The trend of ratings agencies and sovereign debt ratings has been one of downgrade after downgrade. So when you see a sovereign rating upgraded right now amidst the global turmoil, it tends to stand out above and beyond the crowd. Moody’s has raised Turkey’s sovereign debt rating by one notch to Ba1. While this is still technically ‘junk bond’ status, this is only one grade under investment grade now. It is also worth noting that outlook remains “Positive.”
Moody’s believes that Turkey can continue to improve its fiscal and macroeconomic situation. Now it may be no coincidence that Turkey has been one of the best local stock markets in 2012 with double-digit gains. Here are the three vehicles which U.S. investors use to invest in Turkey (one of each as ETF, closed-end fund, and ADR):
iShares MSCI Turkey Invest Market Index (AMEX: TUR) trades at $50.78 against a 52-week range of $39.82 to $60.66 and it has more than $400 million in assets.
Turkish Investment Fund Inc. (NYSE: TKF) trades at $13.53 against a 52-week range of $10.81 to $16.11 and it has more than $111 million in assets.
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE: TKC) trades at $11.68 against a 52-week range of $10.18 to $14.10 and it has a market cap of more than $25 billion.
Turkey was one of our own list of nations we projected to be upgraded in 2012.
JON C. OGG
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