Performance at Month End

Merrill Lynch Greater Europe IT PLC 15 July 2005 MERRILL LYNCH GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST plc All information is at 30 June 2005 and unaudited. Performance at month end with net income reinvested One Three Since launch Month Months (20Sep04) Net asset value 4.1% 5.6% 20.3% Share price 3.4% 4.1% 13.5% FTSE World Europe ex UK 3.1% 4.8% 17.9% Sources: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Datastream. At month end Net asset value: 120.33p Includes net revenue of 1.98p Share price: 113.50p Discount to NAV: 5.7% Gearing: 0.0% Net yield: N/A Total assets: £166.6m Ordinary shares in issue: 140,414,347 During the month the company completed a tender offer of 24,426,938 shares. Benchmark Sector Analysis Total Assets (%) Index (%) Country Analysis Total Assets (%) Financials 34.8 30.1 France 25.9 Non Cyclical Consumer Goods 10.9 15.3 Germany 14.7 Resources 10.4 10.2 Switzerland 12.2 Basic Industries 10.3 7.1 Scandinavia 10.3 Cyclical Services 9.2 6.3 Italy 7.6 Utilities 6.1 6.5 Spain 5.7 Non Cyclical Services 6.0 1.3 Russia 4.4 Telecoms 5.9 7.9 Netherlands 4.3 Cyclical Consumer Goods 4.5 4.7 Ireland 4.0 Technology 1.6 5.0 Belgium 3.8 Capital Goods 1.1 5.6 Poland 2.8 Other Investments 2.8 - Sweden 2.6 Net Current Liabilities (3.6) - Turkey 2.3 Israel 1.7 Greece 0.8 Other Countries 0.5 Net Current Liabilities (3.6) ----- ----- ----- 100.0 100.0 100.0 ----- ----- ----- Ten Largest Equity Investments Company Country of Risk AXA France BBVA Spain Capitalia Italy New Century Holdings Eagle Russia Novartis Switzerland Repsol Spain Societe Generale France Statoil Norway Total France UBS Switzerland Commenting on the markets, James Macmillan, representing the Investment Manager noted: European equity markets continued to advance in June with the FTSE World Europe ex UK and MSCI Emerging Europe up 3.4% and 7.9% in sterling terms respectively. Investors shrugged off evidence of sharply decelerating global economic growth and another rise in the oil price (to $60); instead market participants focused on the benefits of a weaker Euro and speculated about a possible cut in official interest rates in the Eurozone. The European Union's decision to suspend the implementation of the new constitution in the wake of its rejection by French and Dutch voters was regarded as a non-event by most market participants. The latest 0.25% increase in US short term interest rates in late June had been widely anticipated by market participants. The Company's NAV returned 4.1% during the month outperforming the reference benchmark index. During the month, stock selection was positive with sector allocation being slightly negative. The contribution from Emerging Europe was negligible, with strong performance from Turkey and Poland offset by poor performance in Israel. During the period the best performing stocks were in Norway, with oil company Statoil benefiting from rising oil prices and its upstream exposure, and insurance group Sampo rising after the company announced a share buy back program. In addition the company has also been the subject of takeover rumours after Old Mutual proposed to acquire Skandia. Other strong performers included exchange Deutsche Boerse which is currently experiencing strong trading volumes, Capitalia after strong results and bid speculations within the Italian banking sector, and in Poland Telekomunikacja Polska which traded up in anticipation of dividend increase. Stock positions that detracted from performance were chemical company Clariant which continued to fall after last months profit warning and Israeli banks, United Mizrahi and Bank Hapoalim, due to concerns over political tensions in the Gaza. During the month the Company established a new position in Novartis which was funded by selling Roche. Novartis having lagged the pharmaceutical sector is now trading at an attractive valuation with above average growth prospects with a strong pipeline. Other purchases included the France Telecom, Dutch retailer Ahold and chemical companies DSM and Umicore. These purchases were funded mainly by reducing exposure to a number of cyclical stocks which after recent strong performance have reached their target prices, and a significant reduction to Ericsson after strong performance. The Company continues to have a bias towards the financial and defensive areas of the market. At the sector level this is reflected through banks, diversified financials, telecoms, energy and utilities. During the month the Company's exposure to Emerging Europe increased to 11.7%. The Company ended the month with a net market exposure of 102%. European Equity markets are performing better than one could expect against a backdrop of very weak economic growth in Europe. Generally speaking the corporate sector is in good shape now following years of drastic cost cutting, restructuring and financial re-engineering. Selectively we see good investment opportunities in many areas of the market, with a slight preference for large cap over small cap. The suspension of the proposed new EU constitution in the wake of its rejection in France and the Netherlands has not had a negative impact on equity markets - in fact the recent weakening of the Euro is beneficial for Europe's exporters and the Turkish market continued to perform well in June. Falling bond yields mean that financing conditions are favourable, enabling many European stock exchange listed companies to re-leverage their balance sheets by paying out increased dividends and/or buying back their own shares. In the absence of an external shock, European equities should remain on an upward trajectory. Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet, 'MLIMINDEX' on Reuters, 'MLIM' on Bloomberg or '8800' on Topic 3 (ICV terminal). 15 July 2005 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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