Page 68 - TURKRptOct19

Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines has received regulatory approval from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to issue up to $2bn worth of eurobonds abroad, according to SPK weekly bulletin released on September 5.
Local energy firm Zorlu Enerji has, meanwhile, won permission to sell up to TRY600mn of domestic bonds to qualified investors, it added.
In May, two unnamed people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that Turkish Airlines had sent a request for proposals to international lenders for options including a conventional bond or sukuk.
The debt was likely to have a maturity of five-to-10 years, according to the sources.
The airline has hit some business turbulence with its move to Turkey’s new mega airport, Istanbul Airport, where operations have not commenced as smoothly as was hoped for.
In March 2015, Turkish Airlines issued its first international bonds, raising about $328mn via USD-denominated Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates.
The certificates due March 2027 pay a 4.2% annual coupon and are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Turkey’s largest telco Turk Telekom (TTKOM) has applied to the Capital Markets Board (SPK) to issue up to Turkish lira (TRY) 1bn ($176mn) worth of local currency-denominated domestic debt securities, the company said on October 2 in a stock exchange filing.
The paper will be sold in single or multiple tranches with different maturities of up to five years to qualified investors, with no public offerings.
Turk Telekom had a net debt of TRY 17.4bn as of end 1H19, while its short- term financial debt comprised of around 29% of its gross financial debt, Seker Invest said in its daily bulletin.
In July, Fitch Ratings downgraded Turk Telekom to BB-/Negative from BB+, following the sovereign downgrade.
In February, Standard & Poor’s affirmed Turk Telekom at BB-/Stable.
Turk Telekom is the leading integrated telco in Turkey. It operates the country's largest fixed network and the smallest of its three mobile networks.
In February this year, Turk Telekom sold $500mn worth of 6-year eurobonds
68 TURKEY Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com