Turkey’s Capital Market Board has introduced temporary month-long measures at the Istanbul Stock Market following the detention and conviction of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges.
| Istanbul Stock Exchange introduces temporary measures following jailing of Istanbul mayor |
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The measures, which entered into effect this morning (March 24) will remain in place until April 25th.
The three temporary measures announced Sunday are as follows: Banning of short selling transactions on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, easing of share buyback transactions by public companies, and the relaxing of equity ratios in credit capital market transactions.
| Istanbul Stock Exchange introduces temporary measures following jailing of Istanbul mayor |
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Opposition leader alleges Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek weighing resignation
Wednesday’s detention of İmamoğlu resulted in major losses of the Turkish Lira against the US Dollar and Euro, and Turkey’s Central Bank reportedly sold off a large portion of its foreign reserves in an attempt to prop up the currency.
Over the weekend, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Özgür Özel alleged that Turkey’s Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek was considering resignation after the political events of last week further devalued the Lira, saying:
“Mehmet Şimşek was supposedly trying hard not to resign. He was saying, ‘I dig with a needle, they cover it with a shovel.’ “
In his comments targeting the Finance Minister, the opposition leader also mentioned the large sell-off of foreign reserves aimed at propping up the Lira:
“What difference will it make if you resign or if you don’t? In three days, they burned through 26 billion of the 42.8 billion dollars that the Finance Minister was able to save over the course of two years. He burned through 60% of the $42 billion in three nights because of his fear of İmamoğlu. Either resign or submit to Mr Tayyip [President Erdoğan]”.
Şimşek responded to Özel’s allegations saying he was committed to his post:
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“We are on the job. We will continue to take all necessary steps in order to ensure that the market continues to operate smoothly. Please disregard all unfounded claims and allegations.”
Mehmet Şimşek was brought on as Finance Minister in June 2023 with the stated goal of containing Turkey’s years-running soaring inflation problems. While Şimşek’s tenure has seen a return to economic orthodoxy, such as increasing interest rates, inflation has continued to soar.
The Turkish Lira, which stood at 21 to the US Dollar at the time Şimşek assumed his duties in 2023, stands at nearly 38 to the Dollar today.
Written/translated for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick
