Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at March 23rd, 2008

Turkish Industry and Development Bank (TSKB) General Director Halil Eroğlu, elected advisor for the privatization of bridges and highways by the Privatization Administration (ÖİB), has said that the strategy report for the privatization of bridges and highways is complete.
Eroğlu, in an interview with the Anatolia news agency, said yesterday that the ÖİB is currently reviewing the report. “The bidding process is expected to start in May. Certain laws need to be amended for the privatization of highways and bridges. A package of necessary amendments has already been prepared with the assistance of the ÖİB, the General Directorate of Highways and other related institutions and sent to Parliament for discussion. After these amendments are approved and made by Parliament, the bidding process will kick off,” he said. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 22nd, 2008

Turkey and the European Union have agreed on a site near Ankara for the start of the Nabucco pipeline, planned to carry natural gas to Europe, a high-level Turkish Energy Ministry official told Reuters on Friday.

The EU will provide financial support for the planned site near Ankara at Ahiboz, the official said. Gas supplies for the project have thus far only been secured in Azerbaijan. “The European Union’s support, including financial support, will help build the physical infrastructure that will turn Ahiboz into an energy hub,” said the official. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 21st, 2008

Aksigorta ranks as one of two companies at the top of the Turkish Customer Satisfaction Index (TMME) in the health insurance and automobile insurance sectors.

The company received 80 points in its category, according to the TMME results for the fourth quarter of 2007, prepared by the Turkish Society for Quality (KalDer). Aksigorta, which has been operating since 1960, witnessed a 6-point increase compared to 2006, as the only company to increase its rating among the top five companies. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 21st, 2008

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday the fund and Turkey decided to continue negotiations to complete the current stand-by deal with success before May 10th.

Turkey’s State Minister Mehmet Simsek for Treasury had a meeting with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 21st, 2008

Turkey is trying to establish a central role for itself on the global energy strategy stage by making Anatolia a corridor for energy transportation with grand projects such as the Nabucco, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Samsun-Ceyhan pipelines, while Russia is developing alternative projects.

Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Güler, however, doesn’t perceive these actions by the two countries as rival moves; rather, he defines Russia’s South Stream project as complementary to the European Union and US-backed Nabucco, saying that a partnership with Russia is always a possibility. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2008

The absence of an organized and direct transition medium between the Turkish lira (YTL) and euro results in depreciation of YTL, a senior analyst at Fideltus Capital told the Turkish Daily News, following a joint press conference to announce the details of an agreement signed between Fideltus Capital and IEG Investment Banking.

“The exchange relation between YTL and euro is through the U.S. dollar, which is why YTL’s value loss doubles,” Kerim Feyizoğlu said, reflecting on domestic financial woes. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2008

Turkish natural stone companies are facing tough times due to a stagnating U.S. construction sector, Turkey’s largest natural stone export market.

Exports to the U.S., which had been increasing for the past 20 years, declined both in terms of unit and value for the first time last year. Out of aggregate natural stone exports worth $1.2 billion, exports to the U.S. reached $386 million last year. Several Turkish companies started to close their storages in various provinces and have clearance sales, particularly in Miami, to achieve rapid sales and enter large construction projects. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2008

The Central Bank of Turkey raised its year-end inflation expectation to 7.27 percent on Thursday.

According to the second expectation survey of the bank in March, the inflation figure in consumer prices rose to 7.27 percent from 7.02 percent. (more…)