Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at May 22nd, 2008

AREVA, one of the world’s leading energy transmission and distribution companies, has decided to spend $105 million to expand their operations in Turkey by constructing a new factory that will create employment for an additional 600 people.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman yesterday, Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey President Alpaslan Korkmaz said AREVA has steered itself toward Turkey because his agency provides them with free land for their investments. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

Former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Primakov, currently the president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is on a visit to Turkey to seek for business opportunities between the two countries.

Commercial relations are already at a high level because Russia is Turkey’s main natural gas provider and Russian tourists spend $2 billion annually in Turkey. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

İstanbul had the greatest share of total exports and imports in Turkey in the first quarter of this year, according to data from the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat.

Fifty-six percent of Turkey’s total foreign trade volume in the first three months of 2008 was generated in İstanbul, with $18.6 billion in exports and $27.4 billion in imports. Bursa followed İstanbul in exports with $3.1 billion. Exports from Kocaeli hit $2.1 billion, while exports from İzmir were $1.8 billion. Ankara saw $1.3 billion in exports in the first quarter of 2008. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

U.S.-based information company Cisco is about to implement its “Venture Capital Initiative” fund in Turkey, which aims to help high technology firms step up and enter the global arena.

This new fund will provide access for Turkish companies to approximately 10 million euros. The initiative will help small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey to grow and open up to the global market, Kaan Terzioğlu, Cisco’s vice president for Central and Eastern Europe, said Sunday. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

Ford Otomotiv, Ford Motor’s Turkish joint venture, said first-quarter profit more than doubled as exports surged. Net income rose to YTL 167.9 million ($136 million) from YTL 80.8 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Sales rose 28 percent to YTL 2.02 billion.

Ford Otomotiv, which exports more than 78 percent of its vehicles, benefited from the YTL’s 12 percent loss against the dollar in the quarter as manufacturing costs declined. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

The 3rd International Iraq Fair, jointly organized by the Iraqi Trade Ministry and Chamber of Industry of Gaziantep (GSO), with the support of Turkey’s Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade and Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), will open its doors on Thursday.

Numerous businessmen from Europe, Africa, Far East and Middle East is expected to attend the fair that will host 800 companies from 30 countries in Gaziantep province. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

Danone opened its new Yeniköy milk production facility yesterday in Tekirdağ’s Lüleburgaz district with the attendance of its promotional representative, France’s legendary soccer player Zinedine Zidane.

Danone Group CEO Frank Riboud said in his speech at the opening ceremony that Turkey is a very significant market for the company. “We are a French company, but we are Turkish in Turkey. We accept ourselves as a part of the country that we are operating in,” he noted, adding that Danone is expanding rapidly in this country. Their target is not limited to growing continuously worldwide but to contributing to society with meaningful projects, said Riboud. (more…)

Posted by meb at May 21st, 2008

The total assets of Turkey’s financial sector grew by 15 percent to YTL 768.6 billion in 2007 over the preceding year, according to a report released yesterday by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK)

The BDDK’s Financial Stability Report for 2007 noted that despite all fiscal measures that were taken in the United States, the US economy had fallen into a slight recession; however, the report stated that the slowdown in euro zone economies, which are more important for the Turkish economy, is not as serious or disruptive. In emerging economies growth continued in the second half of 2007 despite declines in growth rates. (more…)