Page 52 - TURKRptNov19

In June 2014, BIM and Yildiz Holding’s venture capital unit Gozde Girisim, owned by the Ulker family, purchased 11.5% stakes in each of Ziylan Group’s three companies, namely Ziylan Magazacilik, Polaris Pazarlama and Ugur Ic ve Dis Ticaret.
Ziylan Group is one of Turkey’s largest footwear makers. The company has the Flo, Polaris and Kinetix brands in its portfolio. It annually sells 20mn pairs of footwear through a network of more than 200 stores.
It was a surprise when the pro-Erdogan Ahaber title, directed by Serhat Albayrak, brother of Erdogan’s finance minister and son-in-law Berat Albayrak, harshly criticised BIM in March, prior to the March 31 local polls, for reporting a record profit in 2018.
During the local elections campaign, Erdogan accused local retailers of treason for hiking prices, but since the polls the government and retailers have agreed on a discount scheme.
8.4 ​International ratings
8.4.1​ ​International ratings - specific details of rating actions corp/regional etc
TURKEY - Rating agency
Jun-18
Jul-18
Aug-18
Jun-19
Jul-19
Nov-19
Bond rating: Moody’s
Ba2 (UR)
Ba2 (UR)
Ba3 (N)
B1 (N)
B1 (N)
B1 (N)
Bond rating: Fitch
BBB- (S)
BB (N)
BB (N)
BB (N)
BB- (N)
BB- (S)
Bond rating: S&P
BB- (S)
BB- (S)
B+ (S)
B+ (S)
B+ (S)
B+ (S)
Fitch Ratings places Turkey at BB-/Stable, three notches below investment grade. Moody’s Rating Services rates Turkey at B1/Negative, four notches below investment grade, while Standard & Poor’s rates Turkey at B+/Stable, four notches below investment grade.
Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings on November 2 said it has maintained its long-term rating on Turkey at “BB-” while raising its outlook on the sovereign assessment of the country to “stable” from “negative.”
“Turkey has continued to make progress in rebalancing and stabilizing its economy, leading to an easing in downside risks” since July, Fitch said in a statement.
"The current account balance has improved, forex reserves have edged up, economic growth has continued, inflation has fallen and the lira has held up despite large cuts in interest rates, buoyed by more supportive global financing conditions and the recent US announcement on the removal of Syria-related sanctions,” it added.
The agency also modified its forecast for 2019 GDP growth in Turkey by plus-0.8 percentage points to take it to 0.3% on the back of stronger second-quarter outcomes.
Fitch maintained its Turkish GDP growth forecast of 3.1% for 2020 and 3.6% in 2021.
“Geopolitical risks continue to weigh” on the rating, Fitch added, but also stated that “we do not expect Turkey’s operation in Syria to have a significant impact on credit fundamentals in the absence of a more far-reaching conflict”.
52​ TURKEY Country Report​ November 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com