Page 14 - TURKRptOct22

2.2 Borsa Istanbul undressed
According to revelations—built on official documents, videos and witnesses among other things—courtesy of Sedat Peker, Turkey is discussing claims that Ali Fuat Taskesenlioglu, ex-head of Turkey’s capital markets board, the SPK, received $180mn in bribes via a criminal circle that includes his sisters (one an AKP MP), a brother-in-law, Erdogan palace aide Serkan Taranoglu, a journalist, a news website and some officials.
On August 28, the SPK stated that it would file a criminal complaint in reference to Mine Tozlu Sineren, chairwoman of Marka Yatirim Holding (MARKA), since she has claimed that Taskesenlioglu’s circle asked for bribes from her to approve her application for a capital increase through rights issues.
On August 28, Qua Granite (QUAGR) said that the Qua Hotel, which was mentioned in the Taskesenlioglu story, does not belong to Qua Granite but to another company, in which Qua Granite chairman Ali Ercan has a 51% stake.
Also on August 28, Gezinomi (GZNMI), the company in which Ali Ercan is said to have the stake, said that any social media statements were not related to its operations and that it continues its operations based on its IPO reports.
On August 29, Avod Kurutulmus Gida (AVOD) said that the SPK conditionally approved its application in February to hike its paid-in capital by Turkish lira (TRY) 180mn ($10mn).
Rights issues are a perfect way to suck the teat that produces money from individual investors in the market.
This story is limited to small companies listed on the Borsa Istanbul simply because The Botox has got his hands on some juicy documents. But everyone is well aware that the real story in Turkey turns on the so-called blue chips, renowned holdings owned by flamboyant families and the sovereign wealth fund (TWF/TVF).
Perhaps, in the coming days, we will learn details of how the main indices of “Casino Istanbul” continuously break records on a lira basis via the price movements of just a few stocks.
Since 2020, this column has been using the “Casino Istanbul” idiom to describe the workings of the Turkish stock market. Prior to the phase of the last three or so years, there were hedge funds on the scene who used to run manipulative operations in the so-called blue-chips. But the most recent years have seen the great majority of foreign investors departing the market, leaving it in the hands of local gangsters, who mainly work the small trading board. Currently, there are some foreign funds that hold positions in a few companies. But their share in the market hovers around a historical low.
In the market where foreigners now fear to tread, namely that covered by the big trading boards, the trades are clearly driven by a pro-government set-up. All price movements turn out in favour of the government. The sovereign wealth fund is among those (TWF/TVF) on the scene.
Beholden to the trading of local investors, the stock exchange broke consecutive records in lira terms despite the consecutive policy errors. The latest disgrace on the exchange began in banking stocks in the second half of August.
14 TURKEY Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com