President Erdoğan replaces general manager of Turkey Wealth Fund

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Arda Ermut has been appointed as the new general manager of the Turkey Wealth Fund (TWF) after Zafer Sönmez was dismissed, according to a Presidential Decree published in the Official Gazette early today (March 9).

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also chairs the TWF.

Ermut was the head of Turkey's Investment Office between May 2015 to February 2020, a board member of TWF between September 2018 to November 2020 and has been a board member of the state-run Turkish Airlines since June 2019.

He is also the former head of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), an umbrella organization that covers 170 national and regional investment promotion agencies from 130 countries.

Ermut has a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations from Turkey's Boğaziçi University.

Sonmez, appointed in September 2018 as the head of TWF, was a manager at Malaysia's investment fund Khazanah.

About Turkey Wealth Fund

The Turkey Wealth Fund bill was submitted to the parliament on August 2, 2016. The fund was established under Law No. 6741 after the parliament passed the bill on August 26.

The stated purpose of the fund was to contribute the country's economy to overcome its structural problems. However, it caused controversy that the fund was exempted from taxation, would not have to abide by the laws on protecting natural and cultural assets and it would not be audited by the Court of Accounts.

Eleven state-owned companies were handed over to the fund: Ziraat Bank, BOTAŞ, PTT, TÜRKSAT, Turkish Petroleum Corporation, ETİ Maden, Türk Telekom, Halkbank, Turkish Airlines and Çaykur.

TWF is now the owner of or a stakeholder in 23 companies, two licenses and real estate, Vakıfbank; the country's stock exchange market Borsa İstanbul, Turkish Airlines, Turkcell GSM company, and natural gas firm Botaş. (HA/VK)