Turkish Wealth Fund

The Turkish Wealth Fund (TWF) announced late on May 11 that it will raise the core capital of three state lenders.

"To strengthen capital structures and support the adequacy of Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and VakıfBank, we have launched the necessary works to raise core capitals by a total of 21 billion Turkish liras [some $3 billion]," the TWF said in a statement.

Sometimes when you read stories in papers separately, they are just news items. But when you list them next to each other, they can give you a bigger picture; and the bigger picture in Ankara nowadays shows some inconsistencies. Something might be going wrong in the Turkish capital. 

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım is set to assume roles in key public offices including the Saving Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) and the Turkish Wealth Fund, a post which was under the responsibility of Nurettin Canikli, who was appointed as the new defense minister after a cabinet reshuffle earlier this week.  

Turkey has transferred stakes in İzmir Port, which has been in privatization portfolio since 2007, to the Turkish Wealth Fund, in a bid to help finance giant infrastructure projects. 

The stake transfer was informed to respective authorities, according to sources. 

The wealth fund will have the authority to rent, transfer or sell the port. 

Many leading tourism investments and five-star hotels, located on 2.3 million square meters of land, have been transferred from Turkey's state treasury to the newly introduced Turkish Wealth Fund as well as a number of leading public companies and lenders. 

Wealth funds are set up in countries that are rich in natural resources, such as oil, with the aim of carrying the public wealth accumulated today and in the near future to the future, in other words, to the grandchildren. The aim is to carry today's wealth to the future, to next generations. 

A new sovereign wealth fund formed by Turkish authorities will be audited and adhere to international standards, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said in response to criticisms that the new fund will be devoid of any oversight.

The fund will be audited in three stages, Ağbal said.