Templeton Emerging Markets Fund : Semiannual Report

SEMIANNUAL REPORT

Contents

Seminnual Report

Templeton Emerging Markets Fund 2

Performance Summary 6

Financial Highlights and Statement of Investments 9

Financial Statements 14

Notes to Financial Statements 17

Important Information to Shareholders 26

Annual Meeting of Shareholders 28

Dividend Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plan 29

Shareholder Information 31

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SEMIANNUAL REPORT

Templeton Emerging Markets Fund

Dear Shareholder:

This semiannual report for Templeton Emerging Markets Fund covers the period ended February 28, 2022

Your Fund's Goal and Main Investments

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its net assets in emerging country equity securities

Performance Overview

The Fund posted cumulative total returns of -11 25% based on market price and -14 54% based on net asset value for the six months under review The Fund's benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index-NR, posted a -9 81% cumulative total return for the same period 1 You can find the Fund's long-term performance data in the Performance Summary on page 6

Performance data represent past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate, and you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Current performance may differ from figures shown.

Geographic Composition 2/28/22

% of Total
Net Assets
Asia	86 4%
Latin America & Caribbean	11 6%
Europe	3 6%
North America	3 1%
Middle East & Africa	1 2%
Short-Term Investments & Other Net Assets	-5 9%
Economic and Market Overview

Emerging market economies continued to grow during the six months ended February 28, 2022, though resurgent COVID-19 outbreaks and supply-chain issues tempered

1. Source: Morningstar.

growth in some countries Several emerging market central banks raised benchmark interest rates to stem inflation, continuing a trend that started in early 2021 During the period, emerging market equities were hurt by investor concerns about the global spread of COVID-19 variants, rising inflation, new Chinese government regulations on certain businesses and the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Regarding individual countries, China's year-on-year growth rate moderated in 2021's third and fourth quarters due to supply-chain issues, domestic COVID-19 outbreaks, power shortages and a property market slowdown Taiwan's year-on-year growth rate moderated in 2021's third quarter as private consumption was impacted by a spike in infections Growth accelerated in the fourth quarter due to continued solid foreign demand for electronics and a recovery in private spending, which was aided by easing COVID-19-related restrictions and government stimulus South Korea's year-on-year growth rate moderated in the third quarter in part due to new restrictions to contain the Delta variant, then accelerated slightly in the fourth quarter due to growth in private and government spending India's year-on-year growth rates moderated in 2021's third and fourth quarters, but were still robust Economic growth was supported by progress in vaccine distribution, which eased COVID-19-related economic disruptions, and government stimulus measures Russia's year-on-year growth rate moderated in the third quarter of 2021, but was still above pre-pandemic levels due to high commodity prices Brazil's year-on-year growth rate moderated in 2021's third and fourth quarters as imports outpaced exports

Turning to specific countries' monetary policies, the People's Bank of China lowered its benchmark loan prime rate twice in an effort to spur growth. The central banks of Taiwan and India left their benchmark interest rates unchanged In contrast, the central banks of South Korea and Brazil raised their respective benchmark interest rates multiple times to combat rising inflation. The central bank of Russia also raised its benchmark interest rate multiple times, including more than doubling the rate in late February 2022 to offset ruble devaluation caused by sanctions imposed against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine

The index is unmanaged and includes reinvestment of any income distributions. It does not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges. One cannot invest directly in an index, and an index is not representative of the Fund's portfolio. Net Returns (NR) include income net of tax withholding when dividends are paid.

Seewww.franklintempletondatasources.comfor additional data provider information.

The dollar value, number of shares or principal amount, and names of all portfolio holdings are listed in the Fund's Statement of Investments (SOI). The SOI begins on page 10.

TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS FUND

In this environment, emerging market stocks, as measured by the MSCI EM Index-NR, posted a -9 81% total return for the six months ended February 28, 2022 1 Chinese equities fell during the period due to new government regulations targeting internet companies, strict lockdowns to suppress COVID-19 outbreaks and a slowing property market Taiwanese equities fell slightly during the period, with the country's strong technology export sector limiting losses in an overall negative environment for equities Russian equities plummeted after countries across the world imposed stiff sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine The government halted stock market trading and the ruble weakened significantly. Brazilian equities fell modestly, with higher commodity prices and encouraging economic data late in the period helping reverse some earlier losses caused by investor concerns about rising inflation, mounting debt levels and increased interest rates.

Investment Strategy

Our investment strategy employs a fundamental, value-oriented, long-term approach We focus on the market price of a company's securities relative to our evaluation of the company's long-term earnings, asset value and cash flow potential. As we look for investments, we focus on specific companies and undertake in-depth research to construct an action list from which we make our buy decisions Before we make a purchase, we look at the company's potential for earnings and growth over a five-year horizon. During our analysis, we also consider the company's position in its sector, the economic framework and political environment

Top 10 Countries 2/28/22

Manager's Discussion

During the six months under review, key contributors to the Fund's absolute performance included MediaTek, Longshine Technology Group and Kasikornbank

Top 10 Holdings 2/28/22

Company Industry, Country

a

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment,

Taiwan

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals,

South Korea

ICICI Bank Ltd Banks, India

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd

Internet & Direct Marketing Retail, China MediaTek, Inc

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment,

Taiwan

Tencent Holdings Ltd

Interactive Media & Services, China NAVER Corp

Interactive Media & Services, South Korea China Merchants Bank Co Ltd

% of Total Net Assets

12 7%

11 8%

• 5 9%

• 5 6%

• 4 3%

• 4 2%

• 3 7%

• 3 0%

  Banks, China

  Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology Co Ltd Chemicals, China

