Boycott Turkey: Modi govt punishes Ankara for supporting Pakistan, Turkish firm loses Rs 2500 loss in just two days due to…
Boycott Turkey: India’s moves to hurt Turkey financially are already showing its impact as the market cap of Celebi Hava Servisi– a Turkish airport ground handling company– has tanked by $293 million (over Rs 2,500 crore), in just two days. According to market data, the company’s shares witnessed a decline of nearly 20 percent on Thursday and Friday, a downward spiral experts attribute to India revoking the security clearance of Turkish firm’s subsidiaries citing national security concerns.
In a statement, the Istanbul-based firm said it will challenge the Indian government’s decision using administrative and legal remedies, while highlighting that its Indian operations form a major chunk of its annual revenue. The Turkish firm revealed that more than a third of its $585 million revenue in 2024 came from its Indian subsidiaries.
BCAS revokes security clearance
On Thursday, India’s Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) revoked security clearance of Celebi Airport Services India with immediate effect, which affected all of Turkish firm’s affiliated units operating in the country.
Responding to the government’s move, Celebi Hava Servisi stated that its Indian operation is “truly an Indian enterprise” managed by Indian professionals and “is not a Turkish organisation by any standards.”
The revocation of the Istanbul-headquartered firm’s security clearance is one of the several decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government to hurt Turkey economically after the country openly supported Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan clash.
Celebi challenges government order as market caps tanks
According to reports, after Indian government’s action, Celebi shares on Borsa Istanbul closed 10 percent lower at 2,224 Turkish lira on Thursday and fell another 10 percent to 2,002 TL on Friday, leading to multiple trading halts, and the company losing Rs 2,500 crore in market valuation in two days.
In a regulatory filing, Celebi Airport Services India said it will pursue all administrative and legal remedies against the government’s orders, and called allegations levelled against it as “baseless”. The firm stressed that its subsidiaries have always complied with Indian laws and have never posed any threat to national security.
The Turkey-based company has challenged its revocation of security clearance in the Delhi High Court, and the plea is expected to be heard on Monday.
Over 10,ooo Indians work for Celebi
Celebi Hava Servisi entered the Indian market in 2009, and has invested over $250 million since, employing more than 10,000 Indian nationals to run its Indian operation across nine airports in the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, through five different subsidiaries.
Celebi Airport Services India, the group’s largest subsidiary, had operations at six airports, before its security clearance was revoked.
Celebi owned by Erdogan’s daughter?
Meanwhile, social media has been rife with rumors claiming the company’s ownership was linked to Sumeyye Erdogan Bayraktar, the daughter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
However, Celebi has refuted these claims as “factually incorrect”, stating that its majority stake is held by international institutional investors, with no political affiliations, and no connections to Erdogan’s daughter.
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