Revealed: 2 Franklin Templeton Funds hold CFAF 2 billion in Cameroon bonds

Two funds linked to U.S. asset manager Franklin Templeton held Cameroon sovereign bonds with a combined face value of €3.11 million (CFAF 2.04 billion) as of June 30, 2026, according to portfolio disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The bonds carry an annual coupon of 5.95% and mature on July 7, 2032. Of the two funds, Templeton Global Dynamic Income Fund held the larger position, reporting €2.89 million in face value, equivalent to approximately CFAF 1.90 billion. The bonds had a market value of $2.96 million in its portfolio as of June 30, 2026.

The second fund, Putnam Master Intermediate Income Trust, held €220,000 in face value, equivalent to CFAF 144.3 million, with a market value of $225,216. The fund changed its name to Franklin Master Intermediate Income Trust in July 2026. The name change, announced on May 15, did not affect its PIM ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange. Its June 30 portfolio statement therefore still used the former name.

Fund’s Cameroon Bond Holdings Decline From 2023 Levels

U.S. regulatory filings show that Putnam Master Intermediate Income Trust held Cameroon sovereign bonds before becoming part of Franklin Templeton. As of March 31, 2023, the fund reported €360,000 in face value, with a market value of $279,603. The fund held the bonds before Franklin Templeton acquired Putnam Investments, a transaction completed on January 1, 2024.

By September 30, 2025, the fund’s holdings had fallen to €320,000 in face value, valued at $309,844. Nine months later, the position had declined further to €220,000, a reduction of €100,000, or 31.25%, from the amount reported at the end of September 2025.

The filings reviewed do not identify the transaction dates or the specific transactions behind the decline. A third Franklin Templeton portfolio reported holdings of the same bonds. As of January 31, 2026, Franklin Emerging Market Debt Opportunities Fund held €2.13 million in face value, equivalent to nearly CFAF 1.4 billion, with a market value of $2.22 million.

Because that holding was reported as of a different date, it cannot be added to the €3.11 million held by the other two funds as of June 30 to calculate Franklin Templeton’s total exposure to the bonds. The filings reviewed also do not establish whether other funds within the group hold the same securities.

Bonds Issued Under Cameroon’s 2021 Eurobond Offering

The bonds form part of Cameroon’s €685 million international bond issue in June 2021, equivalent to approximately CFAF 450 billion. The offering carried an annual coupon of 5.95% and was primarily intended to refinance the country’s 2015 Eurobond, which had a coupon rate of 9.5%. In a statement published on June 30, 2021, Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance said the offering had attracted 205 investors. Investor orders totaled €2.258 billion, but the government limited the amount raised to €685 million.

The portfolio disclosures filed with the SEC identify some of the funds holding these bonds several years after their issuance. They do not establish whether those investors participated in the original offering or acquired their holdings later on the secondary market. The CFAF 2.04 billion identified across the two portfolios as of June 30, 2026, represents the face value of the bonds held, not new financing received by Cameroon’s Treasury. Their market value, which differs from their face value, is reported in U.S. dollars in the American regulatory filings.

Source: Business in Cameroon