Erdogan appoints himself chairman of Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has appointed himself chairman of country's multi-billion-dollar sovereign wealth fund as he extends his powers of executive presidency.
In a major overhaul, President Erdogan has also named finance minister Berat Albayrak – his son-in-law – as his deputy, after criticised the Turkey Wealth Fund last year.
It comes after he dismissed the fund's head Mehmet Bostan in September 2017 and said it had failed to meet it targets, calling for a complete reorganisation.
Read more: Turkish President Erdogan has no one to blame but himself
Erdogan became the country's first ever executive president following his election victory in June and has now used his new powers to take charge of its sovereign wealth fund.
The $50bn (£38.4bn) fund was formed in 2016 and has stakes in Turkish Airlines, state oil and pipeline companies, the stock exchange, the national lottery and national railway, among others.
The country's Official Gazette said the entire board had been changed, with Zafer Sonmez, the head of the Turkey regional office of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, appointed as the fund's general manager, along with other new board members.
Read more: Lira and rand hold steady as currency sell-offs slow
The Turkish lira gained value against the dollar on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's central bank rates decision.
Speculation the bank will increase interest rates saw the lira trade 0.7 per cent stronger at 6.37 to the dollar.
The struggling currency has lost more than 40 per cent of its value this year.