Franklin Templeton Opens Malaysia Office

Singapore, 5 February 2009 – Franklin Templeton Investments today announced that it has opened its office in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. The office has been established as a foreign fund management company under the Malaysian Special Scheme. The company, Franklin Templeton Asset Management Malaysia Sdn Bhd, was awarded a Capital Markets Services Licence in January 2008, allowing it to carry out the regulated activity of fund management under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007.

Stephen Grundlingh, regional head for Southeast Asia, who is overseeing Franklin Templeton’s Malaysian business, said, “Establishing an office in Malaysia is a key pillar of our investment management business in Southeast Asia. This will allow us to deepen our participation in the Malaysian market and reach out to more institutional investors, including pension funds and government agencies. Our strengths in global equities, fixed income and emerging markets investing will serve us well in Malaysia.”

Malaysia is one the biggest markets in terms of assets in Southeast Asia and is poised to become an important contributor to the company’s growth globally.  Franklin Templeton currently manages global equities, emerging markets and fixed income assets for Malaysia-based institutional clients.

Mark Browning, Franklin Templeton’s managing director for Asia, said, “Malaysia has a maturing economy, an established investment management market and expertise in Islamic finance, making it a key market on our radar screen as we expand our business in the region.”

Templeton Asset Management Ltd., the company’s investment management subsidiary focused on emerging markets, will also station a team of investment analysts in the new Malaysian office.  These analysts will be supported by experienced investment professionals from Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s emerging markets research team led by Executive Chairman Mark Mobius.

Dennis Lim, co-CEO and portfolio manager, Templeton Asset Management Ltd., who co-manages a number of Templeton emerging markets funds, said, “Despite the recent global economic turmoil, Malaysia’s economy remains sound. The country has a high national savings rate and a current account surplus, which should enable it to weather the current financial crisis. Given our focus on attractively valued companies with strong fundamentals in Asia and across emerging markets, we are excited about the investment opportunities that our on-the-ground analysts may uncover in Malaysia.”

Franklin Templeton will offer its full range of global investment capabilities in the Malaysian market. In addition, its office in Malaysia will be made up of a team of locally recruited staff who will be supported by experienced investment professionals from the company’s offices in 30 countries around the world.

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], is 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 and Bissett investment teams.  The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over $416 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2008.  For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.sg or call +(65) 6241-2662.