  LG Corp

  Industrial Conglomerates, South Korea

• 2 9%

• 2 4%

Taiwan-based MediaTek is a major chip designer in the semiconductor industry and develops chips for smartphones and other technology devices Upbeat growth expectations for the semiconductor industry buoyed shares of the company MediaTek reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2021 corporate results, with solid year-on-year revenue and earnings growth as well as higher profit margins Management also voiced strong revenue growth

% of Total	and above-consensus profitability expectations for 2022.
Net Assets
Signaling commitment to enhancing shareholder returns,
a	a
China	29 6%	a special dividend payment from 2021-2024 was also
South Korea	24 4%	announced Investors were also optimistic about demand for
Taiwan	18 6%	the company's new chip for 5G smartphones
India	10 0%
China-based Longshine Technology is an information
Brazil	9 3%
technology business that provides customized software
United States	3 1%
for the state power grid, as well as public utilities payment
Thailand	2 1%	solutions and internet television services for consumers
Mexico	1 8%	Shares rallied due to solid third-quarter 2021 revenue
United Kingdom	1 6%	and net profit growth, along with growth opportunities as
Russia	1 3%	energy digitalization gains pace in China amid the country's
decarbonization efforts. The company also announced
preliminary attributable profits for 2021, which registered
double-digit year-on-year growth Investors expect growth
in digital grid investments and reforms in the power market,
franklintempleton.com

a

a

TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS FUND

amid a growing requirement for upgraded power trading and settlement systems, to further drive Longshine Technology's revenues The company's platform supporting electric vehicle (EV) charging services also makes it a beneficiary of the rising adoption of EVs

Kasikornbank is one of Thailand's five largest banks in terms of assets The bank reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2021 profit on lower provisioning and strong loan and net interest income growth Management also guided for stable improvement in loan growth, credit cost and asset quality for 2022 The Thai economy returned to growth ahead of expectations in 2021's fourth quarter due to robust exports, a recovery in domestic activity and reopening of borders to tourists, all of which boosted expectations of recoveries in Kasikornbank's key business areas such as corporate and small- and medium-sized enterprise lending A gradual reduction was also seen in the bank's large, restructured loan book in the fourth quarter as borrowers exited from loan relief programs

Conversely, major detractors from absolute performance included Alibaba Group Holding, NAVER and several Russian holdings, including Sberbank of Russia, LUKOIL and Yandex

Alibaba is the leading e-commerce company in China Weakening consumption trends amid repeated COVID-19 outbreaks and concerns about intensified competition in the domestic e-commerce market weighed on sentiment in the stock An organizational restructure in late 2021, following the launch of several strategic initiatives, suggested management had been actively seeking solutions to challenges faced by the company Alibaba reported mixed fourth-quarter 2021 corporate results with above-consensus earnings, but slightly lower-than-expected revenue News of the Chinese government monitoring domestic banks' exposure to Alibaba's financial technology arm Ant Group also weighed on investor sentiment. We remain confident in the strength of Alibaba's e-commerce ecosystem The company has also been pursuing a multi-engine growth strategy for the longer term, which includes building up its cloud and international e-commerce businesses

NAVER operates South Korea's largest search engine and offers e-commerce, financial technology, digital content, cloud and other services The company's share price has fallen sharply since September 2021 due to market concerns over policymakers' plans to potentially regulate technology platforms' financial technology businesses and overall market dominance Although NAVER reported above-consensus fourth-quarter 2021 revenue growth, earnings missed market expectations on higher developmentand operating costs Concerns that expansion into unprofitable new businesses in an uncertain macroeconomic environment further impacted market sentiment However, we believe that NAVER is in a good position to build a thriving ecosystem integrating e-commerce, payments, digital content and other services based on its foundation in search and advertising We see longer-term monetization and growth opportunities for the company

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we had maintained our position in Russian stocks including Sberbank, one of the biggest banks in the country, LUKOIL, a major Russian oil producer, and Yandex, Russia's largest search engine, given the belief that diplomacy could resolve the issue After the invasion, stock prices declined significantly. We trimmed the Fund's holding in Sberbank as a risk mitigation measure At the time of writing, in addition to the closure of the Russian market, trading in Russian companies whose shares are traded using American and Global Depositary Receipts (ADRs/GDRs) listed in international exchanges has also been suspended Given these facts, on March 4, 2022, the Russian company securities that are halted on all tradeable exchanges were fair valued at zero by the Franklin Templeton Valuation Committee, representing unrealized depreciation of $3,298,993 from the Fund value as of February 28, 2022 In concluding upon a zero value, we took into account the continued uncertainty in the market, restrictions to trade the shares both onshore and offshore, and a lack of any price discovery mechanism to provide indications of residual value

In the past six months, we increased the Fund's holdings in Brazil, South Korea and U S -listed companies with significant exposure to emerging markets due to the availability of attractive investment opportunities In terms of sectors, additions were made in the materials, consumer discretionary and energy We initiated exposure to several new investments as we continued to identify companies with sustainable earnings power trading at a discount to their intrinsic worth Key additions included Genpact, a U S -listed technology services company with significant exposure to India, Petroleo Brasileiro, Brazil's national oil and gas company, and LG Chem, a South Korean petrochemicals company that also owns a majority stake in a newly listed EV battery maker Exposure to Germany was also initiated via the addition of Delivery Hero, a German-listed delivery company with significant exposure to South Korea, Saudi Arabia and other emerging markets Additionally, we added to our existing high-conviction portfolio holdings with purchases in Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology, which produces electrolytes for EV batteries, the aforementioned Alibaba, and POSCO, a South Korean steel manufacturer