SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
PROXY STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 14(A) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(Amendment No. ______________)
Filed by the Registrant /X/
Filed by a party other than the Registrant / /
Check the appropriate box:
/ / Preliminary proxy statement
/ / Confidential, for use of the Commission only (as permitted by
Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
/ / Definitive proxy statement
/ / Definitive additional materials
/X/ Soliciting material pursuant to Sec. 240.14a-11(c) or Sec. 240.14a-12
TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FUND, INC.
------------------------------------------------
(Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of filing fee (Check the appropriate box):
/X/ No fee required.
/ / Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and 0-11.
(1) Title of each class of securities to which transactions applies:
(2) Aggregate number of securities to which transactions applies:
(3) Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed
pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing
fee is calculated and state how it was determined):
(4) Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:
(5) Total fee paid:
/ / Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
/ / Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act
Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee
was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration
statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.
(1) Amount previously paid:
(2) Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.:
(3) Filing party:
(4) Date filed:
PAGE
TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FUND, INC.
Broward Financial Centre
500 E. Broward Blvd., Suite 2100
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394-3091
Tel 954-527-7500
FRANKLIN(R) TEMPLETON(R) INVESTMENTS
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
For more information, please contact Franklin Templeton Investments at
1-800-342-5236. Members of the media should contact Lisa Gallegos at Franklin
Templeton Corporate Communications at 650-312-3395.
TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FUND, INC. ("TCH")
ANNOUNCES BOARD RECOMMENDATION TO CONVERT INTO AN OPEN-END FUND
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, November 13, 2002. TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FUND, INC.
(NYSE: TCH), a closed-end management investment company, today announced that
the Board of Directors of the Fund has unanimously determined to recommend to
shareholders the approval of a proposal to convert the Fund into an open-end
investment company. The proposal will be submitted to the Fund's shareholders at
the Fund's Annual Shareholders' Meeting currently expected to be held on March
14, 2003. The record date for the Annual Shareholders' Meeting will be January
3, 2003. Under Maryland law and the Fund's constituent documents, a majority of
outstanding voting securities of the Fund would be required to approve the
proposal.
If shareholders vote to convert the Fund into an open-end investment company,
the Fund will begin to continuously offer its shares for investment following
the effective date of a registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. Each Fund share would be redeemable at the option of
the shareholder (except under limited circumstances permitted under the federal
securities laws) at its net asset value less any applicable redemption charge
that the Board might put into effect and would be payable by shareholders upon
redemption.
The Fund is designed for investors seeking long-term capital appreciation. Under
normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in
equity securities of "China companies." The Fund currently has total net assets
in excess of $168 million. The discount between the Fund's share price and its
net asset value on November 8, 2002 was -9.63%.
The Fund's investment adviser, Templeton Asset Management Ltd., is an indirect,
wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global
investment organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin
Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management
services through its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series and Fiduciary Trust
subsidiaries. The San Mateo, CA-based company has over 50 years of investment
experience and more than $252 billion in assets under management as of October
31, 2002. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN(R) (1-800-342-5236).
------------
-MORE-
In connection with the proposal, China World Fund intends to file relevant
materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including a
proxy statement. Because those documents contain important information,
shareholders of China World Fund are urged to read them, if and when they become
available. When filed with the SEC, they will be available for free at the SEC's
website, www.sec.gov. Shareholders can also obtain copies of these documents and
other transaction-related documents, when available, for free by calling China
World Fund at 1-800-342-5236.
China World Fund, its directors and executive officers and certain other
persons, may be deemed to be participants in China World Fund's solicitation of
proxies from its shareholders in connection with the proposal described above.
Information about the directors is set forth in the proxy statement for China
World Fund's 2002 annual meeting of shareholders. Participants in China World
Fund's solicitation may also be deemed to include the following executive
officers or other persons whose interests in China World Fund may not be
described in the proxy statement for China World Fund's 2002 annual meeting:
Mark Mobius (President and C.E.O. - Investment Management); Jimmy D. Gambill
(Senior Vice President and C.E.O. - Finance and Administration); Charles B.
Johnson (Vice President); Rupert H. Johnson, Jr. (Vice President); Harmon E.
Burns (Vice President); Martin L. Flanagan (Vice President); Jeffrey A. Everett
(Vice President); John R. Kay (Vice President); Murray L. Simpson (Vice
President and Asst. Secretary); David P. Goss (Vice President and Asst.
Secretary); Barbara J. Green (Vice President and Secretary); Michael O. Magdol
(Vice President - AML Compliance); Bruce S. Rosenberg (Treasurer and Chief
Financial Officer); and Holly Gibson Brady (Director of Corporate Communications
- - Franklin Resources, Inc.).
As of the date of this communication, none of the foregoing participants
individually, or as a group, beneficially owns in excess of 1% of China World
Fund's common stock. Except as disclosed above, to the knowledge of China World
Fund, none of its respective directors or executive officers has any interest,
direct or indirect, by security holdings or otherwise, in China World Fund.
Shareholders may obtain additional information regarding the interests of the
participants by reading the proxy statement of China World Fund when it becomes
available.
# # #