Gulf company enters Turkey with Demas International
Posted by meb at July 18th, 2008
Gulftainer, the second biggest port operator in the United Arab Emirates, has acquired a 50 percent share of the Turkish logistics company Demas International for 10 million euros.
Demas International, a freight company providing services in land, air, sea and rail transportation, is affiliated with Sedef Holding, whose majority share in Demas was owned by Demir Sabancı.
Murat Kavrar, general manager of Demas International, spoke yesterday at a press conference in Istanbul held to announce the deal with Gulftainer. He said Gulftainer specializes in logistics, adding that it is active in many countries and has strong trade relations with Turkey. The company also operates in several other sectors, ranging from retail sales of electronics to aviation and plastic packaging to the insurance business, he noted.
Gulftainer General Manager Peter Richards also participated in the press conference, noting that Gulftainer was founded in the emirate of Sharjah in 1976 with the purpose of operating and controlling container terminals. He stated that the company has entered Turkey in order to expand its scope of activities and to assess the vast opportunities Turkey offers to foreign investors.
Gulftainer has been operating in Kuwait, Pakistan and the Comoros Islands in East Africa. Gulftainer’s Khorfakkan Container Terminal was selected three times as the terminal with the fastest service. The terminal normally handles 2 million containers each year, with this figure expected to rise to 2.5 million in 2008. Furthermore, the company plans to invest $350 million for an enlargement project at the port.
Richards pointed out that it has been a great advantage for Gulftainer to observe and anticipate the developments in Europe and establish its warehouses accordingly. “We plan for Turkey to be a base for us and to expand in other markets. We believe that this company and this country will prove beneficial to all of us,” he noted. He said the company has wanted to play a significant role in the development of Iraq and to make investments in the country by determining the new trends in the world.
source: Today’s Zaman
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