As polling results were received from various cities of Turkey, it became clear that the main opposition party Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the major cities of Turkey. CHP won the elections in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, and Adana who were previously governed Erdoğan’s ruling party AKP or its nationalist ally MHP and in Izmir which was CHP’s stronghold in the previous elections.
As Bloomberg reported, another winner from Erdoğan's loss has been beer companies. Stock prices of beer producers in Turkey increased significantly while the lira swung between gains and losses and the yield on Turkey’s benchmark bond was unchanged.
Anadolu Efes Biracilik ve Malt In. rose 6.9 percent, the biggest gain since September. Turk Tuborg Bira ve Malt Inc., the other listed beer maker, climbed 2.4 percent.
Bloomberg quoted Burak Isyar, head of research at ICBC Securities in Istanbul “Some investors may be betting that municipal restrictions on alcohol sales may somehow be relaxed.”
During 25 year rule of AKP, many popular night spots of Istanbul lost their popularity due to restrictions imposed by municipalities and because of the increase in the price of alcoholic beverages due to taxes imposed.
According to Bloomberg, Anadolu Efes has declined 9.2 percent this year, trailing the 3.1 percent gain in the benchmark Borsa Istanbul-100 index. The company reported 96.9 million liras ($18 million) profit in 2018, missing the average analyst estimate. It expects “flattish” beer sales volume this year, according to guidance published in February.
The owner of Anadolu Efes, Tuncay Özilhan has never criticized the taxes imposed on alcoholic beverages but instead called the government to impose restrictions and taxes to homemade brews in order to prevent the sector from shrinking. His statement was largely criticized in social media and a boycott campaign was started against his beer brand.
