Qatari investment body to acquire 10% share in Borsa Istanbul
Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange, Istanbul, Turkey, May 22, 2018. (AFP Photo)


Turkey and Qatar on Thursday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to finalize the sale of 10% shares of Turkey's stock exchange Borsa Istanbul.

The MoU was signed by Zafer Sönmez, CEO of the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF), and Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara.

The deal, which also included future cooperation between the two institutions, came following the sixth meeting of the Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The two countries on Thursday signed a total of 10 new deals to further advance their relations.

The TWF is the majority shareholder of the country's sole stock exchange. After the sale, the fund will continue holding 80.6% of the Borsa Istanbul shares.

QIA is the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state.

The TWF bought the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) 10% share in the stock exchange in December 2019.

The fund, established in 2016, holds all or part of the shares of several Turkish companies, including flag-carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), telecommunications giant Türk Telekom, state lenders Ziraat Bankası and Halkbank, oil company Turkish Petroleum.