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outlook, sources familiar with the matter were quoted as saying by Reuters on January 29 . HSBC will seek to sell its banking business in Turkey if it can find a local buyer, the sources were also quoted as saying, adding that no final decision has yet been taken.
Erdogan's relations with foreign investors may be further soured if Volkswagen opts not to build a big car production plant in Turkey. The project seemed all set to go ahead until the Turkish invasion of northeast Syria last October.
Unicredit’s ‘Turxit’ . Turkey, struggling to recover from the 2018 lira crisis that led to the recession-hit year of 2019—and claims that officials essentially locked down and manipulated capital and currency markets at will as they struggled to contain the economic turmoil—may also face a ‘Turxit’ by Unicredit. The 50:50 Koc Financial Services (KFS) joint venture between Unicredit and Turkey’s Koc Group that controls third biggest Turkish lender by assets Yapi Kredi Bank is being unwound.
Spanish banking group BBVA has also lately been involved in a banking market move that impacts the Turkish market. In mid-January, it put up for sale Garanti Bank Romania, a bank that it holds via its near-50% stake in Garanti Bank Turkey . OTP Bank of Hungary and Italian group Intesa Sanpaolo Bank have reportedly submitted indicative offers of similar values for the acquisition of Garanti Bank Romania, according to Profit.ro quoting unofficial sources. If an agreement is reached, the transaction will exceed €350mn-400mn for the bank's capital, not including the loans.
The volume of announced Turkish mergers and acquisitions (M&A) hit its lowest level in 15 years at $2.9bn in 2019 , according to KPMG. However, it expected a gradual increase in the volume of the transactions in 2020. The consulting firm underlined that in 2019 no M&A deal larger than $1bn was announced . The financial share of the top 10 deals in total was 85.2%, data showed. The technology, media and telecommunications industry was the most active Turkish sector in terms of the number of deals. The largest single deal of 2019 was the acquisition of a 51% stake in ICA, which operates the Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge and connecting roads in Istanbul, by a Chinese consortium for a consideration of $689mn.
Turkish rapid delivery groceries start-up Getir has attracted $38mn in funding from a group of Turkish and foreign investors led by venture capitalist Michael Moritz , the start-up said on January 15. Spain-based on-demand delivery start-up Glovo has announced that it is exiting Turkey , Egypt, Puerto Rico and Uruguay as part of its drive to hit profitability by 2021. Delivery services is a lucrative business in Turkey. Back in 2015, Delivery Hero bought Yemeksepeti for nearly $590mn.
Chinese companies were responsible for a total of €6.4bn worth of M&A deals in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in 2018, a 114% increase compared to 2017 , putting it well ahead of the US and major European economies. Many of the Chinese investments were mega deals. Among the biggest deals signed off in the region in 2018, a consortium of Chinese firms bought a 51% stake in ICA, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China acquired Istanbul Tower 205 for €536.13mn.
28 TURKEY Country Report OUTLOOK 2020 www.intellinews.com