"Turkey is facing a time bomb with energy companies' $ 51 billion loans," is the headline of a Bloomberg article, which lists the problem for Turkish companies borrowing in foreign currency due to the sharp fall in the pound exchange rate.
Faced with the dip in the pound, Turkey's central bank last month called on the public to borrow on the currency being paid. The warning came too late for the country's energy companies, the report notes. Turkish power companies are emerging as one of the biggest risks for the country's banks, as they have invested billions of dollars in power generation, distribution projects and deals over the past 15 years. Now, with the pound depreciating faster than they can raise electricity prices, some companies have annual profits that are lower than the amount they have to pay to repay their foreign currency loans, according to the Producers Union. Electricity based in Ankara.
Loans of at least $ 6,1 billion taken by energy companies are known to be in the process of restructuring or refinancing. These include loans of about $ 4,1 billion to Bereket Enerji, which sells factories to reduce its liabilities. Companies in various industries have agreed, or are still in discussions, to reorganize loans of at least $ 24 billion.