Gov’t to sell Turk Telekom stake in block sale

According to a government decree published in Friday’s Official Gazette, 51 percent of Turk Telekom stake would be sold all at once.

If the block sale proves successful, the government will also offer shares in Turk Telekom to the public in the second stage of the privatization.

Five percent of the shares offered to the public would go to employees of Turk Telekom and PTT, the state-run postal service.

Communications Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said foreign investors would have the same rights as domestic investors once regulations had been modified, and signaled that they would be able to buy the full stake involved in the block sale.

The state monopoly on fixed lines will be lifted as of Jan. 1, 2004. Turk Telekom is preparing for competition as of the beginning of the new year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recently.

“Turk Telekom increased its profitability by 27 percent and its revenues by 25 percent in the first 10 months of this year. It’s among the institutions that paid the highest corporate tax,” Erdogan said.