Turkish Cement Company Surges on Trump's Withdrawal From Syria

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish cement maker Mardin Cimento, located in the province of Mardin along the border with Syria, surged in Istanbul trading on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.

Mardin Cimento rose 14 percent to 3.2 liras at 4:31 p.m. in Istanbul, in its biggest gain since September 2016. Trading volume was about 20 times the 20-day intraday average.

“Mardin represents the closest cement capacity to Syria,” Ezgi Akalan, analyst at Is Investment in Istanbul, said by phone. Investors are probably betting on increased exports to the war-torn country, she said.

Shares in Turkish cement companies tend to move on major developments in Syria, with investors betting they’ll have some role to play in the nation’s reconstruction. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has talked about building entire cities in northern Syria once the fighting ends.

To contact the reporter on this story: Taylan Bilgic in Istanbul at tbilgic2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net, Benjamin Harvey

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