TeliaSoner, 38 percent stakeholder in the company, said earlier Friday that the Turkcell board was in a deadlock after shareholders on Thursday failed to agree on removing Chairman Colin Williams and on a dividend from profits last year, Bloomberg reported Friday.

Turkcell also said a proposed dividend due May 16 would not be made after the payment was blocked at a shareholders’ general meeting.

Williams “submitted the requisite application to legally appoint the statutory auditors not appointed at the general assembly,” the company said in a filing with PR Newswire on Monday.

The company resumed trading on ISE on Monday after a suspension.

It had been temporarily suspended on the ISE upon a request from the company before the opening of Friday’s session. It lost 3.1 percent, to 8.90 liras at 11:10 a.m., reversing three days of gains between April 19 and April 21.

Meanwhile, Turk Telekom has not been able to start its annual general meeting after a representative of the Industry Ministry failed to show up, broadcaster CNBC-e reported on Monday. The meeting was due to start at noon on Monday.
source: hurriyet

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“If you, as the biggest owner, consider leaving because a company is going through some difficulties, you are then more of a short term investor,” Nyberg said. “TeliaSonera is a telecom operator, we love this asset and we intend to keep it.”

TeliaSonera never planned to merge Turkcell with Russian operator MegaFon, in which it also holds a stake, Nyberg said. He wouldn’t speculate on the outcome of Turkcell’s annual investor meeting scheduled for Thursday.

TeliaSonera filed a lawsuit against Colin J. Williams, chairman of Turkey’s biggest mobile phone operator Turkcell, on March 30, for allegedly blocking its efforts to increase the number of independent board members at Turkcell’s shareholders’ meeting on Thursday.

source: hurriyet

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Jointly conducted by the Internet Foundation, Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) and the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK), the report revealed that all children, aged 9-16, who participated in the study were Facebook users. Titled “Children’s Habits in Using Social Networking Sites,” the report also indicated that 38.4 percent of children use the Internet once-a-day, 30 percent use it more than once per day and 23 percent are online more than once a week.

Children who participated in the study responded to the question of whether or not the time that they spent on social networking sites had a negative impact on them. As such, while 36 percent said they were negatively affected by such sites, 62 percent indicated they were not impacted. Of the children who described the impact as negative, 60 percent said they were unable to spend enough time on their studies, 24 percent said they could not spend enough time with friends, 21 percent mentioned insufficient time spent with family, 17 percent said they encountered information and content not suitable to their age group and 10 percent said they could not participate in social activities as a result of the time they spent on such sites.

Another one the study’s findings was that male children used social networking sites more than their female counterparts. In addition, while 44 percent of children participating in the study described their sharing of their personal information on social networking sites as safe, 40 percent said they found this practice to be unsafe. Another 16 percent indicated that they had no information on the issue of safety.

One of the most salient findings of the study was that children were unaware of the regulations governing the protection of their personal information on social networking sites. A total of 47 percent of research participants indicated that they did not know these regulations and 16 percent said they read but did not understand these regulations. Half of the child participants noted that they accepted friendship requests of only those people who they knew, 33 percent said they only accepted the requests of their friends and their friends’ friend and 15 percent said they accepted all friendship invitations.

The research also showed that boys accepted the friendship requests of strangers more often than girls, and high school students tended to accept requests from all people, irrespective of whether they knew them or not, when compared to middle school students. While 84 percent of children use social networking sites to communicate with their current friends, 32 percent use them out of curiosity, 31 percent use them to find former friends and 28 percent use them to find out what both their friends and others are doing. The research also revealed that these children spend an average of 72.19 minutes online each time they get onto social networking sites and that this figure increased in proportion to their age.
source: Todays zaman

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The Turkey division of the international research company GfK found in a market survey that nearly 450,000 less mobile phones were sold in the first six months of the year. In the January-June period of 2008, Turks purchased 5.46 million devices, whereas they bought slightly more than 5 million phones in the same period of this year.

The rate of decline was much more drastic in terms of turnover, however. The total earnings of mobile phone sellers amounted to 557 million euros, a 30 percent fall. According to the study, more models were introduced in the first six months of this year thanks to the entrance of new players into the Turkish market, especially from China. Companies vying to increase their share in the domestic market put forward 765 different models in the first six months of last year. However, this amount climbed to 1,119 in the same period of 2009.

