Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 29th, 2008

A tender for the 3G mobile communication system ended yesterday with the participation of Turkey’s three GSM operators, bringing a total of 822 million euros into the Treasury with another 148 million euros going to the Finance Ministry as the value-added tax (KDV).

This extra revenue is expected to increase confidence in Turkish markets and improve the budget balance.

Despite some pessimism that the tender would not achieve the expected returns and the prospect that it might have been postponed again due to a lack of demand, the result was a success amid the global financial crisis which has rendered it difficult for companies to find credit to finance their bids. The mobile operators that shared the 3G licenses in yesterday’s standoff announced they would pay the amount as a lump sum.

The tender marked the dawn of a new era in mobile communication technology, as the introduction of 3G will bring a number of novelties such as visual communication, watching TV on phones and much faster Internet connections. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 29th, 2008

The French Development Agency (AFD) signed an agreement with Denizbank yesterday in İstanbul to provide 80 million euros in long-term credit to support municipal projects around the country.

Under the structure of the agreement, Denizbank will have to repay the credit within 12 years, and disbursements to various municipal governments need to be made over a four-year period. The financing is to go towards water, waste transportation and sanitation projects. The criteria on which financing will be provided will have a heavy focus on ecological components.

Significantly, the project specifies that a minimum of 60 percent of the 80 million euro credit will be allocated to smaller municipalities, which are often overlooked by financing projects. The agreement further stipulates that the maximum amount that is to be spent per project is 5 million euros, so as to maximize the number of projects that are to benefit. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 29th, 2008

Turkish automotive market sales are expected to shrink 20 percent next year in response to the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, the head of a Turkish automotive association said on Friday.

Turkey’s car industry, which has grown dramatically since a 2001 financial crisis, has not been spared the dramatic global downturn and easing access to credit is crucial in keeping the wheels of industry turning, said Ibrahim Aybar, chairman of the Turkish Automotive Distributors’ Association.

“The issue is how we can keep the domestic market alive. The first thing will be easing credit facilities and secondly some supportive actions,” Aybar said on the sidelines of an automotive conference in Istanbul. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

Hungary’s prime minister said he is hopeful that talks over a pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Caucasus to Western markets will resume smoothly soon.

Talks for the project have been hindered by Turkey’s request to be entitled to 15 percent of the gas flowing through the Nabucco pipeline. The European Union says Turkey must pay the normal transit fee.

Turkey’s position on the issue was “responsible and flexible”, Ferenc Gyurcsany was quoted by AP as telling at a joint news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Gyurcsany said he was hopeful an accord would be signed.

The pipeline aims to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russia and is planned to run from the Caspian Sea across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

Iraq’s oil ministry and the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq have agreed to export oil from the Iraqi Kurdish lands to Turkey, an Oil Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

The initial agreement represents a breakthrough in a dispute between the two Iraqi authorities. Disagreement between the Baghdad central government and the Kurdish regional administration has held up development of oilfields for export.

“There has been an initial agreement to export Iraqi oil from the Tawke oil field,” Iraqi Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad told Reuters.

The Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq announced Wednesday it would export crude oil for the first time next year. The oil will be exported from two fields in northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, a Kurdish oil official, Ashti Hawrami, told AP. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

Saudi Arabian Transportation Minister Jubarah Suraysri said on Wednesday that there is a positive atmosphere to boost commerce between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at a meeting of the Turkish-Saudi Arabian Business Council in İstanbul, Suraysri stressed that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia possessed the political will and the necessary economic conditions to promote commercial links. “There is the right climate for boosting trade among Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The private sector in both countries is very strong and presents many opportunities,” Suraysri said. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

Turkish and Iranian officials signed a protocol at the 20th Turkey-Iran Joint Economic Commission meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, an indication of increased cooperation during the global economic crisis.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Economy Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the protocol would improve relations between Turkey and Iran. “The two countries should boost bilateral cooperation in order to overcome the global economic crisis,” he said.

The minister noted that Turkey and Iran, as heirs of two deep-rooted neighbor civilizations, have been getting along well and living in peace. Regarding the ongoing global financial turmoil, Şimşek said the crisis has started to affect the two countries but that Turkey and Iran had the potential to overcome the crisis by sharing their experiences. “We should show the determination to cooperate more to unite our powers, increasing trade relations and mutual investments,” he noted, adding that trade volume between Turkey and Iran amounted to $8.3 billion in the first nine months of 2008 and that it would probably reach $11 billion by the end of this year. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 28th, 2008

The government is planning to bring about a corporate tax exemption for company mergers for up to two years as an attempt to encourage such cooperation in its economic package, which aims to protect the Turkish non-financial sectors from the global financial crisis.

Citing anonymous sources, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday that the economic package will include a number of radical policy changes and measures. One of the most important steps the package will introduce will be temporarily exempting mergers from corporate taxes. Since the financial structures of many companies have deteriorated greatly due to the financial crisis, the government is aiming to make it easier and more attractive for companies to merge their businesses instead of filing for bankruptcy. In the current system, the collection of the corporate tax is postponed until the bankrupted or merged company is liquidated completely. Economy officials have not determined the duration of the exemption during which the merged companies will not pay corporate taxes, but they are contemplating one-year or two- year options. (more…)