Established in 2016, strategic investment arm and the equity solutions provider of the Republic of Turkey, Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) aims to increase its annual investments and lead the strategic industries.
According to Bloomberg, TWF’s CEO, Zafer Sönmez stated: “The idea that began in the 1980’s and weakened the state role in the economy through privatizations has run its course. We will play the lead role in making investments where the private sector’s size won’t suffice, attracting foreign investment, expanding scale and transforming markets.”
Stating that As coronavirus outbreak in Turkey, subsides, TWF will lead to the large investments in strategic sectors where private companies can’t provide leadership, Zafer Sonmez added: “TWF wants to help recapture the momentum the economy had at the start of the year, when it clocked one of the fastest growth rates across emerging markets, before Covid-19 forced lockdowns.”
Emphasizing the idea of the “entrepreneurial state” which is borrowed from Italian-born economist Mariana Mazzucato, who argues that governments have often been the force behind transformative innovation, Sönmez cited the Turkish public banks’ role during the pandemic as an example of how state intervention can sometimes be needed. Sönmez also said: “The thinking that advocates privatizations and reduces the size of government is unable to solve today’s problems.”
According to the Sönmez, By 2023, the TWF aims to increase its annual investments in energy, petrochemicals, mining and aviation to $10 billion. Currently, 2020 annual investment amount is allocated approx. $6 billion.