Prices also saw a decline. Last year, the average price of mobile phones was 145 euros, a figure that has since dropped, retreating to 110 euros this year, but this improvement in price failed to significantly boost sales.

source: Today’s Zaman

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According to reports, Turkish satellite İTÜpSAT1, launched from Sriharikota by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at 9:21 a.m. local time yesterday on a PSLV C-14 rocket, settled into its orbital path, 720 kilometers above the surface of the earth, at 9:41 a.m. The cube-shaped satellite travels at a speed of nearly 7.5 kilometers per second, orbiting the Earth once every 90 minutes. It will take photographs of the Earth’s continents.

İTÜpSAT1 is expected to stay in orbit for six months. Flight and space sciences faculty Dean Dr. Fevzi Ünal, speaking to the press from the observation lounge of the university where the satellite’s launch was broadcast live, noted that the satellite launch was the product of several years’ work. The satellite’s production cost $150,000, but along with the infrastructure to make its creation possible and the 60,000 euros for the rocket launch, the entire project cost around 1 million euros, Ünal explained. The satellite is to orbit the Earth continually, transmitting data when it passes over Turkey. Ünal said they planned to establish contact with the satellite three to four times a day.
source: Today’s Zaman

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Evaluating the record 3.755 billion Turkish Liras ($2.5 billion) tax levy imposed on Doğan Media Group, Chief Financial Officer Soner Gedik said the decision has no legal ground. Gedik’s arguments against the fine, the second against the group this year, were also supported by a prominent tax expert.

Speaking to daily Vatan, Gedik answered questions about the fine, emphasizing that transfer of shares is a practice exempt from value added tax, or VAT, and the share transfer between Doğan Media Group, or DMG, companies, created no extra revenue for the group. Gedik also estimated that in the past four years, share transfers surpassing $128 billion have been conducted in Turkey. “Nearly three-fourths of this amount was conducted as common stock transfer [as was the case in DMG],” he said. “After this [practice] against us, I guess all such sales will be regarded as cloudy. If the interpretation of the Finance Ministry official is correct, all these sales will be inspected.”

The fines rest upon subjective interpretations of tax officials, Gedik also said. “Two-thirds of the fine is related to irregularities involving VAT. The claim is that certificates cannot be counted as shares, thus they are not exempt from tax. This is an extremely unjust interpretation.”

Confidence dented

Meanwhile, investor confidence took a hit after the government ordered DMG to pay 3.75 billion in back-taxes and fines, Tera Brokers said.

“Investor confidence took a hit following the announcement of this tax fine because it seems like many listed and unlisted companies might suffer similar tax fines down the road, based on reasons for the tax penalty and interpretation by the tax authorities,” Bloomberg quoted a Tera Brokers note to clients Wednesday.

The tax report submitted to DMG on Monday evening “unprecedentedly demands 18 percent in VAT over the transferred shares three times,” Gedik explained. “But as openly stated in the VAT Act, share transfers are exempt from VAT. Also, according to the Turkish Trade Act, there is no difference between shares and certificates.”

Replying to another claim in the tax report that share transfers within the same group should be regarded as “ordinary sales” as the management of the group does not change and thus be subject to tax, Gedik said the Corporate Tax Act has no mention of such practice. “The articles regarding fines do not discriminate between group companies and non-group companies,” he said. “Thus, such claims have no legal basis. The officials, acting upon such a baseless interpretation, have resorted to calculating corporate tax relying on the value during the share sale to Axel Springer Group in Jan. 2, 2007. But during share transfers, the value of transferred shares is calculated by courts and the registered value.”

Seeking correction

In the past, no VAT was imposed on share transactions, in accordance with the law, Gedik said. “We will apply to the Finance Ministry for a re-evaluation of these reports and for a correction. We have full belief and confidence that the law will function in accordance with the main points we have emphasized.”

The share transfers between DMG companies was conducted as part of a restructuring effort and resulted in no extra cash for the group. “Such transfers are done to make sure companies operate more efficiently,” Gedik said. “Our transfers, which became the subject of these fines, involve no transfer of goods or services. We neither sold any goods nor received extra cash. Tax stems from revenue. There is no economic activity here and the group’s assets have not increased due to these transfers, but [now] they are demanding tax. We have spoken to many lawyers and tax experts. Not even one told us we were unfair.”

