Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at June 30th, 2008

The privatization processes for the Turkish national lottery (Milli Piyango), the country’s highways and sugar processing plants are expected to begin in July, however Halkbank’s privatization has been suspended, says the head of the Privatization Administration (ÖİB).

ÖİB President Metin Kilci, in an interview with Anka news agency, said the ÖİB was waiting for the relevant bills to pass in Parliament for the launch of the privatization processes for Milli Piyango and highways.

Milli Piyango’s privatization — a process long seen as stagnant after deferral due to early elections and a subsequent presidential vote last year — was postponed from May until June. The bill enacted to open tenders for the privatization of Milli Piyango was recently approved by a parliamentary subcommittee, while the bill on highway privatization is still pending in Parliament. Kilci stated the privatization processes for Milli Piyango and highways would be launched one week after the relevant bills are published in the Official Gazette. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 14th, 2008

Turkey’s Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said that the “Bogazici” and “Fatih Sultan Mehmet” bridges of Istanbul would be privatized.

Lawmakers were discussing the draft law envisaging the privatization of highways and bridges in Turkey.

Speaking at the meeting Unakitan said such privatizations were of great importance taking into consideration the economic structuring and transformation process Turkey was going through currently.

“The highways, which would be privatized by way of ‘transfer of operating rights,’ were located on 6 main routes and the total length of such roads reached 1860 km,” he added. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 13th, 2008

Operating rights for successful bidders in the privatization of the country’s bridges and highways will likely extend 25 years, reported Anatolia News Agency yesterday.

The privatization project will include the ownership of operating rights to bridges and nearly 2000 kilometers of highway, along with the 72 gas stations, optical fiber cables and billboards located near them.

Winners of a bidding process will hold the operating rights to the bridges and highways for 25 years. Any existing contracts with regard to the properties will also transfer to the successful tender.

After deducting the expenses of the Privatization Administration, or ÖİB, the remaining money will be transferred to the Treasury in Ankara. The money will ultimately be used to construct or maintain the highways, under the supervision of the General Directorate of Highways.

A draft of legislation calling for private bids on highways and the real estate located near them is awaiting parliamentary approval, while the roadmap and strategy report related to privatization have already been completed by a consulting firm, so the one thing missing is a value assessment, reported the news agency. The Supreme Privatization Board, or ÖYK, will decide on the structure prior to the tendering process. (more…)

Posted by meb at June 2nd, 2008

Turkey’s Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said that the “Bogazici” and “Fatih Sultan Mehmet” bridges of Istanbul would be privatized.

Lawmakers were discussing the draft law envisaging the privatization of highways and bridges in Turkey.

Speaking at the meeting Unakitan said such privatizations were of great importance taking into consideration the economic structuring and transformation process Turkey was going through currently. (more…)