Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell said in a statement late on Thursday that it will establish a consumer finance arm. The new company will have a capital ceiling of up to TL 500 million ($172 million).

The mobile operator also said it had applied to the Capital Markets Board for the approval of an issuance certificate to issue bonds, commercial paper or any other debentures with an amount of up to $1 billion to investors outside Turkey through private placement and/or sales to qualified investors, without public offering. Qualified investors are considered to have sufficient investment experience to make judgments on complex financial offers without guidance.

Turkcell earned TL 142 million in net profit in the first quarter of this year. Total net income for 2014 was TL 1.865 billion, down 20 percent from 2013.

The company's shares have been traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange (Borsa Istanbul) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) since July 2000 and it is the first and only Turkish company ever to be listed on the NYSE.

With nearly 35 million subscribers, Turkcell also has investments in communication sectors in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.