Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2013

Turkish state institutions are set to provide full support to local electric car production as Turkey’s science agency will provide 100 percent in research aid while the Science Ministry is promising to buy 200 electric cars over five years.

“Turkey will make a name for itself with domestic electric car production and development,” Turkish Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün has said, adding that Turkey did not want to miss the opportunity to have a say in the electric car sector, as it has lost out before in the fossil fuel vehicle technology sector. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2013

Pegasus, Turkey’s largest private air carrier, is planning to open up its shares to the public, according to the company.

The company applied to the Capital Markets Board (SPK) for a public offering on Feb. 22; the shares are expected to be opened either this year or next year.

The company initiated research in 2011 with the intention of setting up an initial public offering (IPO) earlier but had to postpone the plans due to waning investor interest in capital markets during the global financial crisis. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2013

Turkey’s Competition Authority (RK) hears the defense today of a dozen banks under investigation for alleged collusion in setting loan rates.
The RK will hear the banks’ cases at 10 a.m. at its headquarters in Ankara. The verdict is expected in the following 15 days. RK said back in November it would seek to issue a collective fine worth TL 4.8 billion ($2.65 billion) if it finds the banks guilty of colluding on interest rates. The 12 banks, which include the country’s four largest banks — Akbank, Garanti Bank, İş Bankası and Ziraat Bankası — allegedly agreed to cooperate and set interest rates as high as 14 percent for customers, an RK investigation dating back to November 2011 says. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2013

The first integrated rail and ferry line between Russia and Turkey officially opened on Tuesday, inaugurating what officials say will be a new chapter in trade between the two countries and the region at large.
In a Tuesday ceremony at the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun, Transport and Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım and his Russian counterpart, Maksim Sokolov, spoke to the press on the importance of the line, which will be the most direct trade corridor between the two Black Sea neighbors. Yıldırım said that the agreement will see as much as 200,000 tons of rolling stock this year, a number which he estimated would reach around 300,000 tons in five years. “This line will help us reach our trade targets, which is not an easy task but something I’m sure can be achieved,” said Sokolov. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2013

Foreign financing debts of the Turkish private sector rose by $11.2 billion between December of 2011 and 2012, according to data released by the Central Bank of Turkey on Tuesday.
The increase adds to existing debt and brings the total amount of foreign debt owed by Turkish businesses to $137.6 billion at the end of 2012. When evaluating the numbers against the data of the previous year, the loans of non-banking financial intuitions increased by almost $1 billion while the loans of non-financing institutions rose by $3.2 billion.

Also, the data showed that out of $137.6 billion, 59.7 percent of the loans were taken out in dollars and 34.9 percent in euros, with the remaining in other currencies. The loans taken out by non-financial institutions take up a share of 61.4 percent in total debt with a value of $84.4 billion. Of this debt, 59.4 percent is held by the service sector, 39.9 percent by industry and 0.7 percent by agriculture.

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2013

Natural gas reserves have been found in İstanbul’s Silivri district, Turkish media reported on Tuesday.
An exploratory drilling operation headed by Merty Energy has reached a natural gas deposit at a depth of some 500 meters in the Çayırlık-1 field, the company’s officials said.

Merty Energy CEO Ongun Yoldemir was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Drillers will also look for natural gas deposits in the Damlıca-1 field after tests are completed.”

Any discoveries made by oil companies and the state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) are sure to come as welcome news to Turkey, which imports nearly all of its natural gas and is looking for ways to lessen dependency on its foreign suppliers. According to a report released last year by British Petroleum (BP), Turkey was ranked third after China and Greece for rising natural gas costs, at 17.3 percent, with Turkey responsible for 1.4 percent of world natural gas consumption. Oil use also increased by 5.8 percent in 2011 compared to 2010.

Posted by meb at January 17th, 2013

A strong economy and resilient banking sector will likely attract more foreign banks seeking Turkish bank acquisitions this year, Fitch Ratings said in a written note on Monday.
The rating agency said possible acquisitions of Turkish banks by foreigners could improve the credit ratings of the banks purchased “because buyers are likely to be more highly rated.”

“Turkey’s medium-sized banks are the most likely acquisition targets because of uncertainty about the long-term sustainability of their operations as independent entities. … The sector’s healthy credit fundamentals, market size [including a large bankable population] and the broadly favorable outlook for Turkey’s economy make it particularly attractive,” Fitch said. Fitch cited good liquidity, held up by a stable retail deposit funding base, low leverage, still wide margins by international standards and strong credit demand as factors for Turkey’s strong banking sector. “But a return to rapid loan growth could lead to a build-up of risks in the system,” it added. (more…)

Posted by meb at January 17th, 2013

Turkey saw a record number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in 2012, an indication that 2013 may be a strong year for foreign and domestic investment, global consultation and auditing firm Ernst & Young told journalists gathered at a press breakfast on Wednesday.
The country saw 184 M&As by Turkish firms and 131 by foreign firms last year, with a total public value of around $23.2 billion. Clients often request to keep the value of their deals confidential, and the total value of M&As in Turkey last year might in fact be around $30 billion, Ernst & Young officials stated. (more…)