Investors shy away from Turkish debt
LONDON – Emerging-market debt funds have turned negative on Turkey after four months of increasing their exposure, according to JPMorgan’s monthly survey of investors in emerging market debt. As Turkey has been haggling with the USA over an aid package worth billions of dollars to help it in the event of war with Iraq, investors have become more nervous, reducing holdings as bonds have climbed. «After four months of investors increasing their Turkish exposure, we now have a month of reduction… The selling has come from dedicated and crossover investors,» said JPMorgan analyst Jonathan Bayliss who compiles the survey. Bayliss noted investors were reverting to their historical underweight holding of Turkish debt, which accounts for 4.6 percent of the JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond (Global) index.
