Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 10
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
SOCAR Turkey Enerji company (Turkish subsidiary of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR) is studying and evaluating new investment opportunities within the framework of its activities, the company's Chief External Affairs Officer Murat LeCompte told Trend Aug. 10, commenting on SOCAR's interest in the assets of the Turkish division of the German giant EWE AG - EWE Turkey Holding.
Trend reported earlier referring to Turkish media that EWE AG company is preparing to withdraw from the energy market of Turkey and to sell its stake in gas distribution networks Bursagaz AS and Kayserigaz AS. It was reported that the executive staff of EWE Turkey Holding has already held a number of meetings with potential buyers.
The price of the German company's share in the gas distribution enterprises in Bursa and Kayseri offered for sale is $ 200-250 million. EWE AG owns a total of 80 percent of the shares of Bursagaz AS and Kayserigaz AS, the remaining 10 percent is owned by the Calik Enerji Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. company and the relevant municipalities.
"No specific meetings have been held on this topic. In general, we are constantly studying and evaluating various investment opportunities within the framework of our activities. They must be in line with our activities and strategy. Following the principle of "One Nation – Two States", we will continue our activities and will invest in both Azerbaijan and Turkey with the aim to improve the welfare of the two countries", LeCompte noted.
It is expected that SOCAR Turkey Enerji's consolidated turnover will reach $ 15 billion in 2018, and the company will become the second largest industrial company in Turkey with 5,000 employees and $3 billion of export potential. It aims to become the largest Turkish industrial company by 2023. The company also owns a controlling stake (51 percent) in the Petkim petrochemical complex on the Aliaga Peninsula.
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