Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at May 7th, 2008

GSM operator Vodafone announced on Tuesday it plans to sell iPhone to its customers in Turkey later this year.

The company said it agreed with Apple Inc. to sell iPhone in 10 countries.

“Later this year, Vodafone customers in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey will be able to purchase the iPhone for use on the Vodafone network,” the UK-based company said in a statement. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 2nd, 2008

Turkey’s leading mobile operator, Turkcell, denied on Thursday there was US pressure on the company to abandon a takeover of a Syrian operator, saying that the talks were continuing.

“The US has put no written or spoken pressure on Turkcell or made such a statement … There is no warning on investment (in Syria),” said one Turkcell official, who declined to be named. Diplomats and Arab financiers on Wednesday told Reuters the US Treasury Department was warning American investors in Turkcell, which is listed on the İstanbul and New York bourse, about the company’s plan to buy leading Syrian mobile operator Syriatel. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 1st, 2008

The United States is putting pressure on Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell to abandon a $1 billion takeover of a cellphone company owned by a Syrian tycoon targeted by US sanctions, diplomats and Arab financiers said on Wednesday.

The US Treasury Department is warning American investors in Turkcell, which is listed on the İstanbul and New York bourse, about the company’s plan to buy the leading Syrian operator Syriatel, they told Reuters.

Syriatel is at least 69 percent owned by Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of President Bashar al-Assad. Washington imposed high profile sanctions on Makhlouf in February for alleged involvement in public corruption in Syria as relations between the Damascus government and the United States plummeted. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 30th, 2008

Turkey’s Telecommunications Board announced it will implement “number portability,” which will allow customers to change their mobile phone operators without changing their numbers, in November.

Starting the infrastructure works for number portability, the system is expected to be operational as soon as next month, said Tayfun Acarer, chief of the Board, during a conference in the Mediterranean city of Mersin Monday.

According to the regulation; Turkcell, Avea and Vodafone, Turkey’s three cell phone operators, will prepare for the system for the next six months. Thus, as of November, customers will be able to choose the most suitable operator for their personal needs. (more…)