Turkish finance minister to hold meetings on fund liquidation crisis, state media says

ANKARA, Sept 24 (Reuters) — Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek will hold a series of meetings on Thursday and Friday to discuss the process of the liquidation of 131 investment funds worth around $18 billion, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Turkish authorities took steps last week to support financial stability after some investment funds failed to meet withdrawals from almost half a million investors amid a selloff in the country's stock market. The measures included steps to boost lira liquidity and ease some capital and margin requirements. The liquidity crisis, triggered by suspected share price manipulation in thinly traded stocks, has shaken confidence in Turkey's investment fund sector and prompted a sweeping regulatory crackdown and investigation with dozens of people —including fund managers and senior executives — arrested or detained. Anadolu said Simsek would hold the meetings after returning from New York, where he attended the UN General Assembly with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and added they would look into technical work on the liquidation of the funds and payments to investors, with officials from relevant institutions and organisations also partic