Erdogan to head Turkish wealth fund

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed himself chairman of the country’s sovereign wealth fund and completely changed its board, naming Finance Minister Berat Albayrak as his deputy, the country’s Official Gazette said yesterday.

The revamp was the latest in a series of steps by Erdogan to assume new powers, since he won a presidential election in June, heralding the move to an executive presidency granting sweeping authority.

The $50 billion-worth (Dh183.9 billion) wealth fund (TVF) was set up in 2016 by the government to develop and increase the value of Turkey’s strategic assets and provide investment resources. Erdogan appointed as the fund’s general manager Zafer Sonmez, head of the Turkey regional office of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional. Albayrak and Sonmez were among the seven members in the Turkish fund’s new board. The government has transferred to the TVF stakes worth billions of dollars of state assets, including stakes in flag carrier Turkish Airlines, major banks and fixed-line operator Turk Telekom.