Franklin Templeton Launches New FTIF Franklin GCC Bond Fund (English)

New GCC Bond Fund Offers Investors the Opportunity to Participate in Tomorrow’s Bond Story Today

Luxembourg & Dubai – Franklin Templeton Investments is pleased to announce the launch of the new Franklin GCC Bond Fund (the “Fund”), a sub-fund of its Luxembourg-registered Franklin Templeton Investment Funds SICAV range. Launched on 30 August 2013, the new Fund provides access to the rapidly growing bond markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries to investors.

Over the last decade, the economies of the GCC countries have exhibited remarkably strong fundamentals and their bond markets have expanded significantly and are poised to become one of the fastest-growing bond markets in the world. They have strong balance sheets and have amassed considerable current account surpluses over the past decade.

The new Fund invests in fixed or floating-rate debt securities and obligations issued by government, government-related or corporate entities located in GCC member countries. It may also purchase similar securities and obligations issued by entities based in the wider Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) regions as well as supranational entities organised by several national governments, such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It seeks to maximise total investment return consisting of a combination of interest income, capital appreciation and currency gains in the long term.

Mohieddine (Dino) Kronfol, chief investment officer, Global Sukuk and MENA Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited, is the lead manager of the Fund. He is supported by portfolio manager Sharif Eid and senior research analyst Franck Nowak. Based in Dubai, the investment team is ideally positioned to provide broad research coverage for this rapidly growing, yet still under-researched area of the fixed income market.

Dino Kronfol commented: “The GCC region has some of the world’s strongest credit metrics and is endowed with 30% and 20% of the world’s proven oil and gas reserves, respectively. Regional debt markets have been developing rapidly over the past 10 years and have achieved scale in terms of market size, issuance volumes and trading activity.” He added: “We believe the outlook for regional debt markets is extremely positive as GCC countries continue to develop external as well as domestic money, bond and Sukuk markets. We expect GCC markets to continue delivering strong risk adjusted returns with low correlations to major fixed income and equity markets.”

In addition to their local understanding and insight, the investment team has access to multiple resources including: integration with the wider Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group, a global leader in fixed income investing; oversight from the Franklin Templeton Investments Local Asset Management Group, a pioneer in locally managed portfolios governed by global quality standards; and risk management, compliance and operations support from Franklin Templeton Investments, a global investment manager.

For More Information For more information on Franklin GCC Bond Fund, please call +971 4 428 4172.

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Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited is a 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, Fiduciary Trust, Darby Bissett and K2 investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and over USD 834 billion in assets under management as of 31 July 2013. For more information, please visit www.franklinresources.com.

Franklin Templeton Investments (ME) Limited is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.

Notes to Editors:

1.Franklin GCC Bond Fund is a sub-fund of Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF), a Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV. This document is intended to be of general interest only and does not constitute legal or tax advice nor is it an offer for shares or invitation to apply for shares of the Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV Franklin Templeton Investment Funds. Nothing in this document should be construed as investment advice.

Opinions expressed are the author’s at publication date and they are subject to change without prior notice. Subscriptions to shares of FTIF can only be made on the basis of the current prospectus, and, where available, the relevant Key Investor Information Document, accompanied by the latest available audited annual report and the latest semi-annual report if published thereafter. The value of shares in FTIF and income received from it can go down as well as up, and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not an indicator or a guarantee of future performance. Currency fluctuations may affect the value of overseas investments. When investing in a fund denominated in a foreign currency, your performance may also be affected by currency fluctuations.

An investment in FTIF entails risks which are described in FTIF’s prospectus and, where available, the relevant Key Investor Information Document. In emerging markets, the risks can be greater than in developed markets. Investments in derivative instruments entail specific risks that may increase the risk profile of the fund and are more fully described in FTIF’s prospectus and in the relevant Key Investor Information Document. References to particular industries, sectors or companies are for general information and are not necessarily indicative of a fund’s holding at any one time.

No shares of FTIF may be directly or indirectly offered or sold to nationals or residents of the United States of America. Shares of FTIF are not available for distribution in all jurisdictions and prospective investors should confirm availability with their local Franklin Templeton Investments representative before making any plans to invest.

This press release is intended to be of general interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. Franklin Templeton Investments and its management groups have exercised professional care and diligence in the collection and processing of the information in this press release. Franklin Templeton Investments makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy of this document. Franklin Templeton Investments shall not be liable to any user of this report or to any other person or entity for the inaccuracy of information contained in this press release or for any errors or omissions in its contents, regardless of the cause of such inaccuracy, error or omission.

Any research and analysis contained in this document has been procured by Franklin Templeton Investments for its own purposes and is provided to you only incidentally.

For more information, please contact: Franklin Templeton Investments, The Gate, East Wing, Level 2, Dubai International Financial Centre, P.O. Box 506613, Dubai, U.A.E., Tel.: +9714-4284100 Fax:+9714-4284140.

For more information on our funds please visit our website: http://www.franklintempletongem.com/.

Issued by Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited in Dubai (“FTIML”). FTIML is authorized and regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority and the FTIML Dubai branch is regulated in Dubai by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”).

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