Turkey-based Halkbank announced the acquisition of Macedonian Nova Insurance, and now shows interest in investing in Moldova, too. Halkbank is already active in North Macedonia and Serbia, making Moldova the third country in the region Halkbank wants to develop.

Osman ARSLAN, General Manager of Halkbank, said:

"As a public lender, we are interested in the Balkans area. Moldova has a significant amount of Turkish investment. Therefore, we would like to revive our negotiations there."

Halkbank has been present in Southeastern Europe since 2011, when the company entered the Macedonian banking sector. In 2015, Halkbank started banking activity in Serbia, too. Halkbank is the 4^th largest bank in North Macedonia.

The newly established insurance company in North Macedonia will operate under the name of Halk Insurance as the first overseas insurance investment of Turkey. Halkbank said they acquired Nova Insurance for EUR 3 million. The objective of this transaction is to grow their presence in the insurance sector as well, officials declared.