Banking and Finance Turkey urges banks to avoid creating forex demand Turkey’s central bank has been urging banks in recent weeks to avoid steps that could create demand for foreign currency as May elections loom and to instead focus on new targets that involve monthly conversions of up to five percent of forex deposits to lira, bankers said. The lira is at all-time intraday lows. It […] April 13, 2023
Economy Erdogan begins campaign with pledge to slash inflation Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan launched his re-election campaign on Tuesday with a party pledge to slash inflation to single digits and boost growth, as he seeks to extend his two decades in power in a May 14 vote. Erdogan is facing the biggest political challenge since his AK Party (AKP) came to power in 2002, […] April 12, 2023
Energy Turkey to start pumping Black Sea gas from April 20 Turkey will begin pumping the natural gas discovered in the Black Sea into the national grid on April 20, President Tayyip Erdogan announced. In December 2022, the president announced the discovery of an additional 58 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas reserves at the Caycuma 1 block in the Black Sea. The country’s natural […] April 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey borrows $2.5bn via green bond issue The Turkish treasury has borrowed $2.5 billion in a green bond issue maturing in 2030 with a yield of 9.3 percent, two banking sources said. Demand for the issue was more than $8 billion with a 9.125 percent coupon rate, the bankers said. On Wednesday Turkey’s Treasury mandated Bank of America, ING, JP Morgan and […] April 7, 2023
Retail Tesla begins pre-orders for ‘pricier’ Model Y in Turkey Tesla has started taking pre-orders of in Turkey for its Model Y electric car, with deliveries slated to begin in May. The US company will sell three versions of the Model Y in the country, which will be sourced from Tesla’s plant in Berlin, Germany, Daily Sabah newspaper reported. The standard range version will be […] April 5, 2023
Economy Turkey’s exports to Russia surge 262% in March Turkey’s exports to Russia jumped 262 percent year-on-year in March, according to Turkish exporters’ assembly figures, reflecting the surge in bilateral trade since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year sparked a flurry of Western sanctions. Turkey, Black Sea neighbours with Russia and Ukraine, opposes both the war and the Western sanctions. Last month it halted […] April 5, 2023
Manufacturing Turkish business conditions show tentative signs of improvement The embattled economy of Turkey took tentative steps towards a recovery in March, led by an increase in manufacturing and the first growth in new orders in a year-and-a-half. However, the effects of February’s devastating earthquakes, which killed more than 52,000 people in Turkey and Syria, are continuing to cause disruption, according to the Istanbul […] April 3, 2023
Economy S&P changes Turkey’s outlook to ‘negative’ amid high deficits S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook for Turkey to “negative” from “stable” on Friday, citing vulnerabilities from the country’s low policy rates, directed lending and regulatory control on its foreign currency positions and interest rates. Turkey continues to grapple with soaring prices of goods and services. And a devastating earthquake that hit the country earlier […] April 2, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey central bank says policy stance adequate to back recovery The Turkish central bank said on Thursday the current monetary policy stance was adequate to support recovery following last month’s earthquake by maintaining price stability and financial stability. In the minutes of last week’s policy committee meeting, where the central bank left its key rate unchanged at 8.5 percent, it said the effect of quake-driven […] March 31, 2023
Energy Erdogan to cut power and natural gas prices and increase wages Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to cut electricity and natural gas prices and increase the minimum wage. Electricity prices will be reduced by 15 percent, while gas prices for industrial users will be lowered by 20 percent in April, Daily Sabah newspaper reported the president as saying in the parliament on Wednesday. The presidential and […] March 30, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey’s central bank approves 2022 dividend payout Turkey’s central bank decided to pay dividends from its 2022 accounting period to shareholders, including the treasury, it announced on Tuesday at its annual general meeting. The central bank profit stood at 72.02 billion lira ($3.77 billion), according to the country’s official gazette. Economists expect the central bank to transfer some 40 billion lira to […] March 29, 2023
