FORT LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwired - Mar 12, 2014) - Templeton Dragon Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TDF) today announced that the Fund's Board of Directors approved an amendment to the Fund's non-fundamental investment policy limiting investments in a single issuer to up to 15% of the Fund's total assets, measured at the time of investment. Under the amended investment policy, for investments in any affiliated private investment fund or vehicle in which the Fund has invested, the 15% limit shall apply to the Fund's proportionate interest in the portfolio securities held by such investment fund or vehicle. The amended investment policy will enable the Fund to invest a greater portion of its total assets in the Templeton China Opportunities Fund, Ltd., a Cayman Islands Exempt Company which holds China A shares directly and serves as an investment vehicle through which U.S. registered Franklin Templeton funds can gain exposure to the China A Share market. These are investments that the Fund cannot make directly because China A Shares are only available as an investment to domestic Chinese investors, Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors and Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors.
Templeton Asset Management Ltd., the Fund's investment manager, believes that this change will be beneficial to the Fund and its shareholders because it provides the Fund with greater flexibility to pursue its investment objective of long-term capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 45% of its total assets in equity securities of "China companies." In order to gain exposure to Chinese equity securities, the Fund currently may invest directly in H shares (shares of China-incorporated, Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed companies), B shares (shares that trade on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges in either U.S. or Hong Kong dollars) and red chips (shares of Hong Kong Stock Exchange listed companies with significant exposure to China). The investment manager believes adding China A shares to the Fund's investment universe will expand the investment opportunities for Fund shareholders.
Templeton Asset Management Ltd., is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Bissett, Fiduciary Trust, Darby, Balanced Equity Management and K2 investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and over $882 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2014. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN® or visit franklintempleton.com.
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Franklin Templeton Investments
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