Turkey is still not the easiest country to invest in from ETFs, closed-end funds, and ADRs. But there is one of each that investors here in the U.S. can use. There is the iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Market Index (NYSE: TUR), the Turkish Investment Fund Inc. (NYSE: TKF), and Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE: TKC).
S&P has noted several positive issues in Turkey, and surprisingly talked up its banking system. Noted was that Turkey has steadily reduced its debt burden in the last decade.
- Long-term foreign and local currency ratings to ‘BB’ and ‘BB+’;outlook is positive, possibly generating an additional upgrade in the next 12 to 24 months.
- The ‘B’ short-term ratings were affirmed and the outlook is positive.
- The Transfer and Convertibility Assessment was raised to ‘BBB-‘ from ‘BB+’.
- The ‘trAA+/trA-1’ Turkish national scale credit ratings were affirmed.
It is hard to not see a note about the “success of Turkey’s regulatory institutions in preserving the solidity of the financial sector…” S&P also called Turkey’s banking system one of the strongest and least-leveraged in Eastern Europe with a well capitalized banking system and a low leverage of the household sector.
iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Mkt Index (NYSE: TUR) is up 0.65% at $54.27 on almost 33,000 shares. The 52-week range is $19.05 to $59.19 and average volume is 250,000. Listed assets are $433 million.
Turkish Investment Fund Inc. (NYSE: TKF) is up 0.7% at $13.10 on only about 6,300 shares. The 52-week range is $4.05 to $14.48 and average volume is 40,000 shares. Listed market cap today is $98 million.
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE: TKC) is the longest standing ADR in the region, operating a large cellular network in the country. The ADR is up 0.8% at $16.49 on 241,000 shares. The 52-week range is $10.90 to $19.99 and average volume is almost 700,000 shares. The market cap today is listed as roughly $14.5 billion.
JON C. OGG
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks