Several large Chinese companies, including tech giant Alibaba (BABA.N), are actively looking at opportunities in Turkey and have met with Turkish firms after the lira’s sell-off has made local assets cheaper, sources familiar with the talks said.
The talks in Istanbul started in mid-August, when Turkey was at the height of its currency crisis, four sources said, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public.
In addition to Alibaba, which earlier this year purchased Turkish online retailer Trendyol, other companies holding talks included China Life Insurance (601628.SS) and conglomerate China Merchants Group, three of the sources said.
“We met four Chinese groups in just a week. They held more than 20 meetings,” one of the sources said, adding that the meetings had been arranged by top U.S. investment banks.
“They are looking into nearly everything.”
via Reuters
