Turkish telecom operator Turkcell said on Thursday it aims to increase investments this year to prepare new data centers and grids for 5G services, and is seeking eurobonds and other offers in international markets to fund these plans. He said it may rely on issuing sukuk.
CEO Ali Taha Koç said the company spent the equivalent of almost a quarter of its revenue this year, or 23%, on investments. This would result in a 2.4 percentage point increase in investment spending compared to 2023.
Koç said the main reasons are the preparation of data centers, solar power plants and 5G networks.
“The most important of these is getting ready for 5G. We need to install fiber optic cables at the base stations so they can handle the high capacity that 5G requires. Preparing the infrastructure. We’re investing heavily in:’ That’s why our capital expenditures are high,” Koci said.
He told reporters late Thursday that the company is budgeting to build 300 megawatts (MW) of solar power plants by 2026.
The company’s chief financial officer, Kamil Carillon, said Turkcell will leverage cost-effective financing and also borrow from international markets for “green investments.”
“We have previous experience in issuing eurobonds and this year we have additional borrowing opportunities on international markets,” Carillon said.
He highlighted that Turkcell is considering borrowing through Eurobonds and sukuk, highlighting potential in regions such as the Gulf Arab states, where there is significant interest in the company.
Regarding regulatory approvals, Carillon said Turkcell would need approval from the Capital Markets Commission (SPK) as well as the Information and Communications Technology Authority (BTK) before issuing bonds. However, he did not provide a specific timeline for the process.
Koci also said the company would consider foreign investors’ interest in the planned initial public offerings (IPOs) of Super Online, Global Tower and Paycel.
He said current market conditions are not conducive to properly valuing these units for public offering.
“These initial public offerings require international investors to come to Turkiye and show demand. It has to be ready and appropriate. In such an environment, we are always open to IPOs. … We believe that it will and will be evaluated at the right time.” “At the right value. We do not believe that such an environment currently exists,” Koç explained. did.
Koç said, among other things, that despite the court’s “precautionary measures” regarding the sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary Lifecell, the proceedings are ongoing.
“On March 5th, the court’s decision regarding LifeCell was handed down. Thanks to the discussions we had during the closing process and the negotiations by the regulators, the process is underway. There are no problems. This is expected. “Our LifeCell team has filed an appeal, and the process continues,” he said.
Turkcell operates Ukraine’s third-largest mobile network and reached an agreement late last year to sell its Ukrainian assets to NJJ Capital for $525 million.
Koç also revealed that Turkcell is in talks with foreign data center and cloud infrastructure operators, which it calls “hyperscalers,” to join Turkiye.
“There are partnership-style discussions going on regarding hyperscalers. It would be inappropriate to go into details.”
