RNS Number:5499O
Merrill Lynch New Energy Tech. PLC 
11 August 2003


MERRILL LYNCH NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY plc

All information is at 31 July 2003 and unaudited

Performance at month end with net income reinvested

                                                 One          Three              Six               One            Since
                                               Month         Months           Months              Year           Launch*
Net asset value                                 6.2%          17.8%             9.9%            -15.5%            -78.1%
Share price                                     1.6%          12.1%             6.6%            -23.5%            -83.8%
*23 October 2000
Source: Merrill Lynch Investment Managers

At month end
Net asset value:                                             20.95p
Share price:                                                 16.25p
Discount to NAV:                                              22.4%
Net yield:                                                      N/A
Total assets:                                                #42.1m
Gearing:                                                        Nil
Ordinary shares in issue:                               198,950,000



Sector                                                % Total  Country                                        % Total
Analysis                                               Assets  Analysis                                        Assets
Auto & On-Site Generation                                34.9  USA                                               49.0
Enabling Energy Technology                               25.2  Canada                                            26.9
Renewable Energy                                         23.0  Denmark                                            6.6
Energy Storage                                           14.2  Spain                                              5.5
Cash                                                      2.3  Germany                                            4.9
Net Current Assets                                        0.4  United Kingdom                                     3.7
                                                               Australia                                          0.7
                                                               Cash                                               2.3
                                                               Net Current Assets                                 0.4
                                                        -----                                                   -----
                                                        100.0                                                   100.0
                                                        =====                                                   =====




Ten Largest Equity Investments
Company                                      % of Investments        Country of Risk
Intermagnetics                                           7.4         USA
American Superconductor                                  6.7         USA
Ballard Power                                            6.4         Canada
Fuelcell Energy                                          6.3         USA
Gamesa                                                   5.5         Spain
Westport Innovations                                     5.3         Canada
ECD                                                      4.9         USA
Hydrogenics                                              4.3         Canada
Vestas Wind                                              4.2         Denmark
Active Power                                             4.2         USA
                                                        ----
Total                                                   55.2
                                                        ====


Robin Batchelor and Poppy Buxton, representing the Investment Manager, noted:

Fund Performance Attribution:

Performance

During the month of July the Trust's Net Asset Value per share ("NAV") increased
by 6.2% and the share price increased by 1.6%. Of particular note this month was
that a number of the Trust's holdings further strengthened their balance sheets
by raising cash in the form of equity and/or debt in order to capitalise further
on their recent commercialisation.

At the beginning of the month, American Superconductor announced a US$50 million
debt financing plan, primarily to fund the construction of a pilot manufacturing
line for their second generation ("2G") high temperature superconducting ("HTS")
wire. Over the past few months, American Superconductor has announced a flurry
of orders for their HTS wire and related power equipment from customers around
the world. Additionally, in independent tests conducted by the US Department of
Energy, American Superconductor's 2G wire exceeded performance expectations by
over 50% and is likely to be 2-5 times cheaper than 1G. We are encouraged by
these results and by the additional financial strength that should allow the
company to accelerate the commercial development of 2G wire. The stock rose
37.9% in July.

Following a period of strong global demand for their gas engine conversion
technology, Impco successfully completed a US$32 million debt financing. The
proceeds will allow the company to repay its existing credit facility with Bank
of America and complete the acquisition of 50% of their Italian competitor BRC.
The acquisition of BRC is positive and we would not be surprised if Impco
increase their stake in the company over time.

Westport Innovations, a developer of clean combustion engines for transport and
stationary power markets, raised approximately C$20 million to enable them to
further accelerate their sales growth rate.

We continue to witness government support for the energy technology sector. In
the UK, the government announced additional licences to build offshore wind
farms. This bidding round is designed to facilitate development on a much more
ambitious scale than previous licensing rounds and is aimed to help the UK
achieve its goal of having 10% of electricity generated by renewables by 2010.
Following this announcement, UK utility Centrica unveiled plans to invest #500
million in renewables over the next 5 years.

Meanwhile in the US, the Department of Energy ("DOE") announced the selection of
13 firms to receive US$75 million in cost shared awards to fund new research in
advanced fuel cell technologies. Among those companies to receive funding was
Plug Power, which was awarded US$12 million and Quantum Fuel Systems which was
awarded US$2.6 million. We also expect Ballard to receive a similar award.
Towards the end of the month the DOE began to solicit bids for US$200 million in
hydrogen production, delivery and storage projects to support the fuel cell
program. We expect the results of this solicitation process later this year. We
are delighted that the US DOE continues to support the hydrogen economy and are
pleased that this is directly benefiting the Trust's holdings.

On a more negative note, AstroPower was delisted from Nasdaq after continually
failing to report financial results on time. Although the precise nature of
AstroPower's problems is still unclear, it is our firm belief that this is a
company specific issue and that the solar market as a whole remains attractive.
We do not currently own the stock but are watching the situation carefully in
case there is an opportunity to invest in what are attractive assets on
interesting terms.

Portfolio Activity

After significantly increasing our position post a visit to the company earlier
this year, we booked some profits in American Superconductor following recent
strong performance. We participated in the Westport deal following a positive
meeting with management.

Outlook

We are happy that some of the Trust's holdings have been able to successfully
raise money this month. Not only does this demonstrate that there remains
investor appetite for the sector, but also leaves those companies in a much
stronger position as they progress towards commercial profitability.

With many of the Trust's holdings closely linked to the industrial capital
expenditure cycle, recent management comments from the second quarter company
results are showing cautious signs of optimism. For example, Active Power's CEO
Joseph Pinkerton commented with regard to sales leads that "while deals are
taking just as long to close, there are just more deals on the table".

Latest information is available by typing www.mlim.co.uk/its on the internet,
"MNE.L" on Reuters, "MNE LN" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV terminal).

11 August 2003



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