FOREIGN ASSETS
DELEGATION AGREEMENT
This FOREIGN ASSETS DELEGATION AGREMEENT (the "Agreement") is made this
2nd day of May, 2003 by and between A I M ADVISORS, INC., a Delaware corporation
("AIM") and each registered investment company (the "Investment Companies") and
its respective portfolios as listed on Schedule A attached hereto (the "Funds"),
as the same may be amended from time to time.
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, AIM has agreed to accept responsibility for the selection of
foreign countries in which the Funds may invest; and
WHEREAS, AIM has agreed to accept responsibility for selecting eligible
foreign securities depositories in such countries;
NOW THEREFORE, AIM hereby agrees as follows:
1. DEFINITIONS.
A. "ELIGIBLE FOREIGN SECURITIES DEPOSITORY" means a foreign Securities
Depository that meets the eligibility requirements of Paragraph 5
hereof.
B. "FOREIGN ASSETS" means any of a Fund's investments (including
foreign currencies) for which the primary market is outside the
United States, currency contracts that are settled outside the
United States, and such cash and cash equivalents as are reasonably
necessary to effect the Fund's transactions in such investments.
C. "PREVAILING COUNTRY RISKS" means all factors reasonably related to
the systemic risk of holding Foreign Assets in a particular country,
including but not limited to, such country's political environment;
economic and financial infrastructure (including any Eligible
Foreign Securities Depositories operating in the country);
prevailing or developing custody and settlement practices; laws and
regulations applicable to the safekeeping and recovery of Foreign
Assets held in custody in that country; and factors compromising
"prevailing country risk", including the effects of foreign law on
the safekeeping of Fund assets, the likelihood of expropriation,
nationalization, freezing or confiscation of the Fund's assets and
any reasonably foreseeable difficulties in repatriating the Fund's
assets.
D. "PRIMARY CUSTODIAN" means State Street Bank and Trust Company.
E. "SECURITIES DEPOSITORY" means a system for the central handling of
securities where all securities of any particular class or series of
any issuer deposited within the system are treated as fungible and
may be transferred or pledged by bookkeeping entry without physical
delivery of the securities. A Securities Depository includes an
Eligible Foreign Securities Depository.
FOREIGN COUNTRY SELECTION. AIM shall select the foreign countries in which a
Fund invests. AIM may determine that an issuer is located in a particular
country based on various factors, including the following; (i) the issuer is
organized under the laws of and maintains a principal office in that country;
(ii) the issuer derives 50% or more of its total revenues from business in that
country; (iii) the primary market for the issuer's securities is in that
country. In addition, in determining whether to maintain assets of Fund in a
foreign country, AIM shall consider Prevailing Country Risks. AIM may rely on
information provided by computerized information services, such as Bloomberg
terminals, in making the foregoing determinations. AIM may also rely on
information and opinions provided by the Foreign Custody Manager in making such
determinations. AIM may add or delete foreign countries to or from the list of
approved foreign countries from time to time, as determined by the AIM employees
who are portfolio managers of the Funds.
ELIGIBLE FOREIGN SECURITIES DEPOSITORIES SELECTION. AIM shall select Eligible
Foreign Securities Depositories for the placement and maintenance of Foreign
Assets. AIM shall not make any such selection unless and until is has determined
that a Fund's custody arrangements provide reasonable safeguards against the
custody risks associated with maintaining assets with the Eligible Foreign
Securities Depository, including:
A. Risk Analysis and Monitoring.
(1) The Fund and AIM have received from the Primary Custodian (or
its agent) an analysis of the custody risks associated with
maintaining assets with the Eligible Foreign Securities
Depository; and
(2) The contract between the Fund and the Primary Custodian
requires the Primary Custodian (or its agent) to monitor the
custody risks associated with maintaining assets with the
Eligible Foreign Securities Depository on a continuing basis,
and promptly notify the Fund and AIM of any material change in
these risks.
B. Exercise of Care. The contract between the Fund and the Primary
Custodian states that the Primary Custodian will agree to exercise
reasonable care, prudence, and diligence in performing the
requirements of Paragraphs 3(A)(1) and (2) above, or adhere to a
higher standard of care.
WITHDRAWAL FROM FOREIGN SECURITIES DEPOSITORY. If a custody arrangement with a
foreign Securities Depository no longer meets the eligibility requirements set
forth Paragraph 5 below, AIM shall withdraw the Fund's Foreign Assets from the
Securities Depository as soon as reasonably practicable.
DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY. AIM shall determine a foreign Securities
Depository to be an Eligible Foreign Securities Depository if it:
F. Acts as or operates a system for the central handling of securities
or equivalent book-entries in the country where it is incorporated,
or a transnational system for the central handling of securities or
equivalent book-entries;
G. Is regulated by a foreign financial regulatory authority as defined
under section 2(a)(50) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the 1940 Act);
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H. Holds assets for the custodian that participates in the system on
behalf of the Fund under safekeeping conditions no less favorable
than the conditions that apply to other participants;
I. Maintains records that identify the assets of each participant and
segregates the system's own assets from the assets of participants;
J. Provides periodic reports to its participants with respect to its
safekeeping of assets, including notices of transfers to or from any
participant's account; and
K. Is subject to periodic examination by regulatory authorities or
independent accountants.
REPORTS AND OTHER INFORMATION.
L. QUARTERLY REPORTS. AIM will submit to the Boards of
Directors/Trustees a quarterly report listing all newly approved
countries and all countries in which a Fund invested for the first
time during the preceding quarter. Such report shall include a
revised Appendix 1 to the Foreign Custody and Country Selection
Procedures, if applicable, listing the approved countries. AIM will
submit to the Boards of Directors/Trustees a quarterly report
indicating changes to Eligible Foreign Securities Depositories to
the extent such report is not provided by the Primary Custodian.