Professor Şükrü Kızılot, the head of the finance department at Ankara’s Gazi University, also said the transfer of certificates, which are regarded as “securities issued in place of shares by corporations” by law, are exempt from VAT.

“With its first objection, DMG may be able to lift part of the total levy,” said Kızılot, also a daily Hürriyet columnist. “The other part of the levy, consisting of imposed taxes, may be lifted in court.”

In another development, Abdülhamit Yıldız, a spokesman for the tax authority, said DMG applied to the tax office on Wednesday to “negotiate a settlement” for the levy. Alpay Güler, head of investor relations at DMG, confirmed the application with Bloomberg. DMG will take legal action to overturn the fine if an agreement is not reached, he said, adding that the tax office may ask for collateral on the fine.
source: Hurriyet daily news

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The Finance Ministry inflicted a grueling fine of TL 3.76 billion ($2.53 billion) to the company for evading tax regarding its accounts for a time period covering 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The harsh blow of the record fine was due to the findings of investigations by controllers that the Doğan companies concealed the profits that stemmed from the share transfers among the partners and avoided to pay the Corporate Tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) on the revenues from the share transfers.

The investigation reports also asserted that the fines didn’t include the penalties for delaying the payments of these debts, which will later be calculated and added to the total amount. The calculation of the delay penalty will start from 2005 and will cover the time period until the projected time of the clearance of the debts. This is estimated to create a tremendous cost on the company considering that the rate of default penalty is monthly 2.5 percent for 2009 alone.

Doğan Holding will be able to negotiate with the Finance Ministry officials to ask for a discount in the amount of the fine as the door of conciliation is left open. The company has 30 days to open a lawsuit for the cancellation of the fine and for initiating negotiations for solving the tax dispute.

Doğan Yayın’s initial reaction was to blame the Finance Ministry officials of acting discretionary against the group and of assessing the laws incorrectly.

The company sent an written statement yesterday to the Public Disclosure Platform to announce that the Finance Ministry Revenues Controllers notified the results of 15 Tax Investigation Reports — bearing the dates of August 10 and August 25 on their covers — at the evening hours of Monday to the Doğan TV Holding, D Yapım Reklamcılık ve Dağıtım, Doğan Prodüksiyon Hizmetleri and Alp Görsel İletişim Hizmetleri, which are all Doğan Yayın Holding companies.

The statement summarized the investigation reports saying that the Finance Ministry inflicted a round figure of TL 3.76 billion fine, embodying TL 1.88 billion as the tax arrears, another TL 1.88 billion as the fine for the tax evasion, TL 60,000 for irregularities and TL 282,173 for special irregularities.

Doğan Yayın Holding accused in its statement the Finance Ministry’s controllers to weigh their personal evaluations while conducting the investigations rather than “generally accepted approaches. It also claimed that the controllers proposed such conditions that are not included in the Corporate Tax Law while performing the investigations.

The written statement, carrying the signatures of the Holding’s Board Member Soner Gedik and the Coordinator Murat Doğu, defended that all the transactions and share transfers were totally in accordance with the current laws and that the tax fine was manifestly wrong.
source: Today’s Zaman

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Türktan said the company invested TL 465 million in infrastructure in 2008, increasing its coverage area to over 95 percent of the country. He added that the company had made a total of $1.3 billion in investments in the Turkish GSM market during the last four years. With regard to number portability, which enables subscribers to switch to other operators without changing their numbers, Türktan said Avea led the competition, having attracted 690,000 subscribers as of March 3. “We have become the most preferred GSM operator,” he noted. Türktan said they would continue to improve their company in 2009 with the aim of providing their subscribers the highest quality service.
source: Today’s Zaman

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Speaking at a press conference held Tuesday, Timuray said Vodafone aims to continue on its steady growth trajectory, and they see 2009 as a turning point for the company’s success. “Vodafone is known as the number one GSM operator in the world, serving 290,000 subscribers in 67 countries, and the company has direct investments in 27 countries,” she said, noting that they expect to increase the number of Vodafone stores in Turkey to 900 in 2009 and engage 500 new employees. She also said they have plans to open a call center in eastern Anatolia. Timuray said they were not in favor of “destructive” price policies that would threaten the atmosphere of healthy and fair competition in the market.

