Turkey's Simsek to Chair Talks on $18 Billion Fund Liquidation

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is set to hold a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday to work through the liquidation of 131 investment funds valued at roughly $18 billion, state media reported.

The sessions follow his return from New York, where he accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the UN General Assembly. Officials from relevant institutions and organisations are expected to take part.

According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, the talks will focus on the technical work involved in winding up the funds and on payments owed to investors. Preserving investor rights and interests, keeping markets functioning properly, and weighing steps to support financial stability are listed as the main priorities. Coordination between institutions and a technical roadmap are also on the agenda.

The meetings come after Turkish authorities moved last week to shore up financial stability when some investment funds could not meet withdrawal requests from nearly half a million investors during a stock market selloff. Those measures included steps to increase lira liquidity and relax certain capital and margin requirements.

The liquidity crisis, which was triggered by suspected share price manipulation in thinly traded stocks, has undermined confidence in Turkey's investment fund sector. It has also led to a broad regulatory crackdown and an investigation in which dozens of people — among them fund managers and senior executives — have been arrested or detained.

Finance ministry spokespeople were not immediately available for comment.