LONDON (Reuters) - Alliance Trust said on Monday that the coming year would continue to be challenging as the credit squeeze hampers global growth.

The company ATST.L said its net asset value fell 4.6 percent in the year to January 31 in what it described as a harsh year for stock markets when the FTSE All-Shares index fell 6.6 percent.

Alliance Trust increased its full-year dividend by 4.3 percent to 7.9 pence per share.