Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at April 26th, 2008

Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said Turkish exports in 12 months had reached $117 billion.

Tuzwen was in Istanbul on Friday to attend the inauguration of the Business Machines and Construction Technologies Fair ANKOMAK 2008. ANKOMAK 2008 is the biggest of its kind in the nearby region.

In his opening speech Tuzmen said Turkish exports of business machines have exceeded one billion USD. The Turkish economy is the 15th biggest economy in the world behind South Korea. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 26th, 2008

An amendment to the bill on land registries, which was recently cancelled by the Constitutional Court upon an appeal filed by the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has been referred to Parliament.

With the new amendment, the benchmark for real estate ownership limits for foreign persons and institutions has been changed from total provincial area to a city center base.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, CHP deputies noted that they have reviewed the amendments. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Erzurum deputy Zeki Ertugay said on the matter: “We are opposed to relaxing the rules on the sale of real estate to foreigners. There are certain rules that restrict possession of land by foreigners in all countries. We cannot simply accept relaxation of the rules.” (more…)

Posted by meb at April 26th, 2008

A senior energy analyst from the US has said Turkey, as an energy corridor for Europe, can continue to side with the West or choose to look out for its own economic interests as energy continues to occupy a dominant position in foreign policy worldwide against a backdrop of dwindling hydrocarbon reserves.

Julia Nanay, country strategies director for Washington-based oil and gas consulting firm PFC Energy, said if Turkey wants to be a member of the European Union, it should do whatever Europeans feel comfortable with when bargaining. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 25th, 2008

Turkey still has a secure position in the international economy, though it inevitably feels the side effects of the current global credit turmoil, according to Mehmet Şimşek, the economy minister, who spoke at an international forum in Istanbul yesterday.

Despite these comforting words, Michael Deppler, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) European director, said he is quite pessimistic about the Turkish economy. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 24th, 2008

Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO), Turkey’s state-run oil company, will spend $826 million this year on gas and oil exploration to meet rising demand.

Hüseyin Yakar, a manager at TPAO, didn’t give a figure for last year’s investment in exploration. It was $350 million in 2006 and $70 million in 2002, according to the Energy Ministry. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 24th, 2008

The Privatization Supreme Board approved the sale of Turkey’s alcohol and tobacco monopoly TEKEL’s tobacco division to British-American Tobacco (BAT) on Thuesday.

BAT offered the highest bid with 1.72 billion USD and won the tender which was held to sell off TEKEL in February. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 24th, 2008

Turkey has placed eighth among all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in terms of its tax burden on wages.

According to the Ministry of Finance Income Policies Headquarters, Turkey ranked first in 2007 with its 42.7 percent tax burden on average annual salary among 30 OECD countries; however, thanks to a change in the minimum living allowance that the government implemented on Jan. 1, 2008, Turkey dropped to eighth with its 38.9 percent tax burden. A single employee in Turkey with a gross salary of YTL 1,455 has to pay YTL 712.40 taxes on his salary; if this person is married with two children then his tax drops to YTL 689.60. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 23rd, 2008

The number of retail customers who utilize online banking services reached 9,396,167 as of the end of March, according to the Turkish Banks Association (TBB).
The TBB collected statistics from the 26 banks that provide online services among a total of 46 banks registered with the association. The data revealed that 5,224,044 customers who are enrolled in online banking services logged on at least once in the last year. During the three-month period of January-March, 4,082,990 retail customers made at least one banking transaction online, equal to 43 percent of all registered online banking customers. (more…)