The malls can’t even pay the interest on their debt

Some malls, which lost their income after the regulation on the conversion of foreign currency to TL in the lease contracts, and were stuck in their bank debts with the increase in the exchange rate, reached the point where they could not even pay interest on your loan debts. While the total bank debt of shopping malls in Turkey is $12 billion, it is claimed that 88 percent of this is foreign currency.

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Nuri Hatcı, CFO of ECE Turkey, a commercial real estate development and management company, a subsidiary of GERMAN ECE Marketplaces, which has investments in Turkey, noted that 280 of the approximately 450 malls in operation are larger than 20,000 square meters. 80 of them are in the hands of the banks and are trying to be kept alive by the banks. Currently, there are shopping centers that are going through a very difficult process and are in the hands of the banks. The difficulties for the malls began in 2018 when rents changed from foreign currency to TL. Some malls can’t pay the interest, which means they can never pay the principal. We are not talking about 1-2 million dollars here. There are malls that say ‘get us’ or ‘support us’ through the banks,” he said, noting that rents have increased by 150 percent and borrowing costs by 350 percent in the last 3-4 years. , Hatci said: “If the latest restructuring proposal is implemented, it may relieve investors. Domestic investors, who could not pay their debts, made such agreements with banks that handed over their investments in shopping malls, group companies and personal guarantees. they did in 20-30 years.”When they sit down with the banks, they have to accept what the bank says,” he said.

‘The commercial real estate law must be enacted as soon as possible’

Regarding rent increases, Nuri Hatcı stated that the commercial real estate law should be enacted as soon as possible and stated that the political authorities gave them the right, but no progress was made. Hatter said that as Ece Turkey, the number of visitors increased by 7 percent and sales turnover by 223 percent compared to 2019.