Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Turkey may exceed its goal of selling $7 billion in state-owned assets next year, according to the acting chief of the agency responsible for the sales.

Income from power grids and sugar factories, plus revenue from earlier sales that will be paid in 2010 may make it “one of the best years for privatization,” Ahmet Aksu, 42, said in an interview at his office in Ankara today.

“I believe in my heart that we can comfortably reach the target and that power sales could be enough on their own,” Aksu said. The sale of three power grids for a total of $1.2 billion on Nov. 6 was “very satisfactory and demonstrated strong interest,” he added.

Expected revenue from the sales next year will be equivalent to about 20 percent of the budget deficit, according to government data. The country of 72 million people is selling power grids and generators in a bid to raise cash and draw foreign investment into an industry where demand is rising about 8 percent a year.

“Privatization revenues are probably more important now than any time in the past five or six years as it is expected be the main driver for foreign investment,” Wolfango Piccoli, an analyst for Eurasia Group, wrote in a report on Nov. 2.

Power Grids

The administration’s record for receipts in a single year was in 2005, when it earned $8.2 billion. So far this year it’s garnered $2.3 billion, according to information on its Web site.

Payment for three power grids sold recently is due in 2010 and combined with other scheduled income from earlier auctions of ports and land, the agency expects to receive about $3.6 billion from sales held previously, he said.

Aksu has another 11 distribution networks on his books, including those in Istanbul and industrial regions such as Izmir, Antalya and Bursa. The agency plans to hold auctions for all of them next year, he said. They’ll be offered for sale in batches balanced between major networks that draw interest from foreign investors and smaller grids that may appeal to locals.

Turkey needs to sell assets to help finance the budget deficit, due to widen to 6.5 percent of economic output this year from 1.9 percent in 2008, according to government estimates. Yields on benchmark lira-denominated bonds tracked by ABN Amro have risen to 8.74 percent from below 8 percent last month partly on concern that the Treasury will need to increase borrowing.

Power Plants

The agency will also offer 56 power plants and plans to sell some of them in the next week or two, Aksu said. The natural gas distribution network in the capital Ankara will be sold in the first half of 2010, he said. The Baskent Dogalgaz Dagitim AS network was sold for $1.6 billion in 2008 and Turkey’s now offering it again after the buyer didn’t pay.

Aksu said his team is poised to offer operating rights for about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of roads and bridges as soon as parliament passes the required legislation. He also plans to sell the national lottery Milli Piyango next year. The method of sale may change after bidders refused to meet a $1.62 billion asking price in May, he said.

The agency is also keen to sell remaining stakes in other businesses, he said, without giving names. The government owns shares in Turk Hava Yollari AO, or Turkish Airlines, and phone company Turk Telekomunikasyon AS. Aksu declined to discuss a timetable for any such sales because that may affect share prices.

There’s been no request from the government to sell shares in TC Ziraat Bankasi AS, the country’s biggest government-run bank, he said.

Aksu has worked at the Privatization Administration since 1992, where he was head of a department evaluating and preparing projects.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Bryant in Ankara at sbryant5@bloomberg.netAli Berat Meric in Ankara at

Last Updated: November 13, 2009 10:28 EST