Page 27 - BNE_magazine_bne_September 2019

bne September 2019 Companies & Markets I 27
Turkish lira slips after nine high- ranking central bank officials reportedly removed from duty
bne IntelliNews
The Turkish lira (TRY) slipped 0.2% againist the dollar after Bloomberg on August 8 reported that Turkey's central bank has removed from duty at least nine high- ranking officials including its chief economist Hakan Kara. The news agency cited two officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
The bank's head of research, risk management chief, banking
bne:Deal
Russian Yandex.Taxi snaps up Vezet assets from rival Mail.ru
bne IntelliNews
Yandex.Taxi service of Russian internet giant Yandex will acquire the operating systems and call centres of taxi operator Vezet, with the deal still requiring approval from the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), Yandex said on July 15.
The deal, if completed, would be a major blow to Yandex competitor Mail.ru, which has been trying to compete in the fast-growing taxi and digital mobility solutions market. In 2018 Mail.ru also eyed Vezet and granted a convertible
loan to one of the largest taxi operators in Russia.
VTB Capital commented on July 16 that Yandex snapping Vezet assets away from Mai.ru "once completed, would significantly strengthen Yandex's positions on the Russian taxi market, especially in the regions."
However, Mail.ru could put up a fight for the lucrative asset. "We believe the [Yandex] announcement is premature," the
department chief and institutional transformation manager were among those removed, reportedly.
The independence of the monetary policy of the regulator has come under redoubled scrutiny since July when the central bank’s governor was fired by presidential decree after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he had not followed instructions on how to conduct interest rate policy.
company commented, noting that it did not approve of the deal, and has the right to block transfer of key assets from Vezet under the loan agreement.
The press department of Vezet commented to Vedomosti daily that the company had not broken the Mail.ru loan deal. Unnamed sources told the daily that the investment was repayable and was likely to be returned to Mail.ru.
Under the deal, Vezet would get a 3.6% stake in Yandex.Taxi and up to $71.5mn in cash. The full amount of the deal has not been disclosed, bu Yandex.Taxi has pledged to invest RUB8bn ($127.6mn) in regional taxi networks.
As detailed by bne IntelliNews in an exclusive interview with Vezet management, the company managed to carve out
a solid market share in a cutthroat Russian taxi market, backed by Russia’s biggest fund UFG Private Equity as a key shareholder, along with Almaz Capital.
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