Posted by meb at February 15th, 2007

A holiday to Alanya in 1998 turned into a permanent adventure for Dutchman Yirg van Bavel. The 30 year-old real estate agent so admired the region’s natural vistas and climate and the congeniality of its residents that after a brief return to the Netherlands, van Bavel decided to make “unforgettable” Alanya his new home.
Van Bavel subsequently married a Turkish woman and decided to do business in the region. Taking into consideration his father’s, and more  generally, foreigners’ interest in buying property there, van Bavel turned his sights to the real estate business. “At that time, my father bought a house in Alanya since he knew it would be profitable to invest in the construction sector there. I came to Alanya a few times to take care of the house. My interest in the construction sector peaked after I settled in Alanya, where the regions’ unspoiled nature, air, sea and friendly residents were attracting foreigners. I met a Dutchman and started to work for him and was receiving orders for homes from people in Holland. I learned about the real estate sector gradually and came to realize it is a quite lucrative business. In 2001, I started a partnership with the real estate agency I was working for. Alanya is a trademark. It is the second most well-known town by the Dutch,” van Bavel said, although he quips, “Turks bargain too much.” Van Bavel good-naturedly bemoans this national quality, and adds he never manages to earn a profit in this case.
The number of foreigners doing business in Turkey is increasing day by day. There were 13,599 foreign capital companies in Turkey at the end of July 2006, data from the Treasury’s foreign direct investment branch reveal. These companies are namely operating in wholesale and retail trade with construction and real estate being the most popular areas. Nearly 500 foreigners do business in the Alanya district of Antalya, Turkey’s “window to the world.” Seventy percent of the foreigners engaged in business here are Germans. About 487 of the foreigners doing business in various areas are members of the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ALTSO), and four of them are members of the Turkish Chamber of Tradesmen and Artisans. The most common complaint from foreigners engaged in business in Alanya is bargaining. Saying Turks bargain them out of a profit, they add, “We cannot earn much.” Though Turkish citizens welcome the increase in the number of foreign investors in Alanya and cite an atmosphere of competition is always good in business.

Foreign businesses in Alanya
Just over 490 foreigners are involved in businesses in various areas in Alanya, ALTSO data reveal. Foreigners operate in various fields from real estate agencies to grocery stores, restaurants to bakeries, from clothing apparel to the textile industry — and 353 foreigners do business in construction and real estate, with 200 operating in the construction sector and 153 working as real estate agents. Bars and restaurants are the second favorite foreign-owned businesses, with the hotel industry coming in third. In Alanya, 28 foreigners are engaged in the hotel industry, 18 in travel agencies and tour operators, 10 in insurance, nine in local grocery markets, eight in construction materials trade, six in the rug, kilim and antiquities trade, six in the white goods and electronics trade, five in beauty salons, four in jewelry, three in the eyewear business and two in the automotive sector, while others operate boutiques, yacht tours, bakeries, butcher shops and newspaper vendors. Some 7,000 foreigners reside here year-round, and more than 10,000 homes are reportedly owned by foreigners in the region.
Ali Erdem, who has been selling souvenirs in Alanya for 12 years, said foreigners’ engagement in trade in the district was not a bad thing. Thrilled to see that foreigners regard Turkey as their home and settle down here, Erdem said an atmosphere of competition is always advantageous. Erdem underlined foreigners mostly operate in the real estate sector and added: “The relatives of a foreigner who does business in Alanya come to the district to spend their summer holiday. The foreign businesspeople here give detailed information about the area to people back home, which contributes in the promotion of the region.”
Ahmet Demir, who works in the real estate sector in Alanya, said foreigners’ engagement in local businesses has a positive effect on them. “Foreign real estate agents constitute a great customer potential for Alanya. Most of the apartments in the district are sold through the mediation of foreign real estate agents. Other Turkish real estate companies are also involved in the selling of these apartments, which has positive repercussions throughout the sector,” Demir said.
Seyhan Arabaci, another real estate agent in Alanya, said it was normal for foreigners to do business in Turkey. “Foreigners can do business in our country, just like the Turks who work abroad,” Arabaci said and added foreigners’ engagement in the real estate business in Alanya does not affect them. Noting he jointly sells apartments and properties with some foreign real estate companies, Arabaci said: “More tourists come to Alanya thanks to them. Foreigners can better advertise the region abroad.”
By the end of July 2006, the number of foreign capital companies and branches reached 11,208 and foreign capital had bought limited partnerships in 2,391 local-capital companies. The number of foreign-capital companies set up during the period between June 17, 2003, and July 31, 2006, increased by 136 percent in comparison with the total number of companies established in previous years, according to the Treasury’s foreign direct investment data. A total of 13,599 foreign-capital companies are currently operating in Turkey.
The number of enterprises with partners from European Union states is 7,318, in first place amongst the distribution of 13,599 foreign capital companies. Among the EU states, Germany comes first with 2,384 partners, the UK second with 1,179 and the Netherlands third with 1073.

source: Today’s Zaman

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