Four Turkish Banks Account for 60% of Sector's Profit
Turkey’s top four banks play a very prominent role in the sector. State-owned Ziraat and three private banks, Garanti, Is and Akbank, have the lyon’s share in assets, deposits and profits. According to the latest report from the Union of Banks, TBB for short, as of end September, the country’s largest lenders accounted for 54.2 percent of assets, 57.3 percent of deposits and 59.7 percent of net earnings with Ziraat leading in all three categories.
By end September, the banking sector’s combined assets stood at TL 886.1bn and deposits at TL 569.3bn. As for after-tax profits, they reached TL 16.3bn in nine months.
Turkey’s central bank faces challenges in ensuring growth and inflows of foreign capital don’t threaten macroeconomic stability, and the bank’s success will feed into the country’s debt rating assessment, Fitch Ratings said. “One of the challenges the central bank faces is to reduce inflation and prevent the economy overheating in a challenging policy environment, including large capital inflows and low global interest rates,” Fitch analyst Edward Parker said.
Calgary, Canada- Valeura Energy Inc. (TSXV:VLE) says it has bought an interest in the Edirne exploration licence in Turkey's main natural gas producing region for $3.1 million, expanding its presence in the country. The Calgary-based company says it will own a 35 per cent interest in the licence, which covers land in the Thrace Basin, the main natural gas producing region of Turkey. It bought the stake from Edirne Enerji Petrol Arama Uretim Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, a wholly-owned affiliate of Australia's Otto Energy Ltd. The deal is expected to close around Dec. 22. 
State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) and TURCAS Rafineri AS (STRAS) has awarded Fluor Corp. a project management consultancy for a refinery to be built in Aliaga, Turkey. TURCAS is a joint venture of SOCAR and Petrol AS. The planned refinery will be integrated into the Petkim petrochemicals complex on the Aegean coast. 
New York, NY- TurkPower Corporation (OTCBB: TRKP) (the "Company") announced that is has signed a consulting and sell mandate with the owner of a lignite fired thermal power plant project, to consult in the development, construction and financing of its 500MW capacity lignite thermal power plant ("TPP") project in Konya, Turkey. The TPP project comes including a lignite mine which is dedicated exclusively as the fuel source for the project. The economical lignite reserves are calculated to be 152,000,000 million metric tons and can supply the TPP for up to 42 years; life cycle of the TPP is 30 years. The mine shows an average lignite thickness of 12 meters and the licensed mining area is 1,852 acres and the license is valid for 42 years. Site exploration studies for a bankable mining plan were conducted by North American Coal Corporation. Total investment necessary to fund the project is approximately $1.26 billion, of which 30% is to be in the form of equity. 
Groupe Cheque Dejeuner has said it purchased Turkish meal ticket provider Multinet from businessman Hayyam Garipoğlu. The transaction, announced at a press conference in Istanbul, is worth $90 million. Cheque Dejeuner ranks among the top three meal card providers in the world, alongside Sodexho and Edenred. Multinet, which was seized by the Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund, or SDIF, in July last year, was handed back to original owner Garipoğlu in accordance with a protocol dated April 9 of this year, the Daily News has learned. 
US power producer AES Corporation has entered into an agreement with Koc Holding to form a joint venture to develop and operate power generation projects in Turkey. Under the deal, AES will buy almost 50% interest in Turkish utility Entek Elektrik Uretimi from Koc unit Aygaz. 
Hong Kong based trade fair organizer United Business Media (UBM) announced that it has agreed to acquire a 65% stake in Rotaforte International Trade Fairs & Media, the owner of the Istanbul Jewelry Show. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The announcement follows UBM’s pending $289 million acquisition of Canon Communications in the U.S. 
Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK), a leading supplier of metal packaging products worldwide, announced today a major expansion of its beverage can production capacity in Turkey. The investment plan includes increasing capacity at the Company's existing two-line facility in Izmit, near Istanbul, and the construction of a new manufacturing plant in the Osmaniye region, in south-central Turkey. 
İstanbul, Turkey - September 29, 2010 - İstanbul Bilgi University will host a speech by President Bill Clinton, the honorary chancellor of Laureate International Universities, on October 2, 2010. President Clinton will speak to 500 guests, including Bilgi students, alumni and faculty as well as Turkey’s leaders in education, government and business. 
A large group of American politicians and chamber presidents is to visit several major Turkish cities between September 19-26 Turkish – American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TACCI) is joining its peers in Turkey and co-organizing series of events with the initial leadership of Turkish – American Businessmen Association (TABA/AmCham). More than 40 business leaders and politicians will be exclusively traveling from different parts of USA to attend this trip, including TACCI President Celal Secilmis. The trip will take place between September 19 - 26. 
