Monthly Update- Replacement

British Empire Sec & Gen Tst PLC 23 August 2007 BRITISH EMPIRE SECURITIES AND GENERAL TRUST PLC This announcement replaces announcement 0651C released at 12.24 on 14 August 2007 which contained incorrect figures in the Statistics section. Performance Commentary This investment management report relates to performance figures as at 31 July 2007. Over the month NAV was down 0.6%1. This compares to a decrease in the benchmark of 1.7%2, and a decrease of 3.4%1 and 3.3%1 for the MSCI World (£) and the FTSE All Share indices respectively. Financial* year to date, net asset value rose 15.9%1 compared to a rise of 12.7%2 for the Datastream index, 6.8%1 for the MSCI World (£) and 10.4%1 for the FTSE All Share. Over three years NAV is up 104.2%1 while the FTSE All Share is up 65.2%1. Manager's Comment Losses in the sub-prime mortgage market are leading to a welcome re-assessment and re-pricing of risk in the debt markets. Credit spreads had become too tight and investors were not being compensated for the risks they were taking. This process is having a knock-on effect on the equity markets as the prospects for more costly borrowing ripple through other markets. The negative effects are also exaggerated by weak summer investor appetite. We have sold one or two holdings recently, including our Alliance Trust, and our net cash weighting is close to 14%. We intend to use further market weakness to start re-building our market exposure. Statistics Value % 1 mo % 1 yr % 3 yr % 5 yr Price (£)1 473.0 2.8 10.1 102.1 187.0 Net Asset Value1 496.6 -0.6 17.8 98.6 168.6 Net Asset Value Total Return1 -0.6 19.3 104.2 180.9 Benchmark2 (£) -1.7 16.1 70.4 94.0 Annual Returns (%) 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 Price1 0.3 51.7 36.0 41.6 -12.2 MSCI World1 5.8 23.0 7.2 20.6 -27.4 1 Source: Fundamental Data 2 Datastream Global Growth Investment Trust Index(TR) Source: Thomson Financial Top 10 Equity Holdings % Investor AB 3.77 Paris Orleans 3.43 Sofina 3.31 Jardine Strategic 2.64 Electra Private Equity 2.59 Lundbergforetagen 2.58 GBL 2.37 Hang Lung 2.31 Hutchison Whampoa 2.17 Jardine Matheson 2.08 Capital Structure Ordinary Shares 160,080,089 10 3/8% Debenture stock 2011 £8,514,940 8 1/8% Debenture stock 2023 £14,875,319 Equities index unsecured loan stock 2013** 2,837,000 ** Updated annually Gross Assets/Gearing Gross Assets £831 mil. Debt £ 29.1 mil. Actual Gearing (Debt less cash divided by net asset value) -14.0% Fund Codes Bloomberg Reuters Ticker / ISIN BTEM GB0001335081 Geographical Breakdown Continental Europe 27.5% Japan 10.9% Canada / US 12.8% Asia Pacific 13.8% UK 18.0% Liquidity 17.0% EMEA 0.0% All figures as at 31 July 2007 unless otherwise stated. All sources Asset Value Investors Ltd unless otherwise stated. British Empire Securities Trust is managed by Asset Value Investors Ltd. The price of shares and the income from them may go down as well as up; they can be affected by exchange rate movements between currencies and it is possible that investors may not get back the full amount invested on disposal of the shares. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Investments in emerging markets carries a greater degree of risk, in particular the volatility of the markets and the local custody and registration arrangements, which may be less developed than in more mature markets. There is no guarantee that the market price of shares in Investment Trusts will fully reflect their underlying Net Asset Value (NAV). This Investment Trust should be considered only as part of a balanced portfolio, of which it should not form a disproportionate part. Under no circumstances should this information be considered as an offer, or solicitation, to deal in investments. Issued by Asset Value Investors Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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