Norway Fund Cuts Turkish Ties Over Trading Fine

Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway's sovereign wealth fund valued at $2.1 trillion, has ended its partnership with Istanbul Portfoy Yonetimi AS. The decision, made in November, came after Turkish regulators imposed a fine on a managing partner of the Turkish firm for market manipulation concerning shares of two local companies. This partner was fined 18.5 million liras ($423,000) for creating a misleading impression regarding share supply, demand, and price. Although the penalized trades were not related to the Norwegian fund's Turkish investments, the finding and the firm's delayed disclosure prompted the fund's action. The fund is now actively seeking a new investment manager in Turkey, with other Turkish asset-management firms having submitted proposals. A decision regarding the new manager is anticipated within the first few months of this year.