Turkey's Halkbank free float rise on govt agenda- Babacan

ISTANBUL May 31 (Reuters) - The Turkish government wants to increase the free float rate of Turkey's state-owned lender Halkbank to 49 percent from the current 24.93 percent, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said at a conference in Istanbul on Thursday.

"Increasing Halkbank's free float rate up to 49 percent is on our agenda, but the timing will depend on market conditions," Babacan told reporters.

"We haven't made a decision on the issue yet," Babacan said.

Babacan also said a strategic sale could come up on the agenda for the remaining 51 percent in the "very long run", but that currently there were almost no banks who could afford such a purchase. (Reporting by Evren Ballim, Writing by Ece Toksabay)