Compliance 

Matter, as defined in rule 38a–1(e)(2), 

has occurred with respect to compliance 

with such conditions; and (b) review the 

adequacy of the policies and procedures 

adopted by the fund no less frequently 

than annually. 

II. Disclosures to Fund Shareholders 

A. Each Notice to the holders of the 

fund’s common shares, in addition to 

the information required by section 

19(a) and rule 19a–1: 

1. Will provide, in a tabular or 

graphical format: 

(a) The amount of the distribution, on 

a per common share basis, together with 

the amounts of such distribution 

amount, on a per common share basis 

and as a percentage of such distribution 

amount, from estimated: (A) Net 

investment income; (B) net realized 

short-term capital gains; (C) net realized 

long-term capital gains; and (D) return 

of capital or other capital source; 

(b) The fiscal year-to-date cumulative 

amount of distributions, on a per 

common share basis, together with the 

amounts of such cumulative amount, on 

a per common share basis and as a 

percentage of such cumulative amount 

of distributions, from estimated: (A) Net 

investment income; (B) net realized 

short-term capital gains; (C) net realized 

long-term capital gains; and (D) return 

of capital or other capital source; 

(c) The average annual total return in 

relation to the change in NAV for the 5- 

year period (or, if the fund’s history of 

operations is less than five years, the 

time period commencing immediately 

following the fund’s first public 

offering) ending on the last day of the 

month prior to the most recent 

distribution declaration date compared 

to the current fiscal period’s annualized 

distribution rate expressed as a 

percentage of NAV as of the last day of 

the month prior to the most recent 

distribution declaration date; and 

(d) The cumulative total return in 

relation to the change in NAV from the 

last completed fiscal year to the last day 

of the month prior to the most recent 

distribution declaration date compared 

to the fiscal year-to-date cumulative 

distribution rate expressed as a 

percentage of NAV as of the last day of 

the month prior to the most recent 

distribution declaration date. 

Such disclosure shall be made in a 

type size at least as large and as 

prominent as the estimate of the sources 

of the current distribution; and 

2. Will include the following 

disclosure: 

(a) ‘‘You should not draw any 

conclusions about the fund’s investment 

performance from the amount of this 

distribution or from the terms of the 

fund’s Plan’’; 

(b) ‘‘The fund estimates that it has 

distributed more than its income and 

net realized capital gains; therefore, a 

portion of your distribution may be a 

return of capital. A return of capital may 

occur, for example, when some or all of 

the money that you invested in the fund 

is paid back to you. A return of capital 

distribution does not necessarily reflect 

the fund’s investment performance and 

should not be confused with ‘yield’ or 

‘income’ ’’; 3 and 

(c) ‘‘The amounts and sources of 

distributions reported in this Notice are 

only estimates and are not being 

provided for tax reporting purposes. The 

actual amounts and sources of the 

amounts for tax reporting purposes will 

depend upon the fund’s investment 

experience during the remainder of its 

fiscal year and may be subject to 

changes based on tax regulations. The 

fund will send you a Form 1099–DIV for 

the calendar year that will tell you how 

to report these distributions for Federal 

income tax purposes.’’ 

Such disclosure shall be made in a 

type size at least as large as and as 

prominent as any other information in 

the Notice and placed on the same page 

in close proximity to the amount and 

the sources of the distribution. 

B. On the inside front cover of each 

report to shareholders under rule 30e– 

1 under the Act, the fund will: 

1. Describe the terms of the Plan 

(including the fixed amount or fixed 

percentage of the distributions and the 

frequency of the distributions); 

2. Include the disclosure required by 

condition II.A.2.a above; 

3. State, if applicable, that the Plan 

provides that the Board may amend or 

terminate the Plan at any time without 

prior notice to fund shareholders; and 

4. Describe any reasonably foreseeable 

circumstances that might cause the fund 

to terminate the Plan and any 

reasonably foreseeable consequences of 

such termination. 

C. Each report provided to 

shareholders under rule 30e–1 and each 

prospectus filed with the Commission 

17240 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 70 / Tuesday, April 14, 2009 / Notices 

4 If the fund has been in operation fewer than six 

months, the measured period will begin 

immediately following the fund’s first public 

offering. 

5 If the fund has been in operation fewer than five 

years, the measured period will begin immediately 

following the fund’s first public offering. 

on Form N–2 under the Act will provide 

the fund’s total return in relation to 

changes in NAV in the financial 

highlights table and in any discussion 

about the fund’s total return. 

III. Disclosure to Stockholders, 

Prospective Stockholders and Third 

Parties 

A. The fund will include the 

information contained in the relevant 

Notice, including the disclosure 

required by condition II.A.2 above, in 

any written communication (other than 

a Form 1099) about the Plan or 

distributions under the Plan by the 

fund, or agents that the fund has 

authorized to make such 

communication on the fund’s behalf, to 

any fund common stockholder, 

prospective common stockholder or 

third-party information provider; 

B. The fund will issue, 

contemporaneously with the issuance of 

any Notice, a press release containing 

the information in the Notice and will 

file with the Commission the 

information contained in such Notice, 

including the disclosure required by 

condition II.A.2 above, as an exhibit to 

its next filed Form N–CSR; and 

C. The fund will post prominently a 

statement on its (or its adviser’s) Web 

site containing the information in each 

Notice, including the disclosure 

required by condition II.A.2 above, and 

will maintain such information on such 

Web site for at least 24 months. 

