Turkey’s privatisation body has cancelled a planned sale of two insurance units of state-owned lender Halkbank, the bank said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange late on Thursday.

The Turkish Privatisation Administration had said earlier this year that privatisation tenders would be held for a block sale of 93.49 per cent of insurance company Halk Sigorta and at least 90 per cent of life insurance and pensions company Halk Hayat ve Emeklilik.

In its filing, Halkbank did not say why the privatisation had been cancelled.