Franklin Templeton liquidates a fund that’s also active in Romania

Franklin Templeton Investments, Romanian fund Fondul Proprietatea’s manager, wants to liquidate a fund focused on Eastern Europe and Russia, which has some USD 9.3 million invested in Romania, almost half of which are placed in local gas producer Romgaz’ shares. Templeton Russia and East European Fund directors have approved the fund’s liquidation and closing, but the shareholders also need to grant their approval. If they approve the liquidation, the procedure would take place before the end of the year, reports local Wall-street.ro. At the end of June, the fund had total net assets of almost EUR 58 million. The stake in Romgaz was the fund’s largest holding, representing 7.7% of its net assets. The fund’s investments in Romania amounted to 16.1% of its total net assets at the end of June. The fund had more than two-thirds (67.9%) of its money invested in Russia. editor@romania-insider.com