Upon Economy Minister Ali Babacan’s requests to the İMKB’s top administrators, asking them to try their best to find ways to increase the trade volume and depth of Turkey’s largest capital market by registering new companies, the bourse’s managers organized a trip to visit large Anatolian companies.
The number of companies whose shares are publicly traded in the bourse remained virtually flat albeit a high average growth rate in the economy over the last seven years. To overcome this problem, a number of economy-related institutions kicked off an IPO mobilization across the country. The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and the Turkish Association of Capital Market Intermediary Institutions (TSPAKB) signed a cooperative protocol to initiate a mobilization of IPOs in August 2008.
The İMKB’s efforts to urge Anatolian capital to head to the İstanbul bourse are just one dimension of this multifaceted policy. Ratcheted-up measures to increase the credibility of the İMKB, studies to create a new stock market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the promotion of derivatives markets are just a few examples among many steps taken to advance the country’s capital markets as a whole. As part of these efforts, “The İstanbul Summit of IPO Mobilization” is convening on May 6-7.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman on Monday, İMKB President Erkan said he himself has invited 40 companies from Kayseri, Konya, Gaziantep, Düzce and Denizli, all of which are famous for their dynamic economies. “Our talks were by and large positive. With a great probability, these companies will shortly initiate the process of opening up to the public,” Erkan said.
