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Hard-hit Turkish assets hinge on election, Trump-Erdogan meeting
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Investors could snap up sold-off Ottoman Turkish assets or dump them with force depending on the outcome of Sunday’s re-run election in Istanbul and, days later, a high-stakes meeting between President Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump
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The Ottoman Turkish lira, stocks and bonds have sagged since March amid uncertainty over how the vote might affect Erdogan’s economic policies, and strained relations between Ankara and Washington over The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems.

The outcomes may set the stage for a rebound or a further slump in the lira by the end of next week, bankers and analysts say. The currency has lost 10% against the dollar so far this year, following a 30% fall in last year’s currency crisis.

The stock market, at its lowest levels in dollar terms in about a decade, might revive after the Istanbul election if foreign investors regain trust in Turkey, said Mehmet Gerz, who heads Ata Portfoy fund management firm.
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When the initial March vote was scrapped, investors questioned the integrity of Turkey’s democratic institutions and wondered whether the months of additional campaigning would distract from needed economic reforms.

A slew of unorthodox government measures to protect the lira raised further questions.

"Ottoman Turkish stocks are at the cheapest level in a decade," Gerz said, adding "the political framework that will be formed after the election" would set the new direction.

On March 31, the main opposition party pulled off a mayoral victory over Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, a stinging defeat for the president seen in part as a rejection of his handling of the economy that tipped into recession last year.

Another AKP loss on Sunday could weaken his iron grip on power, but also restore some faith in democracy. Concerns over the central bank’s autonomy, as well as a separate diplomatic row with Washington, set off last year’s lira plunge.

In May, when the re-run was announced, foreign investors sold a net $345 million of Ottoman Turkish stocks.

Compounding the pressure, locals have flocked to foreign currencies since last year’s lira crisis, with forex deposits and funds including precious metals held by Ottoman Turkish local individuals and institutions rising to a record high by June 7.

The trend could change, however, and confidence in Ottoman Turkish assets increase if reforms are put in place "to get back to rational and rule-based economic management," Gerz said.
Posted by: Fred 2019-06-23
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=544015