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16 I Companies & Markets bne October 2020
The next day, Kolev’s offices were raided by state authorities, which provoked outrage among protesters. Later on the same day, the probes were ended, but thousands people decided
to buy toys from Hippoland to stand beside the businessman and show they do not tolerate the pressure put on him apparently due to his critical position.
Meanwhile, Kolev said in an interview with Radio Free Europe on September 5 that a businessman allegedly related to the controversial businessman and MP Delayn Peevski has proposed to acquire 50% of Hippoland and threatened Kolev that, should he refuse to sell the stake, his business will be ended in minutes.
Peevski, along with ethnic-Turk Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) whose member he is, and the party’s chairman of honour Ahmed Dogan have become synonym of corruption and murky deals with those in power.
“I do not know [the businessman related to Peevski Aleksandar] Staliyski and Peevski. I had a proposal for acquisition of my business by an associate of Staliyski and subsequently one of those related to Stalyksi has allowed himself to warn that, if I protest, my business will go bankrupt in five minutes,” Kolev said in the interview.
On September 5, Kolev said that Interior Minister Hristo Terziyski called him and said he was not aware of the probes.
Pressure on those critical of the government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and of Geshev is not new. The wave of protests was sparked by a similar initiative, but against President Rumen Radev, at the beginning of July. This was seen as attempt by Geshev to put pressure on Radev, who is a loud critic of Borissov’s government.
Moody’s hits Turkey with downgrade to all-time lowest rating in unscheduled move
Akin Nazli in Belgrade
Moody's Investors Service has downgraded its rating on Turkey by one notch to B2, taking it to five notches below investment grade, while maintaining the Negative outlook, the rating agency said on September 11 in an unscheduled rating action.
The action was prompted by the recent deterioration in Turkey's external fundamentals. It made a balance of payments crisis more likely and therefore put pressure on the previous B1 rating, Moody’s noted.
In June, Moody’s passed a scheduled rating review for Turkey with no action.
In August, it warned Turkey over its erosion of reserves.
On September 8, Moody's rating committee was assembled to discuss Turkey’s rating, the rating agency said on September 11.
The main points raised during the rating committee discussion, as noted in the Moody's September 11 statement, were:
• The issuer's economic fundamentals, including its economic strength, have materially decreased.
• The issuer's institutions and governance strength have materially decreased.
• The issuer has become increasingly susceptible to event risks.
• Other views raised included: The issuer's fiscal or financial
strength, including its debt profile, has not materially changed.
Moody’s cited three key drivers for the downgrade:
1. Turkey's external vulnerabilities are increasingly likely to crystallise in a balance of payments crisis.
2. As the risks to Turkey's credit profile increase, the country's institutions appear to be unwilling or unable to effectively address these challenges.
3. Turkey's fiscal buffers are eroding.
The maintenance of the negative outlook reflects Moody’s view that fiscal metrics could deteriorate at a faster pace in the coming years.
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"Who'da hell are you yaa?" (by @mcllkk). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's critics didn't take long to respond to the latest sour economic news.