Foreign banks, wealth funds eye cooperation with Turkish wealth fund

Foreign banks and sovereign wealth funds are interested in working with Turkey's newly formed wealth fund, which is likely to make its first transaction this year, Turkish Finance Minister Naci Agbal told Reuters on Wednesday. The government said this week its stakes in Turkish Airlines , major banks and fixed-line operator Turk Telekom have been transferred to the fund, which was set up last year to help finance big-ticket infrastructure projects.
"International investment, consultancy firms, banks and investment funds are very interested in the Turkish wealth fund, they are working on cooperating with us," Agbal said in an interview.
"The wealth fund will be activated swiftly to create funds for Turkey's investments, and it may make its first transaction this year," Agbal said. The transfer of assets to the fund would mean that 1 billion lira ($267 million) of budget revenue would be lost he said, adding that budget discipline would still be maintained.