Foreign Investors Pour $2.1 Billion into Turkish Bonds and Stocks in One Week

Foreign investors continued their return to Turkish financial markets, recording a net inflow of $2.12 billion during the week ending May 16, 2025, according to data released by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT).

Excluding market price and exchange rate effects, net equity purchases totaled $245.2 million, signaling growing confidence in Turkish stocks amid easing political uncertainties and tighter monetary policy.

Massive Demand for Government Bonds

The majority of the inflows were directed at government debt securities (DIBS – Kesin Alım), where foreign investors made net purchases of $1.88 billion—one of the largest weekly inflows in recent months.

Additional activity included:

• DIBS (Reverse Repo): Net sales of $48.6 million

• DIBS (Collateral): Net purchases of $1.66 billion

• DIBS (Lending): No transactions reported

• Non-general government sector issuances: Net sales of $10.9 million

Stock and Bond Holdings Surge

As of May 16:

• Equity holdings of non-residents stood at $29.41 billion

• DIBS (Outright Purchase) holdings reached $11.93 billion

• DIBS (Reverse Repo) positions totaled $1.56 billion

• DIBS (Collateral-based) holdings stood at $5.28 billion

• Corporate bond holdings (excluding general government) were $318.2 million

These figures mark a notable rebound in foreign portfolio interest in Turkish assets and reflect the CBRT’s ongoing success in attracting capital inflows through orthodox monetary policy and higher interest rates.