'No affect' from transfer of Turkish Airline shares

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - The transfer of nearly half of the shares of Turkish Airlines to a sovereign wealth fund will not affect the operation of the company, the airline said Tuesday.

“This transfer will not cause any changes in the company’s current management, business strategies, policies and operation decisions,” the flag carrier said in a stock exchange statement.

On Monday, the government’s share in the airline -- 49.12 percent -- was transferred to Turkey’s newly-formed wealth fund. The whole company is currently worth around 7.7 billion Turkish liras ($2.06 billion).

At the same time the government’s 51.11 percent stake in state bank Halkbank was also transferred to the fund.

Other companies included in the new fund are the state-run Ziraat Bank, the Borsa Istanbul stock market and PTT, the national postal system.