Türkiye’s debt capital market is expected to keep expanding, and the country is likely to remain a major global issuer of sukuk and emerging market debt this year, Fitch Ratings said Tuesday.
This will be driven by high external financing requirements, upcoming maturities, wider fiscal deficits and funding diversification goals, the credit ratings agency said in its debt capital market monitor report covering the first half of 2026.
Fitch said Türkiye’s debt capital market remained largely driven by government securities and grew 9% year-over-year to more than $516 billion at the end of the first half of the year despite volatility related to the Middle East conflict.
The ratings agency said Türkiye became the world’s fifth-largest sukuk market in the first six months and remains one of only three G-20 countries with an active sukuk market.
Outstanding sukuk assets increased 25.8% from a year earlier to more than $41 billion, significantly outpacing the 8% growth recorded in the conventional bond market, Fitch said. Sukuk were about 14% of debt capital market issuance in the first six months, compared to 8% a year ago.
According to the report, Turkish lira-denominated securities accounted for 64% of the country’s debt capital market, while U.S. dollar-denominated instruments represented 33%.
Excluding China, Türkiye ranked as the sixth-largest issuer of U.S. dollar-denominated debt among emerging markets during the first half of the year, with a 7.4% market share.
Fitch forecasts Türkiye’s debt capital market will expand to around $550 billion by the end of 2026.
The agency said banks and corporates are also expected to continue tapping debt markets as financing opportunities arise, although investor sentiment and volatility stemming from regional conflict could weigh on issuance activity.
“Türkiye has low government debt, and sustained access to external financing through periods of stress. However, further regional escalation could weigh on investor sentiment, yields, and liquidity,” said Bashar Al Natoor, global head of Islamic finance at Fitch.
“Foreign investor demand for recent Turkish sovereign U.S. dollar sukuk and bonds remained intact, but foreign participation in the local-currency market is falling.”
