Turkey’s state asset sales agency aims to offer the natural gas grid in Ankara for sale this month and conclude the auction process by the end of the year, the agency’s head said. The agency is also waiting until July 25 to see if winning bidders for electricity distribution grids will deposit the collateral Turkey’s demanding, Ahmet Aksu, acting head of the agency, said in an interview in Ankara late yesterday. Authorities will offer grids to the second-placed bidders if the winners fail to deposit the required collateral, he said. The process is a legal obligation and it’s to be expected that it causes a few months delay in the conclusion of the sales, Aksu said. Turkey canceled an earlier sale of the Ankara gas grid after the winning bidders failed to make the payment. To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Berat Meric in Ankara at americ@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Bryant at sbryant5@bloomberg.net

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