IV. Delivery of 19(a) Notices to 

Beneficial Owners 

If a broker, dealer, bank or other 

person (‘‘financial intermediary’’) holds 

common stock issued by the fund in 

nominee name, or otherwise, on behalf 

of a beneficial owner, the fund: (a) Will 

request that the financial intermediary, 

or its agent, forward the Notice to all 

beneficial owners of the fund’s stock 

held through such financial 

intermediary; (b) will provide, in a 

timely manner, to the financial 

intermediary, or its agent, enough 

copies of the Notice assembled in the 

form and at the place that the financial 

intermediary, or its agent, reasonably 

requests to facilitate the financial 

intermediary’s sending of the Notice to 

each beneficial owner of the fund’s 

stock; and (c) upon the request of any 

financial intermediary, or its agent, that 

receives copies of the Notice, will pay 

the financial intermediary, or its agent, 

the reasonable expenses of sending the 

Notice to such beneficial owners. 

V. Additional Board Determinations for 

Funds Whose Common Stock Trades at 

a Premium If 

A. The fund’s common stock has 

traded on the exchange that it primarily 

trades on at the time in question at an 

average premium to NAV equal to or 

greater than 10%, as determined on the 

basis of the average of the discount or 

premium to NAV of the fund’s common 

stock as of the close of each trading day 

over a 12-week rolling period (each such 

12-week rolling period ending on the 

last trading day of each week); and 

B. The fund’s annualized distribution 

rate for such 12-week rolling period, 

expressed as a percentage of NAV as of 

the ending date of such 12-week rolling 

period, is greater than the fund’s average 

annual total return in relation to the 

change in NAV over the 2-year period 

ending on the last day of such 12-week 

rolling period; then: 

1. At the earlier of the next regularly 

scheduled meeting or within four 

months of the last day of such 12-week 

rolling period, the Board including a 

majority of the Independent Members of 

the Board: 

(a) Will request and evaluate, and the 

Adviser will furnish, such information 

as may be reasonably necessary to make 

an informed determination of whether 

the Plan should be continued or 

continued after amendment; 

(b) Will determine whether 

continuation, or continuation after 

amendment, of the Plan is consistent 

with the fund’s investment objective(s) 

and policies and in the best interests of 

the fund and its stockholders, after 

considering the information in 

condition V.B.1.a above; including, 

without limitation: 

(1) Whether the Plan is accomplishing 

its purpose(s); 

(2) The reasonably foreseeable effects 

of the Plan on the fund’s long-term total 

return in relation to the market price 

and NAV of the fund’s common stock; 

and 

(3) The fund’s current distribution 

rate, as described in condition V.B 

above, compared to with the fund’s 

average annual total return over the 2- 

year period, as described in condition 

V.B, or such longer period as the Board 

deems appropriate; and 

(c) Based upon that determination, 

will approve or disapprove the 

continuation, or continuation after 

amendment, of the Plan; and 

2. The Board will record the 

information considered by it and the 

basis for its approval or disapproval of 

the continuation, or continuation after 

amendment, of the Plan in its meeting 

minutes, which must be made and 

preserved for a period of not less than 

six years from the date of such meeting, 

the first two years in an easily accessible 

place. 

VI. Public Offerings 

The fund will not make a public 

offering of the fund’s common stock 

other than: 

A. A rights offering below net asset 

value to holders of the fund’s common 

stock; 

B. An offering in connection with a 

dividend reinvestment plan, merger, 

consolidation, acquisition, spin-off or 

reorganization of the fund; or 

C. An offering other than an offering 

described in conditions VI.A and VI.B 

above, unless, with respect to such other 

offering: 

1. The fund’s annualized distribution 

rate for the six months ending on the 

last day of the month ended 

immediately prior to the most recent 

distribution declaration date,4 expressed 

as a percentage of NAV per share as of 

such date, is no more than 1 percentage 

point greater than the fund’s average 

annual total return for the 5-year period 

ending on such date; 5 and 

2. The transmittal letter 

accompanying any registration 

statement filed with the Commission in 

connection with such offering discloses 

that the fund has received an order 

under section 19(b) to permit it to make 

periodic distributions of long-term 

capital gains with respect to its common 

stock as frequently as twelve times each 

year, and as frequently as distributions 

are specified in accordance with the 

terms of any outstanding preferred stock 

that such fund may issue. 

VII. Amendments to Rule 19b–1 

The requested relief will expire on the 

effective date of any amendment to rule 

19b–1 that provides relief permitting 

certain closed-end investment 

companies to make periodic 

distributions of long-term capital gains 

with respect to their outstanding 

common stock as frequently as twelve 

times each year. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Investment Management, under delegated 

authority. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–8428 Filed 4–13–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P