Last Thursday, the Turkish sovereign wealth fund signed a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Investment Authority (the sovereign wealth fund), according to which the latter would buy 10% of the first’s stake in the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

This deal is one of 10 agreements signed within the titles of the strategic partnership between Ankara and Doha during the visit of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to Turkey last Thursday and his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The stock exchange deal is one of the most prominent fruits of the talks between the leaders of the two countries within the framework of the sixth meeting of the Turkish-Qatari Supreme Strategic Committee, during which the two parties signed agreements in many fields, military, economic, financial and others.

What is the Istanbul Stock Exchange?

The activity of the Turkish stock exchange began in the Ottoman era, specifically in 1886, and at that time it bore the name of the Dar al-Saada remittances exchange, and the stock exchange was established in the republican era on December 26, 1985 to provide clearing services and financial data for companies and capital owners in Turkey and to facilitate financial mediation for Turkish banks outside The country was named "Istanbul for Transferred Values".

The Istanbul Stock Exchange witnessed the first trading of the shares of 19 listed companies on December 3, 1986, and its general headquarters was established in the Sarayer area on the banks of the Bosphorus in the northeastern European part of Istanbul, and it bore its current name "Istanbul Stock Exchange" known as (BIST) On April 5, 2013, she wore her now-known official logo.

On February 24, 2017, 90% of the stock exchange shares were transferred to the ownership of the Turkish sovereign wealth fund, according to an official decree published in the Turkish newspaper Al-Waqi’a.

Istanbul Stock Exchange shares are currently distributed at 80.6% for the Turkish sovereign wealth fund, 10% for the Qatar Investment Authority, 2.27% for the Istanbul Commercial Stock Exchange, 1.3% for the Turkish Capital Markets Association, and 5.83% distributed to other investors.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange is currently headed by Arisha Arijan, and Turkish economist Hakan Atila is its general manager, and the number of companies whose shares are traded in 2020 on the Istanbul Stock Exchange reached 477 companies, including investment and development banks, commercial banks, intermediary institutions, real estate companies, medical and food industries, and other companies whose shares are traded. In the local currency, the Turkish Lira.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange is currently chaired by Arisha Arijan, and the Turkish economist Hakan Atila holds the position of its General Manager (Turkish Press)

The culmination of developing economic relations

Official indicators show an accelerating growth in economic relations between Qatar and Turkey over the past few years, and it is estimated that trade exchange between the two countries grew by 136% during the past three years, an increase of $ 2.2 billion during 2019, and $ 1.2 billion in the first half of the year. 2020.

Reports indicate that Turkey, which opened an office to encourage Qatari investments on its territory in 2017, has succeeded in attracting 179 Qatari companies operating today in the Turkish market, in which the total value of Qatari investments reached about $ 22 billion in 2019.

Qatari investments in Turkey are distributed in the sectors of tourism, real estate, agriculture and food industries, and Qatari investors have acquired large areas of land adjacent to the Istanbul Water Canal Project III.

According to economic reports, the Qataris have signed partnership agreements in major projects inside Turkey, including the partnership between the Qatari "Tanmiyat Holding" and the Turkish "Sarvaz" company to establish a major tourism city in Turkey, in addition to major projects and investments in chemical factories and livestock farms.

Electrical and electronic circuits, furniture, building materials and supplies, mineral oils, milk and dairy products are the most important Turkish exports to Qatar, while Qatar exports to Turkey raw aluminum, liquefied natural gas and plastic products.

In 2018, Qatar pledged $ 15 billion in direct investment in Turkey, and raised the ceiling of the “Swap” agreement from $ 5 to $ 15 billion to support the Turkish economy and inject hard currency into Ankara’s treasury, to overcome the dilemma of the rapid decline in the Turkish lira's exchange rate. Against the dollar.