Turkey's Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) has set out on a road show to present the country's national assets to attract further investments.
A strategic investment plan, laying out the source and budget for the SWF, which could contribute 1.5 percent to economic growth annually, was presented to the Cabinet.
The fund, managed by Prime Ministry, has attracted attention from major local and global asset management companies and funds. However, the amount of financing from abroad will ultimately be determined by the value of assets transferred to the fund. Thus, the SWF is looking to the road show to showcase its varied and strong portfolio of assets. In response to questions about the fund, the Prime Ministry told Parliament that the fund was established in order to maintain economic stability, manage public assets more efficiently and effectively, add value to existing public assets and build a stronger Turkey for future generations.
It has also been said that the fund had no additional resources other than those transferred from companies and assets. The fund will be subject to a three-phase supervisory process under a strict organizational scheme and managed by durable corporate governance.
"The Wealth Fund and all the subsidiary funds will be subject to an audit process. All of its activities and operations will be carried out in accordance with the principles of full accountability, transparency and corporate governance. These will be the parliamentary supervisions exercised by independent financial auditing bodies, the Prime Ministry and the Plan and Budget Commission. No borrowing plan has yet been created by the company," the Prime Ministry said.
It was also confirmed that the three-year strategic investment plan that sets out the target, strategy, principle, necessary resources and budget for the SWF has been submitted to the Cabinet.
"The fund will operate by taking into consideration the objectives stated in the strategic investment plan and liquidity, investment, risk and return preferences. The strategic plan prepared by the company includes assessments of the main risks to which the fund is subject and the risk management approach," it added.
As a basket of assets, the fund will provide financing to sectors such as infrastructure, energy, technology and telecommunications.
The government is also weighing new property management steps and will assess the idle land it has. The Finance Ministry is carrying out the related work. While most assets in tourism centers are being transferred to the fund, the government is also negotiating with investors. If appropriate offers are received for new projects, assets may be sold.
The valuation and supervision work for assets transferred to the fund is expected to be done by the end of the year and some additional state properties are also expected to be transferred to the fund soon. Meanwhile, Turkey's SWF is gearing up to establish new partnerships with the world's leading funds and asset management companies.
