Record Share Buybacks by Companies After Fund Crisis on Borsa Istanbul

Companies and partners seeking to mitigate the effects of the fund crisis on Borsa Istanbul have announced consecutive share buyback programs. While the amount of buybacks carried out on Friday alone exceeded 3.8 billion liras, the total of newly announced programs approached 11 billion liras.

Fund Crisis Shakes the Stock Market

The liquidity crisis in investment funds led to sharp declines on Borsa Istanbul, and market value retreated. The BIST 100 index closed the week with an 8.18 percent loss, while 96.4 percent of companies lost value.

Stocks Hitting the Floor

Some stocks in funds suspended from trading or decided for liquidation by the Capital Markets Board hit the floor every day. Shares of Selçuk Ecza, Anel Elektrik, Hedef Holding, and certain other companies dropped by 40.86 percent last week.

Buyback Move from Companies

Companies that believe they are trading below their values turned to share buybacks to protect their investors. On September 18 alone, 47 companies carried out buybacks of their own shares, executing transactions worth 3.8 billion liras in a single day.

Total Buyback Magnitude

Throughout last week, a total of 91 companies carried out share buybacks. Together with newly announced programs by companies such as Türk Telekom, Enerya, Ahlatçı Holding, and Çitlekçi, a total of 11.2 billion liras in buyback decisions was announced.

Cash Outflows from Investment Funds

The crisis caused a massive cash outflow in investment funds. One-week net cash outflows exceeded 371 billion liras, while the total market value of the funds declined to 10.46 trillion liras.