Page 13 - BNE_magazine_05_2020

bne May 2020 Companies & Markets I 13
Turkish parliament caps dividends at 25% of 2019 profits
Akin Nazli in Belgrade
Turkish companies are allowed to distribute up to 25% of their 2019 profits until September, according to
an article in an omnibus law approved on April 15 by Turkey’s parliament.
The banks had already been “advised” not to distribute dividends from their 2018 and 2019 profits. Isbank tried its luck last year, but banking watchdog BDDK blocked the move.
The legislature also approved an article to provide Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, TVF, with special powers that permit it to acquire stakes in companies under steps proposed by the government.
It is unknown whether the TVF is sitting on any cash as it
is exempt from any kind of audit and has not released any financials or annual reports since it was founded four years ago.
The wealth fund holds stakes in leading state-owned enterprises. They include a 49% stake in Turkish Airlines, 7% in Turk Telekom, 100% in Ziraat Bank, 51% in Halkbank and various holdings in Turkish Petroleum, Botas, PTT, Turksat, Borsa Istanbul, Milli Piyango, TCDD, Turkish Maritime Enterprises, Eti Maden, Konya Seker, Caykur, horse racing licences and some real estate assets.
In March 2019, TVF borrowed €1bn via a syndicated loan. Layoffs banned
Lawmakers also voted approval for a tricky article on banning layoffs for three months amid the coronavirus (COVID-19)
Turkey: Net Portfolio Flows to Borsa Istanbul vs BIST-100
outbreak. The article allows employers to send workers on to unpaid leave for three months, during which period the government will pay Turkish lira (TRY) 1,177 (€156) per month to each worker.
The monthly net minimum wage stands at TRY2,324 for 2020. The hunger threshold (minimum food expenditure for a four-
“The banks had already been “advised” not to distribute dividends from their 2018 and 2019 profits”
person family) stood at TRY2,345 as of March, according to a monthly survey by yellow labour union Turk-Is.
On April 14, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped back once again from insisting on articles of legislation that would require social media companies to store Turkey-based users’ data in Turkey. Erdogan has been waiting for a chance to impose this law on the companies but has not yet found it.
Among major dividend payers on Borsa Istanbul, Erdemir, BIM, Anadolu Efes, Coca-Cola Icecek and Turk Telekom will need to revise their dividend payout plans (see table below for major dividend payers or Bizim Menkul’s note for a full list).
The cut in Turk Telekom’s dividend payments will be another
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