Page 106 - TURKRptJun19

Confidence in Turkey’s retail industry declined by 0.1% m/m to 90.6 in April, data from the statistics office showed last month. That followed the 0.1% m/m drop in the confidence index for the sector in March.
This year will probably be a more challenging year for large retailers— Migros and its main rival Carrefoursa—with annual inflation hovering just under 20%. As inflation eats into consumers’ purchasing power, people are likely turn to hard-discount stores, such as BIM and Sok, for shopping.
9.2.6 Agriculture corporate news
A Turkish investor that has already submitted bids for the Bijeljina Sugar Plant in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska is understood to be planning to improve his bid in line with creditors’ expectations, eKapija reported ahead of a meeting of the factory’s Assembly of Creditors which has been summoned for May 27. The factory has not operated for more than 12 years. Bankruptcy proceedings were initiated four years ago and the debts of the factory amounted to about BAM16.5mn (€8.4), while the assets were estimated at around BAM23mn. The Bijeljina Commercial Court confirmed on May 7 that the assembly has been scheduled for a proposal by the group of creditors. The proposal also includes the request of the group of creditors for the dismissal of bankruptcy supervisor Nebojša Matić. A meeting with the representative of Turkish company Soltist and Sariel, Omer Faruk Bozakom, was held at the end of last month when the prospective investor wanted to discuss his €4.2mn offer. However, Matić informed him that the day before his arrival at the creditors' meeting it was concluded that the price will not drop below BAM10mn. He recalled that Turkish company initially agreed to pay €5.1mn for the factory, but given that they did not pay the deposit within the foreseen deadline, the Assembly of Creditors made a decision to put the company up for auction. In addition to the Turkish bidder, Goran Vajkic from Banja Luka submitted a BAM6.9mn bid. He had emphasised that if he succeeded in restarting production, he would plant some 5,000 hectares of sugar beet, which he would process in the plant. Vajkic said that BAM40mn would be needed to make the factory work again. Construction Corporation JSC from Vietnam was also interested for the factory for a while.
9.2.7 TMT corporate news
● Turkcell
Mobile operator Turkcell’s profit soars 145% y/y in Q1 boosted by unit sale. The net income of Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, soared 144.5% y/y in the first quarter of 2019, boosted by additional revenue
106 TURKEY Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com