SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT 1999
For the period ending June 30, 1999

Press Release

MINT ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

Middlefield High Income Trust ("MINT") is pleased to announce its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 1999, the details of which are attached.

In the first half of 1999, the economic environment remained positive for the businesses in which MINT is invested, and income from these investments was generally in line with expectations. During the second quarter, MINT generated net investment income of $0.20 per unit and on June 22, MINT announced a distribution of $0.20 per unit, payable July 29, 1999 to unitholders of record on June 30, 1999. The distribution rate remained unchanged from last quarter and is expected to remain at this rate for the balance of 1999. On an annualized basis, this represents a yield of approximately 12% on the current market price of $6.50 per unit.

For the second quarter, MINT posted a total return of 5.5% compared to the SCM Income Trust Index total return of 8.1% for the same period. The difference was primarily a result of the oil and gas and pipeline utilities sectors, which posted significant gains in the second quarter. The SCM Index weighting in these types of securities was 44% at June 30, 1999, whereas MINT's exposure to these relatively volatile sectors was limited to approximately 29% of its total portfolio.

The Year 2000 Issue arises because many computerized systems use two digits rather than four to identify a year. Date sensitive systems may recognize the year 2000 as 1900 or some other date, resulting in errors when information using 2000 dates is processed. The manager of the Trust is one of the Middlefield group of companies ("Middlefield"). Middlefield formed a committee which assessed the impact of the Year 2000 date change issue on operations, and based on that assessment, developed a plan encompassing problem item updates, replacements and Year 2000 compliance testing. The plan also addresses contingency arrangements in the event that items are not compliant by target dates. Costs to the Trust associated with addressing the Year 2000 problem are not material and are being expensed. Currently, remediation plans, including testing and implementation, are being carried out and are expected to be completed in the fall of this year. Critical systems have been determined to be compliant. The potential impact of suppliers or other third parties not being compliant could range from inconvenience to the use of alternates. To alleviate some of the concerns over the Year 2000 Issue, we will print a Statement of Account as at November 30, 1999 for each unitholder. This statement will be mailed in early December and should be received by unitholders well before the 1999 year end. This statement will show each unitholder's investment in the Trust and a copy will be retained in our offices. Any unitholder that holds MINT in their brokerage account should receive a statement directly from their broker and not from the Trust.

MINT is a closed-end investment trust that invests primarily in high yield equities, supplemented by high yield debt. This press release contains forward-looking information. Actual future results may differ materially. The risks, uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results are described in MINT's annual report to unitholders and other documents filed with regulatory authorities.

MINT trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MID.UN".

For further information, contact Nancy Tham or the undersigned:

Mr. J. Dennis Dunlop
Senior Vice President

August 24, 1999

TRUST PROFILE

MINT raised $98 million in March of 1997 through an initial public offering. The primary objectives of the Trust are to produce a high level of sustainable income and to minimize the risk of investing in high yield securities on a cost effective basis. MINT is comprised of four asset classes: income funds, high income debt, real estate investment trusts and royalty trusts. Unitholders can acquire additional units by participating in the Distribution Reinvestment Plan. The Plan enables unitholders to reinvest their quarterly distributions in additional units of MINT thereby achieving the benefit of compounding returns. MINT is fully RRSP eligible.