Istanbul dominates equity market, Qatar tops foreign holdings

ISTANBUL

By the end of September, Istanbul continued to be Türkiye’s dominant hub for equity investors, hosting more than 1.58 million shareholders with portfolios exceeding 3 trillion Turkish Liras, while Qatar emerged as the largest foreign holder of Turkish equities by portfolio value.

According to data from the Central Securities Depository (MKK), Istanbul was followed by Ankara with 649,705 investors and a portfolio size of 345.2 billion liras, and Izmir with 433,202 investors and 157.8 billion liras.

Istanbul-based investors saw their portfolio value rise by 25.7 percent in the first nine months of the year, adding 630.3 billion liras compared to the end of last year. Ankara’s portfolios grew by 31.9 percent, while İzmir recorded a 28.4 percent increase.

Despite the growth in portfolio values, the number of equity investors declined across the three major cities. Istanbul’s investor base shrank by 6 percent, Ankara’s by 6.9 percent and İzmir's by 6.3 percent during the same period.

On the foreign side, the United States accounted for the highest number of investors with 927 accounts, followed by the United Kingdom with 258 and Luxembourg with 200.

However, in terms of portfolio value, Qatar led the rankings with 640.8 billion liras, ahead of the United States at 505.4 billion liras and the United Kingdom at 332.9 billion liras. Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, the Cayman Islands, Ireland and Singapore rounded out the top 10.