Borsa Istanbul head takes London step before resignation

Hülya Güler ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

Borsa Istanbul head İbrahim Turhan resigned from his position on Feb. 10 to become a candidate in the June parliamentary elections, although he had previously refuted the claims about his possible resignation.

“I will continue to head Borsa Istanbul to complete the initial public offering of the stock exchange. I do not plan to stand as an MP candidate in the June elections. I do not know if something will happen outside of my plans,” he said on Feb. 8.

He, however, resigned from his position on Feb. 10, the last official day to resign from official posts to stand as a candidate.

His last move was to acquire 2 percent of the stakes in the London Clearing House (LCH. Clearnet), sources said.

The transaction is expected to be launched soon, according to sources.

The stakes, which were bought by Borsa Istanbul, was owned by the London Metal Exchange. London Clearing House, of which the majority stake was acquired by the London Stock Exchange, is one of the world’s largest clearing institutions by transaction volume.

It has not been announced how Borsa Istanbul will make the payment. Turkey’s main stock exchange gave some 5 percent of its shares to Nasdaq OMX in line with the partnership deal between them.

Turhan had said earlier this year that Borsa Istanbul made negotiations with several institutions to build strategic partnerships, adding that they could announce more than one deal at the same time.