Virus Risks Slowing Chinese Banks’ Deals in Key Turkish Market

  • Talks to refinance Istanbul bridge loan faces delays
  • Deal becomes the first to get affected by coronavirus outbreak

The  Yavuz Sultan Bridge in Istanbul.

Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg
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The coronavirus outbreak threw off track a major loan deal that Chinese banks were arranging in Turkey, a sign that the virus’s spread could slow efforts by the Asian nation’s lenders to expand in a key market.

Talks between Turkey’s IC Yatirim Holding AS, China Merchants Group Ltd. and a group of Chinese banks to refinance a $2.3 billion loan are being delayed because of disruptions stemming from the virus, according to people with knowledge of the matter.