Turkcell

The 5th Turkey Innovation Week, during which dozens of innovation gurus from 10 different countries in various disciplines will meet, started on Dec. 8 in Istanbul. 

The three-day event is organized by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TİM) in a bid to support innovative ideas and works to strengthen sustainable development under the coordination of the Economy Ministry.

Turkish holding company Çukurova did not declare an intent to buy a 13.22 percent stake in Turkcell from Russia's Alfa Telecom by a Nov. 18 court deadline, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Nov. 21. 

"No declaration was made by the Friday (deadline). Now in line with the court decision, the option of buying has moved to Alfa," the source said. 

Turkey's pay-TV operator Digitürk, which is now owned by Qatar's beIN Group, acquired Turkish league football broadcasting rights for a five-year period in a tender on Nov. 21, making the highest bid at $500 million.

Russian bank VTB said late on Nov. 7 it had reached an agreement with Alfa Group about a joint investment in Turkey's top mobile operator Turkcell.

The announcement comes ahead of a mid-November deadline for Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and Turkcell's founder Mehmet Emin Karamehmet to resolve a dispute over control of the Turkish company.

An initial public offering (IPO) of Turkcell's infrastructure unit, Global Tower, has been postponed due to the possible market impact of the U.S. presidential election, potential U.S. interest rate moves and cyberattacks, the mobile operator said in a written statement on Oct. 24. 

Turkey's leading mobile operator Turkcell has developed a mobile application for over 3 million Syrian refugees in the country, the company said in a statement on Sept. 20.

The "Hello Hope" app aims to teach basic Turkish words and expressions both in written and spoken formats to ease the daily lives of the refugees in Turkey, the phone operator said.      

A possible ruling in favor of Turkey's Çukurova Holding by a U.K.-based arbitration court has played a significant role in a recent decision by the company's Russian partner in Turkcell, Alfa Telecom, about selling its Turkcell stakes, sources told daily Hürriyet. 

Ziraat Bank is expected to play a key role in the transaction, added sources.  

Russia's Alfa Telecom said on March 25 it was ready to sell a 13.22 percent indirect stake in Turkcell to Turkey's Çukurova and Ziraat Bank for a total of around $2.7 billion, according to a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange.

Turkcell tested its new 4.5G Internet speed of 925 Mbps during the Turkcell Technology Summit in Istanbul with success on March 9, with the participation of Turkcell Vice President ?lker Kuruöz. 

Yesterday there was a long queue of expensive cars trying to enter the Haliç Congress Center as Turkcell had its "Technology Summit" in the premises.  It is a very popular event in the technology world. People want to be present to network as much as they want to hear about what's going on in the tech world.