Banks overseeing Turkey’s fund liquidations sold about $254 million of blue-chip shares held by frozen funds off-market, a move that could help remove an overhang on the country’s stock indexes. TC Ziraat Bankasi AS and Turkiye Is Bankasi AS completed the sale on Nov. 3 through an off-exchange placement to investment and pension funds.
The transactions were valued at 12.7 billion liras ($254 million), according to a notice sent by Turkey’s Capital Markets Association to asset managers. Settlement will take place on Wednesday through a conditional transfer mechanism.
The sale marks a significant step in the liquidation of 131 funds managed by seven asset managers. Regulators ordered the funds wound down after a crisis affecting more than 455,000 investors. The turmoil erased more than $130 billion from Turkish stock market value since the selloff began in mid-September.
Shares in the benchmark BIST-30 Index were offered in 20 equal blocks at Nov. 3 closing prices, each valued at 636 million liras. Buyers face a three-month ban on reselling on Borsa Istanbul.
Turkey started interim payments to investment fund clients last week under the framework law on liquidation and compensation.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing