Barriers and Opportunities for Enhancing Capital Flows
In the COMCEC Member Countries
39
Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) is responsible for bank regulation and
supervision, including prudential requirements, provisioning and open position limits.
Beyond these actors, a number of further stakeholders have interests in Turkey’s capital flows.
Among them are the Union of Banks (TBB), the Union of Participation Banks (TKBB), and the
Association of Capital Market Intermediary Institutions (TSPAKB), the official professional
organisation of the 140 or so banks and brokers engaged in the capital markets. (In line with
the new Capital Markets Law, a Capital Markets Association – TSPB – is to be set up; the
association will also include asset management firms and other capital market institutions.)
Debt and equity instruments
Borsa Istanbul (BIST) is the main securities market of the Republic of Turkey, and itself is a
publicly-owned company subject to private law, in accordance with the Capital Markets Law of
2012. Stocks, bonds, funds and other instruments are traded.41 It is the successor to the
Istanbul Stock Exchange, which dates back to 1985. It also incorporates the more recent and
fast-growing Futures and Options Market (VOB), previously a separate institution based in
Izmir. Thus Borsa Istanbul brings together all the exchanges operating in the Turkish capital
markets under a single roof.
In July 2013 Borsa Istanbul signed a partnership with the NASDAQ OMX Group, giving it access
to the US group’s technologies for trading, clearing, market surveillance and risk management.
Borsa Istanbul sees the agreement as a step towards increasing its regional or global presence
and strengthening Istanbul’s position as a regional capital markets hub.
Policy initiatives to attract capital flows
The General Directorate of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Capital at Turkey’s Ministry
of the Economy supports the work of the Coordination Council for the Improvement of the
Investment Environment (YOIKK) and the Investment Advisory Council (IAC).42 YOIKK brings
together public and private sector representatives to recommend improvements in business
conditions, while the IAC is a platform for multinational companies and international
institutions to provide Turkey with advice about its investment environment. Turkey also has
an Investment Support and Promotion Agency, attached to the Prime Ministry, to promote
foreign investment. Investment incentives, including tax breaks, apply to foreign and domestic
investors equally. The International Investors Association (YASED) is a business association of
international companies in Turkey, which lobbies for improvements in the investment
environment.43
41 Fuller details are to be found at
42 Until 2011, these duties rested with the Undersecretariat of the Treasury.
43 Websites of the institutions mentioned in this paragraph, which also contain much practical information for investors, especially
foreign direct investors, are as follows n .