Portfolio Update

Merrill Lynch Greater Europe IT PLC 15 December 2005 MERRILL LYNCH GREATER EUROPE INVESTMENT TRUST plc All information is at 30 November 2005 and unaudited. Performance at month end with net income reinvested One Three One Since launch Month Months Year (20Sep04) Net asset value 5.7% 6.2% 30.5% 37.8% Share price 6.0% 8.7% 36.4% 33.7% FTSE World Europe ex UK 4.8% 5.9% 23.8% 31.4% Sources: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and Datastream. At month end Net asset value: 136.17p Includes net revenue return of 0.07p Share price: 132.00p Discount to NAV: 3.1% Gearing: 8.0% Net yield: 1.2% Total assets: £206.4m Ordinary shares in issue: 140,414,347 Benchmark Sector Analysis Total Assets (%) Index (%) Country Analysis Total Assets (%) Financials 38.3 32.3 Germany 19.2 Resources 9.9 7.2 France 15.7 Basic Industries 9.2 7.2 Switzerland 13.4 Non Cyclical Consumer Goods 8.4 15.8 Italy 7.1 Utilities 7.4 6.8 Scandinavia 6.3 Cyclical Services 5.6 6.4 Russia 6.0 Capital Goods 4.7 6.0 Netherlands 5.5 Non Cyclical Services 3.8 1.1 Sweden 5.0 Technology 3.5 4.9 Spain 4.1 Cyclical Consumer Goods 2.8 5.1 Ireland 4.1 Telecoms 2.3 7.2 Israel 3.8 Other Investments 3.0 - Belgium 2.7 Net Current Assets 1.1 - Greece 2.5 Poland 1.7 Turkey 0.9 Hungary 0.6 Other Countries 0.3 Net Current Assets 1.1 ----- ----- ----- 100.0 100.0 100.0 ----- ----- ----- Ten Largest Equity Investments Company Country of Risk Allianz Germany AXA France BBVA Spain ING Groep Netherlands New Century Holdings Eagle LP Russian Federation Novartis Switzerland RWE Germany Siemens Germany Total France Zurich Financial Services Switzerland Commenting on the markets, James Macmillan, representing the Investment Manager noted: Following a bout of profit taking in October, European equity markets resumed their upward trend in November, touching fresh 31/2 year highs. The FTSE World Europe ex UK and MSCI Emerging Europe returned 4.8% and 10.7% in Sterling terms respectively. Investors were encouraged by the appointment of a credible new Federal Reserve Bank chairman and indications that the pace of monetary policy tightening in the US was likely to slow following the 300bp increase in the Federal Funds rate during the last two years. An expected 0.25% increase in the European Central Bank's official interest rate in early December was generally shrugged off as a non-event and European corporate earnings reported in recent months were generally slightly ahead of forecasts, albeit with some disappointments mainly in consumer related sectors. The Company's NAV returned 5.7% during November outperforming the reference index by 0.9%. The contribution from the emerging Europe region was positive as November saw a rebound across the region after October's sell off. The use of flexible gearing was also beneficial and the Company benefited from being positively geared in a rising market. The best performing stocks during the month were found mainly in the emerging European portion of the fund. The best performing stocks included Egis Gyogyszergyar, Norilsk Nickel and, in Israel, Bank Hapoalim, Delek Group and Ness Technologies. Other stocks which had a positive contribution to performance were RWE and Unicredito Italian. The stocks which detracted from performance were car manufacturer Renault, drinks manufacturer Pernod Ricard, medical group Fresenius, and dairy producer Parmalat. During the month the Company increased its exposure to the insurance sector through the purchase of shares in Zurich Financial Services and ING. Other transactions included establishing a new position in energy group ENI and significantly adding to industrial conglomerate Siemens. These purchases were mainly funded by selling a number of positions within the telecoms sector, which included France Telecom, Telenor, Bouygues and Telekomunikacja Poland. The Company continues to have a bias towards the financials, mainly through banks but also diversified financials and insurance. Other key sector weights include utilities and energy. Exposure to Emerging Europe decreased slightly during the month to finish at 13.0%. The Company ended the month with a net market exposure of 108%. During November business confidence in Continental Europe continued to rise signalling that economic growth has picked up after the slowdown in the first half of the year. However, concerns still remain that the continued high oil prices and a slowdown in the global economic growth level will impact profit margins. The corporate sector is now in good shape after years of restructuring (ongoing); companies have been focused on cost cutting and corporate efficiency but are increasingly looking for suitable acquisition candidates now that balance sheet strength has been regained. The third quarter results season has seen strong earnings performance especially in the financial sector. 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 December 2005 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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