The Turkey Wealth Fund Management Co. has purchased all the shares of state-owned insurance companies from owners including public banks, the Ahval news website reported.
The sovereign wealth fund paid 6.54 billion lira ($937 million) for the stakes in the six firms, it said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.
The acquisitions were made to increase savings in Turkey and develop the financial services industry, said the fund, which is chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The income from the sale will also provide capital to state-run banks, which the government is leaning on to provide lending to the economy and help boost the value of the lira.
The companies comprised both regular insurers and those offering life insurance. They included Güneş Sigorta, Halk Sigorta, Ziraat Sigorta, Vakıf Emeklilik ve Hayat Sigorta, Halk Hayat ve Emeklilik and Ziraat Hayat ve Emeklilik, the fund said.
The fund, founded by the government in 2016, holds stakes in Turkey’s biggest state-owned enterprises including Turkish Airlines, telecommunications giant Türk Telekom, and lenders Ziraat Bankası and Halkbank.