TCMA 2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Distinguished Members, Long-term funds are needed in order for Turkey to achieve sustainable economic growth and increased share within world trade. It is a desire shared by all capital market stakeholders to contribute higher added-value for the development of our country by creating the fund we need. However, although we have secured historic performances in relation to the number of investors, we are still very far from the magnitudes we target. A current portrayal of our capital markets on the basis of several data can provide a clearer view of the distance we need to cover. In the world, performance of capital markets is measured by the ratio of capital markets to GDP. From this perspective, the ratio of capital markets to GDP is 244% in the US, 137% in Japan and South Korea, and 130% in Malaysia whereas it is limited to 32% in Turkey. While our country ranks nineteenth in the world in terms of total GDP, it takes the 48 th spot in terms of market capitalization/GDP. On the basis of the number of companies quoted on stock exchanges, Borsa İstanbul features a number of companies below those in numerous emerging countries, let alone the exchanges in developed economies such as the US, UK, Japan and Europe. Whether it be the share the capital markets get in household assets/savings, or the ratio of capital markets to GDP, or the number of companies quoted on stock exchanges, all the data show us that we, meaning the capital markets, evidently still have a long way to go. The distribution of credits and the capital market in our country also portrays a situation that is unfortunately far from being balanced as compared to the overall situation in the world. Therefore, we believe that a growth in capital markets outpacing that in the credit markets is important for achieving this balance. On another note, when we look at the countries that have established themselves as financial centers in the world, we observe that their capital markets have achieved significant dimensions and there is a highly linear relationship between the development of capital markets and the level of financial development. It is evident that Hong Kong, New York and London have become the world’s financial centers today because of the development levels of their capital markets. In order for Turkey to make İstanbul a financial center, we must join hands to develop the investment environment that will attract foreign savings to our country, besides increasing domestic savings and attracting these savings to our capital markets. An additional requirement is to become a hub that creates the financial products needed in regional terms. To this end, we need to tell the whole world about the powerful story of İstanbul and our capital markets that present a multitude of opportunities. As TCMA, we will keep working with this understanding in the coming period to make İstanbul an international financial center. Distinguished Members, I believe that in the period ahead we will create the capital markets ecosystem that presents the depth and magnitude we target, with the support of our stakeholders. At this point, as the TCMA administration, we are charging ahead with our activities and initiatives to develop medium- and long-term solutions in cooperation with all capital market institutions and members within the frame of our duties and powers under our statute, focusing on the key problems of our industry. In this context, the top ranks of our 2020 agenda consisted of topics categorized under these 11 headings: financial inclusion and protection of individual investors and enhancing investor satisfaction; İstanbul Financial Center; broadening the participant base of the pension system and enhancing participants’ satisfaction; investment advisory; integration of the startup ecosystem with the capital markets; introduction of our capital markets to international investors; popularizing Islamic products; securitization, project finance and creation of new financial products; preparation of the ancillary legislation governing distance contracts; sustainability, technological infrastructure and data management. Despite the extraordinary circumstances that prevailed, all institutions and organizations of the capital markets carried on with their activities with commitment, developing new solutions, so that our industry would operate effectively. OVERVIEW OF 2020 18 TCMA 2020 ANNUAL REPORT