Eighteen companies offered their shares to the public through the Istanbul Stock Exchange during the first seven months of 2010, raising funds in excess of TL 1.6 billion. Of these companies, the amount of the funds that 14 companies that went public have raised is well over TL 1.250 million. As a result of the increased interest for the Turkish capital markets following the Initial Public Offering (IPO) Campaign realized in Istanbul on May 7-8, the Istanbul Stock Exchange has registered its best performance in terms of the number of IPOs since 2000.
During the first half of 2010, Istanbul Stock Exchange also made a significant leap in terms of the variety of the financial instruments traded. Non-voting shares and warrants were listed on the ISE for the first time. Furthermore, as a consequence of the decreased public borrowing requirement, private sector borrowing instruments, which have remained inactive so far, have revived. During the first half of 2010, five companies raised funds amounting to TL 281 million through bond issues. Currently, two listing applications (one for a corporate bond, and another for a bank bill) totaling TL 240 million exist at the ISE.
Moreover, an “Offerings Market for Qualified Investors” was launched in the ISE, where the joint stock companies traded on the ISE may issue debt securities without preparing a prospectus and a circular, and is open for trade for qualified investors only. The first application for the relevant market was filed on July 28, 2010.