Foreign investor remains committed: Borsa Istanbul head

By Mohammed Ali Gurtas and Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - There has been no reduction in foreign investment on Turkey’s main stock exchange since the July 15 coup attempt, the president of Borsa Istanbul said.

“We have not detected a significant decrease or risk perception in the preference of foreign investors after the July 15 coup attempt,” Hikmet Karadag told Anadolu Agency’s Finance Desk on Monday.

More than 60 percent of the shares listed on Borsa Istanbul belong to foreigners, he added.

Karadag said Turkey’s banks and reserves were “very solid” and capable of a quick recovery from disruption. “We saw this after (2013's) Gezi events and then during the terrorist attacks and lastly a week after the coup bid,” he said.

On the night of the coup attempt, which resulted in more than 230 deaths, pro-coup forces tried to occupy the stock exchange building in Istanbul but were resisted by police and security officers.