Turkish GSM operator in Forbes stocks list

ISTANBUL (A.A) - Turkey's GSM operator, Turkcell, has been ranked among the top ten stock picks for 2012. The U.S. Forbes magazine included Turkcell's shares among the top stocks one can buy and hold for all of 2012. The magazine asked the question "if one could buy and hold one stock for all of 2012, what would it be" to money managers, market experts and financial journalists. Turkcell was one of the companies named in the list together with Caterpillar, FedEx, Hershey, Capital One, Mako Surgical, Microsof, Arcos Dorados, Alcoa and Banco Santander. Money manager and stock picker Charles Sizemore, picked a purer play on emerging markets with telecom stock Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS (NYSE:TKC). Sizemore wrote an article titled "Turkcell: A Telecom at the Crossroads of Powerful Macro Trends",  and defined Turkey as a bridge between a wealthy but economically distressed Europe and a poor but growing Middle East. "It (Turkey) has a customs agreement with the European Union, but it also is an emerging economic and political leader in the Islamic world. And while much of the Islamic world — as well as non-Muslim developing countries like Russia and China — still is struggling through the painful transition from autocracy to democracy, Turkey is a good 20 years ahead of the pack and more politically stable," Sizemore said. Sizemore said Turkey had one of the brightest futures among emerging market contenders. "Not surprisingly, Turkish stocks have taken a beating. The MSCI Turkey Index as measured by the iShares MSCI Turkey Index Fund (NYSE:TUR) is down nearly 50% since October 2010, and off about 30% since summer 2011 as of this writing. If you believe, as I do, that Turkey has one of the brightest futures of any country on the planet, then the crises on Turkey's borders should be viewed as a phenomenal opportunity to buy shares of some of Turkey's finest companies. And my choice for 2012 is Turkcell," he said. Sizemore said investors fleeing the volatility of Europe and the Middle East have had little use for a Turkish blue chip like Turkcell. "Their loss is our gain. There is no object more essential to life in the modern world than the mobile phone, and Turkcell is the dominant wireless carrier in Turkey with a 54% market share. And while mobile phones are ubiquitous in Turkey, the overall market is far from saturated. Market penetration is at about two-thirds of the European average. And smart phones, with their lucrative data plans, represent only 10% of Turkish cell phone users," he also said. As of September 30, 2011, Turkcell has made 7.9 billion US dollars worth of investments (including 2G and 3G licenses) in Turkey. Again as of September 30, 2011, with its 34.4 million subscribers, Turkcell is not only the leading operator in Turkey, but also the third largest GSM operator in Europe in terms of subscriber number. Turkcell's shares have been traded on the Istanbul (IMKB) and New York Stock Exchanges (NYSE) since July 11, 2000, and it is the first and only Turkish company ever to be listed on the NYSE. Turkcell also has investments abroad. It has participations in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus as well as the Turiksh Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). As of September 30, 2011, Turkcell had signed 3G contracts with 263 operators in 110 countries, ranking it among the world's top operators in terms of the provision of international data services. Turkcell also ranks among the top operators in terms of GPRS roaming, where it has signed contracts with 492 operators from 166 countries. (Reporting by Aylin Kurkcu)