Borsa Istanbul takes stock of its new speculator

A man named Cem Okullu has become a popular figure among the Borsa Istanbul crowd in recent days.

On December 3, Okullu said in a filing with the public disclosure platform (KAP) that he had on December 3 sold his entire 7.11% stake, or 199mn shares, in Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi (TSKB/Industrial Development Bank of Turkey) at a price range of Turkish lira (TRY) 2.02-2.12.

On December 4, Okullu said in a separate filing that he had on December 4 bought 97.3mn shares in petrochemical producer Petkim (PETKM) at a price range of TRY4.30-4.63.

His stake in Petkim has gradually risen to 6.19% from 2.349%.

Okullu earned 50%, or TRY134mn, in profit from TSKB in 50 days, while he earned TRY20mn profit from his Petkim trades in a single day on December 4, Yunus Kaya of Alnus Invest wrote on Twitter.

Okullu has previously been fined by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) due to share transactions in Tukas (TUKAS) and Is Leasing (ISFIN).

He is the majority shareholder in Tukas and has a partnership with Galip Ozturk in this company.

In 2015, Erdemir (EREGL/Eregli Demir Celik), one of Turkey’s largest steelmakers, said in a stock exchange filing that it sold 43,467 square metres of real estate holdings located in the town of Altinoluk in the northwestern Balikesir province to Okullu Gida Maddeleri for a consideration of TRY46mn (€16mn).

Tukas or Isfin are small trading boards, suitable for easy manipulation. However, Petkim is among the leading stocks on the Borsa Istanbul and TSKB is also a component of the BIST-50.

Erdemir, controlled by Turkish military pension fund Oyak, is also among leading companies in Turkey.

There have been declines in the number of foreign-held shares in the free floats of Petkim and TSKB (charts below by Ak Invest).