Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 13th, 2008

Groupama, which owns Başak Sigorta in Turkey, is now eyeing another insurance company, Güneş Sigorta. Figures testify to the fact that Turkish insurance market promises a lot, according to Jean François Lemoux, managing director of Groupama

Groupama eyes growth Despite the global turmoil, Turkey remains an attractive market for insurance companies. “Turkey is our third largest international market,” said Jean François Lemoux, the managing director of Groupama International which owns Turkey’s Başak Sigorta, yesterday. The French manager also revealed the company’s interest in acquiring another insurance company.

“Turkey’s insurance market has grown 7 percent since 2002. Premiums grew 25 percent in the same period. While the total amount of insurance premiums stood at 2.3 billion euros in 2002, it reached 5.6 billion euros in 2007. These figures show there is great potential in Turkey,” Lemoux told journalists in Istanbul. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 2nd, 2008

Turkish bank Yapi Kredi has narrowed the list of potential buyers of its Yapi Kredi Sigorta insurance operations, Dow Jones reported on Monday citing people familiar with the matter.Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali SpA and Zurich Financial Services were the two companies still in the frame to acquire the assets, the report said citing two unnamed sources.

Other sources had said previously that offers could be in the range of 600 million to 800 million euros and that the sales process was expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.

Yapi Kredi Bank, one of Turkey’s largest private banks, is owned by Italy’s UniCredit SpA and Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding owns the majority of the insurance company, had hired Merrill Lynch and Unicredit CAIB as advisors to help it reorganize its operations in the insurance sector. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 27th, 2008

Zurich Financial Services, which purchased Turkish general insurer TEB Sigorta at the beginning of the year, has finalized a campaign to promote the name change as of yesterday. The company will operate in Turkey as “Zurich Sigorta” from now on.

“We are an insurance company whose aim is not to follow the market, but to lead the market in every country that we operate. We also aim for permanent, consistent and a high level of profitability,” Lutz Bauer, Zurich Financial Services Central and Eastern Europe chief executive, told members of the press in Istanbul yesterday. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 20th, 2008

Europe’s insurers remain on the hunt for small to midsize acquisitions, with the action likely to center on promising emerging markets to the east and south, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Heavyweights such as AXA SA of France, Assicurazioni Generali SpA of Italy and Zurich Financial Services AG of Switzerland are seeking buying opportunities in emerging markets to offset slowdowns in domestic premium growth, the report said.

The sector’s mergers-and-acquisitions focus will likely take place in countries like Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine, it added. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 28th, 2008

The purchase was the latest in a string of foreign acquisitions in Turkey’s fast-growing and fragmented insurance sector.

Guven Sigorta has a 2.4 percent share of the Turkish non-life insurance market, ranking it 13th, while Guven Hayat has 1.2 percent of the life insurance market, ranking it 15th.

Unlisted Groupama is one of France’s top insurers and competes domestically with listed rivals AXA and CNP. (more…)