(a) The
Registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its principal executive
officers and principal financial and accounting officer.
(c) N/A
(d) N/A
(f) Pursuant
to Item 13(a)(1), the Registrant is attaching as an exhibit a copy of its code
of ethics that applies to its principal executive officers and principal
financial and accounting officer.
Item 3. Audit Committee
Financial Expert.
(a)(1) The
Registrant has an audit committee financial expert serving on its audit
committee.
(2) The
audit committee financial experts are Ann Torre Bates and David W. Niemiec they
are "independent" as defined under the relevant Securities and
Exchange Commission Rules and Releases.
Principal Accountant Fees
and Services.
((a) Audit Fees
The
aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for professional services
rendered by the principal accountant for the audit of the registrant’s annual
financial statements or for services that are normally provided by the principal
accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements
were $50,225 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 and $47,566 for the
fiscal year ended August 31, 2019.
(b) Audit-Related Fees
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for assurance and related services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the registrant's financial statements and are not reported under paragraph (a) of Item 4.
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for assurance and related services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant's investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of their financial statements.
(c) Tax Fees
There were no fees paid to the principal accountant for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for professional services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning were $0 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 and $20,000 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019. The services for which these fees were paid included professional fees in connection with tax treatment of equipment lease transactions and professional fees in connection with an Indonesia withholding tax refund claim.
(d) All Other Fees
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for products and services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant not reported in paragraphs (a)-(c) of Item 4
were $0 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 and $93 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019. The services for which these fees were paid included review of materials provided to the fund Board in connection with the investment management contract renewal process.
The aggregate fees paid to the principal accountant for products and services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant not reported in paragraphs (a)-(c) of Item 4 were $137,944 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 and $22,200 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019. The services for which these fees were paid included the issuance of an Auditors’ Certificate for South Korean regulatory shareholder disclosures, benchmarking services in connection with the ICI TA Survey, and valuation services related to a fair value engagement.
(e) (1) The registrant’s
audit committee is directly responsible for approving the services to be
provided by the auditors, including:
(i) pre-approval of
all audit and audit related services;
(ii) pre-approval of
all non-audit related services to be provided to the Fund by the auditors;
(iii) pre-approval of
all non-audit related services to be provided to the registrant by the auditors
to the registrant’s investment adviser or to any entity that controls, is
controlled by or is under common control with the registrant’s investment
adviser and that provides ongoing services to the registrant where the
non-audit services relate directly to the operations or financial reporting of
the registrant; and
(iv) establishment by
the audit committee, if deemed necessary or appropriate, as an alternative to
committee pre-approval of services to be provided by the auditors, as required
by paragraphs (ii) and (iii) above, of policies and procedures to permit such
services to be pre-approved by other means, such as through establishment of
guidelines or by action of a designated member or members of the committee;
provided the policies and procedures are detailed as to the particular service
and the committee is informed of each service and such policies and procedures
do not include delegation of audit committee responsibilities, as contemplated
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to management; subject, in the case
of (ii) through (iv), to any waivers, exceptions or exemptions that may be
available under applicable law or rules.
(e) (2) None of the services provided to the registrant described in paragraphs (b)-(d) of Item 4 were approved by the audit committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of regulation S-X.
(f) No disclosures are required by this Item 4(f).
(g) The aggregate non-audit fees paid to the principal accountant for services rendered by the principal accountant to the registrant and the registrant’s investment adviser and any entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant were $137,944 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2020 and $22,200 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2019.
(h) The registrant’s audit committee of the board has considered whether the provision of non-audit services that were rendered to the registrant’s investment adviser (not including any sub-adviser whose role is primarily portfolio management and is subcontracted with or overseen by another investment adviser), and any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the investment adviser that provides ongoing services to the registrant that were not pre-approved pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(ii) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X is compatible with maintaining the principal accountant’s independence.
Item
5. Audit Committee
of Listed Registrants.
N/A Item
6. Schedule of Investments.
N/A
Item
7
. Disclosure of Proxy Voting
Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies. N/A
Item 8. Portfolio Managers
of Closed-End Management Investment Companies. N/A
Item 9. Purchases of
Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated
Purchasers. N/A
Item 10. Submission of
Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
There have been no changes to the procedures by which
shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant's Board of Trustees that
would require disclosure herein.
Item 11. Controls and
Procedures.
(a) Evaluation of
Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Registrant maintains disclosure
controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that
information required to be disclosed in the Registrant’s filings under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of
1940 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the periods
specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Such information is accumulated and communicated to the Registrant’s
management, including its principal executive officer and principal financial
officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure. The Registrant’s management, including the principal executive
officer and the principal financial officer, recognizes that any set of
controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide
only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
Within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this Shareholder Report on Form N-CSR, the Registrant had
carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of
the Registrant’s management, including the Registrant’s principal executive
officer and the Registrant’s principal financial officer, of the effectiveness
of the design and operation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and
procedures. Based on such evaluation, the Registrant’s principal executive
officer and principal financial officer concluded that the Registrant’s
disclosure controls and procedures are effective.
(b) Changes in
Internal Controls:
During the
period covered by this report, a third-party service provider commenced
performing certain accounting and administrative services for the Registrant
that are subject to Franklin Templeton’s oversight.
Item 12. Disclosure of
Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Company.
N/A
(a)(2)
Certifications pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of Matthew T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer -
Finance and Administration, and Robert G. Kubilis, Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Accounting Officer
(b) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 of Matthew T. Hinkle, Chief Executive Officer -
Finance and Administration, and Robert G. Kubilis, Chief Financial Officer and
Chief Accounting Officer
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
TEMPLETON CHINA WORLD FUND
By _S\MATTHEW T. HINKLE_____
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and
Pursuant to the requirements
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940,
this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the
registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
By _S\MATTHEW T. HINKLE_____
Chief
Executive Officer - Finance and
By _S\ROBERT G. KUBILIS_____
Chief
Financial Officer
and