M. OTHER REPORTS. AIM will notify the Boards of Directors/Trustees in
writing of any material change in the Eligible Foreign Securities
Depositories for a Fund that has not been reported by the Primary
Custodian promptly after the occurrence of the material change.
SUPERSEDES PRIOR AGREEMENT. This Agreement supersedes and replaces the Foreign
Country Selection and Mandatory Securities Depository Responsibilities
Delegation Agreement dated September 9, 1998, as amended.
LIABILITY OF AIM AND THE FUNDS. In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties hereunder
on the part of AIM or any of its officers, directors or employees, AIM shall not
be subject to liability to the Funds or to any shareholder of the Funds for any
act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services
hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in connection with the
responsibilities delegated hereunder. Any liability of AIM to one Fund shall not
automatically impart liability on the part of AIM to any other Fund. No Fund
shall be liable for the obligations of any other Fund.
DELEGATION TO SUB-ADVISORS. AIM may delegate its duties under this Agreement to
the sub-advisors for certain Funds for which AIM serves as investment adviser.
Such sub-advisors shall have the same obligations and shall be subject to the
same standard of care as AIM is under this Agreement.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed by their duly authorized officers, as of the day and year first above
written.
On behalf of itself and on behalf of its Funds listed on Schedule A
hereto, as such Schedule may be amended from time to time:
AIM ADVISOR FUNDS
AIM EQUITY FUNDS
AIM FLOATING RATE FUND
AIM FUNDS GROUP
AIM GROWTH SERIES
AIM INTERNATIONAL FUNDS, INC.
AIM INVESTMENT FUNDS
AIM INVESTMENT SECURITIES FUNDS
AIM SELECT REAL ESTATE INCOME FUND
AIM SERIES TRUST
AIM SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUNDS
AIM SUMMIT FUND
AIM VARIABLE INSURANCE FUNDS
GLOBAL INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
Attest: /s/ P. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
----------------------- -----------------------------
Assistant Secretary Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Title: President
A I M ADVISORS, INC.
Attest: /s/ P. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx By: /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
----------------------- -----------------------------
Assistant Secretary Name: Xxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Title: Senior Vice President
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SCHEDULE A
TO THE
FOREIGN ASSETS DELEGATION AGREEMENT
AIM ADVISOR FUNDS
- AIM International Core Equity Fund
- AIM Real Estate Fund
AIM EQUITY FUNDS
- AIM Aggressive Growth Fund
- AIM Basic Value II Fund
- AIM Blue Chip Fund
- AIM Capital Development Fund
- AIM Charter Fund
- AIM Constellation Fund
- AIM Core Strategies Fund
- AIM Dent Demographic Trends Fund
- AIM Diversified Dividend Fund
- AIM Emerging Growth Fund
- AIM Large Cap Basic Value Fund
- AIM Large Cap Growth Fund
- AIM Mid Cap Growth Fund
- AIM U.S. Growth Fund
- AIM Xxxxxxxxxx Fund
AIM FLOATING RATE FUND
AIM FUNDS GROUP
- AIM Balanced Fund
- AIM Basic Balanced Fund
- AIM European Small Company Fund
- AIM Global Utilities Fund
- AIM Global Value Fund
- AIM International Emerging Growth Fund
- AIM Mid Cap Basic Value Fund
- AIM New Technology Fund
- AIM Premier Equity Fund
- AIM Premier Equity II Fund
- AIM Select Equity Fund
- AIM Small Cap Equity Fund
AIM GROWTH SERIES
- AIM Basic Value Fund
- AIM Mid Cap Core Equity Fund
- AIM Small Cap Growth Fund
AIM INTERNATIONAL FUNDS, INC.
- AIM Asia Pacific Growth Fund
- AIM European Growth Fund
- AIM Global Aggressive Growth Fund
- AIM Global Growth Fund
- AIM Global Income Fund
- AIM International Growth Fund
AIM INVESTMENT FUNDS
- AIM Developing Markets Fund
- AIM Global Energy Fund
- AIM Global Financial Services Fund
- AIM Global Health Care Fund
- AIM Global Science and Technology Fund
- AIM Libra Fund
- AIM Strategic Income Fund
AIM INVESTMENT SECURITIES FUNDS
- AIM High Yield Fund
- AIM High Yield Fund II
- AIM Income Fund
- AIM Intermediate Government Fund
- AIM Short Term Bond Fund
- AIM Total Return Bond Fund
AIM SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES FUNDS
- AIM Opportunities I Fund
- AIM Opportunities II Fund
- AIM Opportunities III Fund
AIM SELECT REAL ESTATE INCOME FUND
AIM SERIES TRUST
- AIM Global Trends Fund
AIM SUMMIT FUND
AIM VARIABLE INSURANCE FUNDS
- AIM V.I. Aggressive Growth Fund
- AIM V.I. Balanced Fund
- AIM V.I. Basic Value Fund
- AIM V.I. Blue Chip Fund
- AIM V.I. Capital Appreciation Fund
- AIM V.I. Capital Development Fund
- AIM V.I. Core Equity Fund
- AIM V.I. Dent Demographic Trends Fund
- AIM V.I. Diversified Income Fund
- AIM V.I. Global Utilities Fund
- AIM V.I. Government Securities Fund
- AIM V.I. Growth Fund
- AIM V.I. High Yield Fund
- AIM V.I. International Growth Fund
- AIM V.I. Mid Cap Core Equity Fund
- AIM V.I. New Technology Fund
- AIM V.I. Premier Equity Fund
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