Constraining Turkcell's rating are the volatile Turkish macroeconomic environment, international expansion and significant cash consumption in Ukraine and Belarus, currency mismatches, short-term debt reliance, and continuing legal disputes among the group's major shareholders. Supportive factors include the company's strong position and performance in the Turkish mobile telecom market, good mobile cash flow generation, moderate gross leverage, significant liquid assets, and associate investment in Eurasia. At Sept. 30, 2009, Turkcell reported gross consolidated debt of $1.2 billion. Turkcell is facing a weak macroeconomic environment at home--including, in first-half 2009, a severe economic downturn, constrained consumer spending due in part to higher unemployment, and a fall in the Turkish lira against the dollar. According to Turkcell's estimates, mobile telephony penetration declined to