With regard to the number portability process enabling subscribers to shift to other operators without changing their phone numbers, Timuray said Vodafone had lost 600,000 customers and gained only 200,000 new subscribers in the final quarter of 2008. Asked whether the company had lost ground in the Turkish market, she said Vodafone was determined to maintain its business growth in Turkey, emphasizing that Vodafone is relatively new to Turkish consumers, just recently entering in the established marketplace.
source: Today’s Zaman

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Avea grew 23 percent last year, and it increased its market share to 18.5 percent from 13.5 percent, doubling the number of its subscribers by 2.2 million up to 12.2 million, the company’s CEO, Cunyet Turktan, told a press briefing in Istanbul.

Turktan said the company invested 465 million TL in infrastructure in 2008, increasing its coverage area over 95 percent on population basis.
source: Today’s Zaman

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Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile phone company, is planning to invest $1.6 billion this year. Allocating $1.3 billion for technological projects in Turkey, the company plans to make international investment, particularly in Ukraine and Belarus, worth $300 million in 2009.

“We are looking forward to helping Turkey emerge from the crisis faster and stronger,” Turkcell Chief Executive Sürreyya Ciliv told members of the press in Istanbul yesterday.

“In order to achieve this goal, investments in technology should be our main focus. As Turkcell, we are aware of our responsibilities and despite the effects of the crisis we still plan to grow this year,” Ciliv said.

Second biggest in Europe

Speaking on Turkcell’s 2008 financial results, Ciliv said the company gained 1.6 million new users and 651,000 of them subscribed to Turkcell in the fourth quarter of last year. Turkcell, which operates in eight countries, reached a total 62 million subscribers last year, an 11 percent increase on the year before. The company’s subscribers in Turkey increased 5 percent compared to a year earlier and reached 37 million. The figure stood at 34.5 million in 2007.

“That five percent rise in the number of subscribers in Turkey has helped Turkcell to rank second in a list of Europe’s top mobile operators,” said Ciliv. Turkcell also has 11.2 million subscribers in Ukraine, 7.1 million in Kazakhstan, 3.5 million in Azerbaijan and 1.6 million in Georgia. Turkcell’s total income reached $7 billion in 2008. That was an increase of rose 10.1 percent compared to a year earlier. The firm posted a net profit of $1.8 billion last year, which was a rise of 36 percent compared to a year earlier. Turkcell’s market share was 56 percent last year.

“We will be focusing on profitability rather than increasing customer numbers this year,” said Ciliv. “Our revenue may grow 8 percent, the same as last year in lira terms, or at a lower rate. We do not expect an increase in Turkcell’s 37 million domestic customers this year because of the global crisis and competition.”

Turkcell is planning to expand its fiber-optic cable network in Turkey to compete with Türk Telekom in fixed-line broadband Internet services. The company is also seeking to increase its market share in Ukraine and Belarus. Currently Turkcell has a 20 percent share in Ukraine’s mobile phone market, Ciliv said.

The company also plans to add more than 1,000 workers this year, Ciliv said. It will employ another 600 people at its call center in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, he said. Responding to a question on the changes in the number of Turkcell subscribers following the launch of the number portability implementation, Ciliv said, between Nov. 9 and Dec. 31, 90,000 new subscribers joined Turkcell.
source: Hurriyet daily news

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The GSM Association (GSMA) announced the winners of the Global Mobile Awards at a ceremony hosted Tuesday night in Barcelona as part of the Mobile World Congress, which started on Feb. 16 and ends today.

Turkcell’s mobile ad campaign “Tonla Kazan,” the world’s first ring-back tone mobile advertising platform, competed with Microsoft, Vodafone Spain, Telstra and CellCity in the “Best Mobile Advertising Service” category. Turkcell CEO Sureyya Ciliv said they were honored to receive the award. “We have led the way with our ‘Tonla Kazan’ application in the world and contributed a new concept to advertising,” Ciliv said.
source: Today’s Zaman

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