Templeton sets up rep office in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh

SINGAPORE, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Templeton Asset Management said on Friday it has set up a representative office in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City that will focus on research as well as the promotion of financial services projects.

The office opening comes six months after parent firm Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN.N) bought a 49 percent stake in Vietcombank Fund Management, an investment management firm currently focused on private equity investment in Vietnam.

Vietcombank, which is the acronym for the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, owns the remaining 51 percent of the Vietnamese fund management firm.

(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Jan Dahinten)