“Renaissance US Growth Trust Backs China”

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Russell Cleveland: “Renaissance US Growth Trust backs Chinese and US
entrepreneurs.”

“In spite of recent falls in China’s growth rate, China will remain the
fastest growing economy in the world”, said Russell Cleveland, manager of
Renaissance US Growth Investment Trust, in answer to investors’ questions
about where to go for growth.

“China will not be immune from recessions but the long-term growth
prospects for companies investing in areas such as infrastructure, education,
medical and food and water are considerable, partly because of the sheer
scale of the Government’s ambitions.”

To capitalise on these prospects, Russell Cleveland now invests 50% of
his portfolio in Chinese companies listed on the US Stock Exchange,
concentrating on smaller companies with entrepreneurial management who
typically have a significant stake in the company. This is a theme he focuses
on for the rest of the portfolio seeking US smaller companies with the
ability to adapt to change and taking advantage of infrastructure
opportunities in light of Obama’s policies.

Typical Chinese companies that he has a stake in are A-Power Energy
Generation Systems ltd. The Company designs and constructs distributed power
generation systems in China and has won the contracts to build hundreds of
wind turbines in China. “The Chinese are committed to making major
improvements to infrastructure which gives us interesting investment
opportunities. The Government is planning to build 10,000 miles of high speed
trains and HLS Systems, Inc., a leading infrastructure company, has been
awarded the contract are included in our portfolio. “

In terms of the outlook for the US, Russell agrees that economic news is
gloomy and that Obama is likely to be in for a rocky start but he also
believes he has brought a new optimism to the US. This, coupled with the
current low valuations of stocks, could result in the best potential for
investors in the past 35 years. Looking back, after the bear market of
1973-1974 the NASDAQ rose 159% during 1976-1980 compared to rise of the Dow
Jones Industrial Average. Russell invests in companies with a typical market
capitalisation of between $25million and $250million up to a maximum size of
$1billion and in answer to the question about risk, points out that with
around 60 stocks in the portfolio, the stake in each company is relatively
small. Superior returns can be obtained over time by investing in
entrepreneurial companies. Companies he is currently backing including Points
International which has a near monopoly on loyalty points and handles mileage
for most all major airlines. Finally Russell highlights what he calls the
First Five Days effect as good news for markets. Looking at US historical
records, if markets rise in the first five days of the year there is an 86%
chance the US stock market will rise over the course of the year, 2009 is
looking positive. But the key to success is stock selection as opposed to
market timing.

“2009 will be the year when realism returns - adapting to things as they
are rather than the way we would like them to be” he concludes.

Notes to Editors

Renaissance US Growth Investment Trust plc (”RUSGIT”) was formed in 1996
when shares were placed with a number of UK institutions and private clients.
The Trust is managed by RENN Capital Group Inc, a Dallas-based asset manager
specialising in small “emerging growth” companies listed in the US and
Canada. These include China-based companies with US listings.

Russell Cleveland is president and chief executive officer of the Trusts’
manager, RENN Capital Group. He is director of a number of US public
companies, most of which have RENN Capital as an investor.

For more information please contact:

Lansons Communications
Henrietta Guthrie/Rachel Cashmore
+44(0)207-294-3612 / 3663

Source: Renaissance US Growth Investment Trust plc (RUSGIT)

For more information please contact: Lansons Communications, Henrietta Guthrie/Rachel Cashmore, +44(0)207-294-3612 / 3663