Banking & Finance Turkey’s state banks suspend use of Russian Mir payment system Turkey’s three state banks have suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati told Reuters on Thursday. The suspension comes as the United States cracks down on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions and as Western nations grow concerned over increased economic ties between NATO-member Turkey and Russia. Turkish […] September 30, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkish clearing house move halts sharp decline in some bank shares Turkish clearing house Takasbank took action to provide liquidity to brokerages and take on some stock as collateral, the market authority said on Thursday, stabilising shares in Turkish lenders Sekerbank and TSKB. Banking shares on the Borsa Istanbul fell sharply in recent weeks, after surging more than 150 percent up to mid-September from the beginning […] September 30, 2022
Banking & Finance Erdogan hopes policy rate will fall to single digits by year-end Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said he hopes the central bank’s monetary policy committee will deliver another cut to its policy rate next month and bring it down to single digits by year-end. Erdogan, speaking in a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, said Turkey aims to strengthen the lira by reducing interest rates. […] September 29, 2022
Tech Malaysia and Indonesia interested in buying Turkish armed drones Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed keen interest in buying armed drones from Turkish defence firm Baykar, according to Ankara’s foreign minister. “Many Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, show great interest in our defence industry products. Agreements are being signed,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Cavusoglu, who was in Japan […] September 27, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkish lira hits record low against dollar after unexpected rate cut Turkey’s lira hit an all-time low against the dollar in early trade on Monday, bringing its losses so far this year to more than 28 percent and extending its decline following an unexpected rate cut last week. The lira stood at 18.4440 against the greenback, as of 0453 GMT, weakening from Friday’s close of 18.4280. […] September 26, 2022
Turkey mulls new regulations to prevent stock market manipulation Turkish authorities are expected to make stock market regulatory changes within a few days to prevent market manipulation after sharp falls in prices due to margin calls on futures positions, market participants and analysts said. They said the issue was likely to be among those discussed at a meeting which President Tayyip Erdogan convened on […] September 25, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkey to hold meeting on Russia’s Mir, possible Western sanctions Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will convene a top tier economy-focused meeting on Friday at which Russian payment system Mir and possible Western sanctions will be discussed, two sources with information on the matter told Reuters. The meeting with government officials and others will also address agreements with Russia, recent heavy volatility on the Istanbul stock […] September 23, 2022
Banking & Finance Fitch sees Turkey holding interest rates steady until 2023 elections Turkish central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 13 percent until the national and presidential elections next year, a Fitch Ratings official said on Wednesday. In a webinar on the impact of commodity prices, inflation and rising rates on banks in Turkey, Middle East and Africa, the official said they […] September 22, 2022
Economy Turkish president says inflation not ‘insurmountable threat’ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said inflation is not an “insurmountable economic threat,” adding it will begin to fall at the end of the year after it surged to more than 80 percent in August. Under Erdogan’s economic programme, Turkey gradually cut interest rates by 500 basis points at the end of last year, sparking a […] September 21, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkish banks suspend Russian Mir payments after US sanctions Turkish lenders Isbank and Denizbank have suspended use of Russian payment system Mir, the banks said on Monday, following a US crackdown on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The moves, announced separately, came after Washington expanded its sanctions last week to include the head of the entity running […] September 20, 2022
Turkey’s VP rebukes Pelosi for ‘biased’ remarks in Armenia Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay has branded Nancy Pelosi’s speech on clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan “biased”, suggesting that her comments “sabotage diplomacy efforts”. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Armenia this weekend, in an unprecedented show of American support for the country, which has been locked in conflict with its neighbour […] September 19, 2022
Retail Turkish florists rush to meet surge in UK demand after Queen’s death Turkish florists are resorting to cargo planes instead of trucks as they rush to send as many flowers as they can to the United Kingdom to meet a deluge of orders after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Orders for cut flowers have soared by 90 percent since the queen died, said Selcuk Celebi, a member […] September 18, 2022
Tech Turkish fintech Fimple plans Dubai office before 2024-end Fimple, a Turkish fintech startup that provides advanced cloud-based financial services, is planning to open an office in Dubai before the end of 2024 as part of its expansion in the Middle East and Africa. The startup has already drawn $2 million worth of investments in two months, said Fimple co-founder and managing director Mucahit […] September 16, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkish rates on dollar deposits drop on high forex commission Interest rates on dollar deposits have dropped sharply in Turkey in recent days after its central bank passed a regulation imposing high commission payments on foreign exchange transactions, three bankers said on Thursday. The bankers told Reuters that rates in the market generally had fallen to some 3.5 percent to four percent from about seven […] September 16, 2022
Banking & Finance Qatar wealth fund buys stake in Turkey’s Eurasia Tunnel The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has bought a stake in the Eurasia Tunnel company in Istanbul from the South Korean partner in the venture, SK Group, a statement by the Turkish Competition Board showed on Tuesday. The competition board decision, taken on September 8 and posted on its website on Monday evening, showed that QIA […] September 14, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkey’s new rules force banks to curtail corporate lending Some Turkish banks are curtailing corporate lending after the government’s latest raft of regulations raised their costs and forced many to cut their balance sheet risks, five banking and private sector sources told Reuters. The new rules, part of President Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox management of the economy, have especially depressed longer-term lending. The owner of […] September 13, 2022
Economy Turkey’s foreign reserves boosted by friendly country support The Turkish central bank’s foreign currency reserves are getting stronger as friendly countries are providing support, President Tayyip Erdogan said, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Friday. The central bank’s reserves have come under pressure from its forex market interventions to support the Turkish lira and to meet government institutions’ forex needs. “Our central bank reserves started […] September 12, 2022
Tech Turkish firm eyes drone manufacturing in Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday met with the head of Turkish defence firm Baykar and said the company would set up a factory in Ukraine to build unmanned aerial vehicles. Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 drone has been hugely popular in Ukraine, where it helped destroy many Russian artillery systems and armoured vehicles. “We discussed the […] September 11, 2022
Aviation Turkish Airlines to add more flights to UAE as demand surges Flag carrier Turkish Airlines plans to increase flight frequencies to and from the UAE to boost connectivity amid higher customer demand. The number of flights from Istanbul to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah will increase, offering more flexibility to customers, the airline said in a statement. Currently, Turkish Airlines has three daily flights from Dubai […] September 8, 2022
Manufacturing Turkey working on new support package for SMEs Turkey’s finance ministry said on Tuesday it was working on a Treasury-backed package to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in need of collateral, in its latest step to boost the sector. The statement attributed to Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said the package would support SME financing needs and reinforce the government’s broader programme prioritising […] September 7, 2022
Economy Turkey’s inflation hits new 24-year high beyond 80% Turkey’s annual inflation climbed to a fresh 24-year high of 80.21 percent in August, a bit below expectations according to data on Monday, after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates and stoked a nearly year-long cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has raced higher since last autumn when the central bank gradually cut its policy rate by […] September 6, 2022
Economy Turkey sees inflation to ease to 65% by 2022-end Turkey expects inflation to ease to 65 percent by the end of the year from nearly 80 percent in July, while the current account deficit is seen at $47.3 billion in 2022, government forecasts showed on Sunday. President Tayyip Erdogan’s new economic model has prioritised growth, exports, employment and investment while seeking to cut interest […] September 5, 2022