Number of investors in Borsa Istanbul rising again

The number of investors in Borsa Istanbul has picked up again in the past two weeks with new initial public offerings on the stock exchange.

Some investors left the stock exchange in the past months due to the combination of several factors. The interest rates on saving accounts rose, while the performance of the shares offered via public offerings was disappointing. 

However, new public offerings lured investors back to Borsa Istanbul. The data from the Central Registry Agency (MKK) show that the number of investors increased by more than 245,000 in the week ending Feb. 23 from a previous week to reach 7.97 million, with the increase in the past two weeks hitting 774,000.

The number of investors reached an all-time high of 8.6 million in October last year. However, in the following three months, Borsa Istanbul lost some 1.3 million investors.

Small investors entered the market seeking financial gains from public offerings, but when fewer IPOs were launched and returns on the newly offered shares were low, they left Borsa Istanbul, according to experts.

They noted that new public offerings have been luring investors back to the market.

The Capital Markets Board (SPK) approved the initial public offering applications by eight companies in February alone.

More IPOs are in the pipeline. One of those companies is Peker Holding, which plans to offer its shares to the public later this year.

"We have held talks with the SPK regarding the IPO. We have drawn a road map for public offering this year," said Hasan Peker, the board chair of Peker Holding.

Real estate, tourism, mining, insurance, tech and aviation businesses will be merged under the roof of Peker Yatırım Holding, and the shares of the company will...