Page 5 - TURKRptAug21

1.0 Executive summary
Turkey is ready for another hot August. Lira is ready to break fresh records and coronavirus (COVID-19) is ready to make another peak.
Turkish state in action: Brutal political murders, narco-trafficking, money laundering... President Erdogan is playing on violence card to regain his lost ground while his gangs are tossling due to visible weakening of the regime.
The “West” behind Recep Tayyip Erdogan: On July 1, the US said that it is not linking Turkey’s addition to a list of countries implicated in the use of child soldiers to Washington’s discussions with Ankara over its potential running of the Kabul international airport in Afghanistan following the completion of the withdrawal of the US and Nato forces from the war-torn country by September 11 or earlier.
"We closed the last tourism season [2020] down 75%... We expect a recovery from July with the start of flights from Russia and Europe [but for the sector overall the recovery] will not happen for a few more years," Ahmet Aras, mayor of tourism resort Bodrum, said on June 26.
Turkey will be the hardest hit as the cost to the global economy of the tourism freeze caused by COVID-19 possibly reaches $4tn by the end of this year, according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad).
Drought continues. The grain board TMO held tenders to import wheat and feed barley. New tenders were launched. The share of hydropower, which constitutes the major provider of Turkey’s electricity, saw its lowest level in seven years.
Starting from July 29, more than 80 wildfires brake out in provinces on Turkey's Mediterranean and Aegean coasts as well as inland areas. As of July 31,
some of them were still burning. The country also suffered flash floods that killed six people in the Black Sea region.
Istanbul Airport operator IGA has signed a debt restructuring agreement with local banks on €5.8bn of loans. As a result, IGA has taken pole position in the biggest debt restructurings in Turkish history. Previously, Yildiz Holding held the record with a restructuring of $6.5bn worth of loans in 2018.
Erdogan on July 14 extended the financial restructuring law by another two years.
Germany’s financial watchdog is “in talks with Turkish state’s Ziraat Bank over balance sheet imbalances at its Germany unit.”
Trendyol, Turkey unit of China’s Alibaba, is “in talks to raise $1.5bn funding.” The deal will value the company at $17bn. Borsa Istanbul’s most valuable company, steelmaker Eregli, has a market value of around $8bn.
Trendyol is Turkey’s largest e-commerce marketplace platform, with a 34% market share. Its top rival, Hepsiburada (HEPS/Nasdaq), claims 11% of the market, while n11.com has 8.3% and EBay’s GittiGidiyor has 4.4%.
Q2 financials season at Borsa Istanbul. Deadlines: August 9 for unconsolidated, August 19 for consolidated and banks.
Akbank (AKBNK) faced technical problems in its online systems for two days.
5 TURKEY Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com