Energy Iraq wins court battle to halt Kurdistan oil flow Iraqi Kurdistan’s control over its oil industry is in jeopardy following a landmark international court ruling in Iraq’s favour which has halted pipeline crude exports from the semi-autonomous region. Iraq had sued Turkey, arguing that only the Baghdad administration had the legal right to export oil via a pipeline to the Turkish city Ceyhan, not […] March 28, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey’s banks hold internal stress tests ahead of May vote Big Turkish banks have launched internal stress tests against possible market shocks due to the May elections, and they are preparing for lower profits later in the year as a flurry of previous regulations bite, four industry executives said. The executives said the tests, conducted independently of yearly required reviews, are meant to weigh the […] March 28, 2023
Banking and Finance Foreign investors test Turkey’s waters after years in the cold Scores of foreign investors are returning to Istanbul and Ankara after years in the cold for a flurry of meetings to understand whether Turkish elections could bring a tidal change for its economy and financial markets. According to several investors and bankers involved, large foreign lenders including BBVA and BNP Paribas organised trips and calls […] March 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey holds policy rate at 8.5% to support growth after quakes Turkey’s central bank held its policy rate at 8.5 percent as expected on Thursday, saying it had become even more important to keep financial conditions supportive to preserve growth momentum after last month’s devastating earthquakes. In February the bank had cut its policy rate by 50 basis points to provide a stimulus in the wake […] March 24, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia’s deposit lifts Turkey’s forex reserves to $25bn The Turkish central bank’s net international reserves rose by $6 billion last week to $25 billion, three bankers’ calculations showed, after a $5 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia entered its accounts. The central bank’s gross reserves rose $6.5 billion to $126.5 billion in the same period, they showed. A deposit of $5 billion from the […] March 22, 2023
Banking and Finance EU-led donors to provide $7.5bn to help rebuild quake-hit Turkey Donors at a European Union (EU)-led conference on Monday pledged €7 billion ($7.5 bln) to help to rebuild Turkey after last month’s devastating earthquakes, while Ankara estimated the costs at more than ten times that. The February 6 earthquakes were the worst natural disaster to strike modern-day Turkey with more than 56,000 people killed in […] March 21, 2023
Banking and Finance EU lending arm to override Turkey ban with $540m earthquake aid The European Union’s (EU) lending arm, the European Investment Bank, is to temporarily override its near four-year long ban on financing in Turkey to provide €500 million ($540 million) for the country’s post-earthquake rebuilding efforts. The EIB stopped virtually all lending in Turkey after a row over oil and gas drilling off Cyprus in 2019, […] March 21, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkic nations to set up new investment support fund The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is planning to establish a fund to boost economic integration among the member countries, said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The deal was finalised last week on the sidelines of the extraordinary summit of the OTS leaders in Turkey’s capital Ankara, Daily Sabah newspaper reported. “The signing of the founding agreement of […] March 19, 2023
Markets Bahrain’s VCBank lists Turkish F&B firm on Borsa Istanbul Bahrain’s Shariah-compliant Venture Capital Bank has listed Turkish food and beverage producer Goknur, its investee company, on the Borsa Istanbul exchange. A total of 79.25 million shares were offered to the public, which drew interests worth 6.9 billion liras ($364 million) and was 7.9 times oversubscribed. VCBank chief executive Robert C Wages said the market […] March 16, 2023
Economy Turkish budget deficit widens further after earthquakes Turkey’s central government budget recorded a deficit of 170.56 billion lira ($8.99 billion) in February, the finance ministry said, showing the impact of massive earthquakes that devastated the country’s south-east last month. The primary balance, which excludes interest payments, logged a deficit of 136.34 billion lira, it said. Even before the earthquake, President Tayyip Erdogan […] March 16, 2023
Real Estate Turkey home sales down, but Russians still active buyers Turkey recorded an 18 percent year-on-year drop in the number of house sales in February, the same month in which an earthquake killed more than 44,300 people and caused $34.2 billion worth of damage. The latest data from the Turkish Statistical Institute also found that sales to foreign buyers were down 27 percent year-on-year in […] March 15, 2023