Aborted Turkish Tender Hasn't Deterred Investors - Minister

By Jessica Mead

Turkey's decision last month to cancel a $5.7 billion roads and bridges privatization tender hasn't discouraged investment from the country, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said Thursday.

Speaking at a conference in London in Turkish, Mr. Yildirim described the decision not to go ahead as political, but dismissed concerns that this had deterred investors from looking at Turkish infrastructure privatization projects.

"We since made $5 billion from similar projects and they were successful so there was no hesitation as a result of the cancelled tender. Turkey is above and beyond such worries," he said in translated comments. Since the government annulled the bridges-and-roads tender on Feb. 22, Turkey has privatized at least four electricity grids worth $3.4 billion.

Had the tender gone ahead it would have been the second-biggest privatization in Turkey, after that of Turk Telekomunikasyon AS (TTKOM.IS) in 2005, when 55% of the company was bought for $6.55 billion.

Regarding Standard & Poor's Corp.'s upgrade late Wednesday of Turkey's sovereign credit rating to double-B-plus, one notch below investment grade, Mr. Yildirim repeated a familiar government stance that the upgrade was too little, too late.

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