Portfolio Update

BLACKROCK LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

All information is at 30 September 2011 and unaudited.

Performance at month end is calculated with income reinvested

                         One     Three       One     Three    *Since     Five     
                       Month    Months      Year     Years  31.03.06    Years    
Sterling:                                                                      
Net asset value       -17.2%    -27.2%    -26.6%     35.7%     62.3%    75.0%    
Share price           -14.3%    -22.9%    -24.3%     45.6%     62.5%    75.2%    
MSCI EM Latin America -13.7%    -22.2%    -20.3%     31.7%     76.7%    87.3%  
                                                                               
US Dollars:                                                                    
Net asset value       -20.8%    -29.3%    -27.4%     18.5%     45.8%    45.2%    
MSCI EM Latin America -17.4%    -24.5%    -21.2%     15.1%     58.7%    56.2%    

Sources: BlackRock, Standard & Poor's Micropal
*Date which BlackRock took over the investment management of the Company.

At month end                                                                   
Net asset value - capital only:                                  523.82p       
Net asset value - cum income:                                    537.87p       
Net asset value - capital only and with bond at fair value:      508.20p       
Net asset value - cum income and with bond at fair value:        522.24p       
Net asset value - capital only with bond converted:              523.82p       
Net asset value - cum income and with bond converted:            537.87p       
Share price:                                                     514.00p       
Total assets^:                                                  £286.70m       
Premium (share price to capital with bond at fair value):           1.1%       
Average discount over the month - capital:                          2.5%       
Average discount over the month - cum income                        3.7%       
Gearing~:                                                          18.1%       
Net yield:                                                          2.9%       
Ordinary shares in issue:                                     43,841,312       

^Total assets include current year revenue.
~Gearing is calculated using debt at par, less cash and cash equivalents as a
percentage of net assets.

Geographical Regional Exposure                                   % Total Assets
                                                                               
Brazil                                                                     71.6
Mexico                                                                     16.6
Chile                                                                       4.4
Peru                                                                        1.8
Colombia                                                                    1.5
Panama                                                                      1.4
Argentina                                                                   0.4
Net current assets                                                          2.3
                                                                          -----
Total                                                                     100.0
                                                                          -----

Ten Largest Equity Investments (in alphabetical order)

Company                            Country of Risk             % of Company   
                                                                              
Vale                                        Brazil                     11.8   
Itaú Unibanco                               Brazil                     10.0   
Petrobrás                                   Brazil                      7.7   
América Móvil                               Mexico                      7.6   
Banco Bradesco                              Brazil                      6.1   
AmBev                                       Brazil                      5.3   
Fomento Economico Mexicano                  Mexico                      3.4   
OGX Petroleoegas                            Brazil                      2.4   
Grupo Televisa                              Mexico                      2.3   
Lojas Renner                                Brazil                      2.2   

Commenting on the markets, Will Landers, representing the investment
Manager noted;

Performance

For the month of September 2011, the Company posted a 17.2% decline in its NAV
while the shares fell by 14.3% (all in sterling terms). This trailed the -13.7%
return posted by the Company's benchmark, the MSCI EM Latin America Index.

Positive contributions to performance during the month came from stock
selection in Chile and Mexico. The largest individual positive contributors for
the month included an underweight position in Petrobras, the overweight
positions in Femsa and Itau and not owning Cemex. Weighing on performance
during the month were stock selection and an overweight position in Brazil and
an underweight to Colombia. Individual negative contributions to performance
for the month came from homebuilder PDG, consumer names Time4Fun and Natura and
not owning Ecopetrol or Brasil Foods. In addition, performance was negatively
impacted by the portfolio's gearing.

Transactions

During the month in Brazil, we added to financials on weakness and added to our
chemical exposure while we reduced exposure to consumers as well as oil & gas
by reducing Petrobras. Other sources of funding for these changes during the
month included exiting Mexican homebuilders.

Positioning

At the end of the quarter, the portfolio remains positioned to benefit from a
more constructive market environment and a recovery in risk appetite. Latin
America's fundamentals from both a macro and micro perspective rank among the
most attractive in the world in our opinion and we would expect to see the
region rank among the best in the world in periods of market recovery. This,
combined with attractive valuations make for an attractive entry point into the
region. Brazil remains our largest overweight with a continued focus on
domestic sectors representing most of the overweight. We expect the Brazilian
Central Bank to continue to ease rates at the remainder of their meetings this
year in an effort to combat contagion from the global slowdown. Valuations in
Mexico are not as attractive as in Brazil and the country will continue to be
impacted by its close correlation to the US, political gridlock until next
year's presidential election and ongoing security concerns. Other markets in
the region have some representation in the portfolio but suffer from a
combination of higher valuations and/or low liquidity.

19 October 2011

ENDS

Latest information is available by typing www.blackrock.co.uk/brla on the
internet, "BLRKINDEX" on Reuters, "BLRK" on Bloomberg or "8800" on Topic 3 (ICV
terminal). Neither the contents of the Manager's website nor the contents of
any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Manager's website (or any other
website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.