Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2009

The U.S. Air Force said on Tuesday that it has modified a $797 million contract with Lockheed Martin Corp that covers the purchase of fighter jets by the Turkish government, AP reported.

Under the change, Lockheed will provide 14 F-16C variants and 16 F16D models for Turkey. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2009

Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkey’s national air carrier, will initiate flights between the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir and the Belgian capital of Brussels, Turkey’s Civil Aviation Directorate said on Tuesday. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2009

Two major tire manufacturers halted production in Turkey on Tuesday due to problems stemming from the ongoing global financial crisis.

Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı Tire Manufacturing and Trading Inc, a joint venture between Bridgestone Corporation of Japan, one the world’s largest manufacturers of tires, and the Sabancı Group, Turkey’s leading industrial conglomerate, halted production at their two plants in Kocaeli. Pirelli, the world’s leading tire manufacturer, also suspended production in their Kocaeli plant. Manufacturing will be halted for a week at the two Brisa factories. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 25th, 2009

Turkey’s first high-speed train service will begin on March 13. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will inaugurate high-speed train that will make eight round trips a day between the capital city Ankara and central city of Eskişehir.

High-speed train trip will take 1 hour and 20 minutes on the nearly 210-kilometer line between the two cities.

Each train sets has the capacity to carry 419 passengers at a time. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2009

Customs authorities will implement a joint pilot program at Turkey’s Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports and Russia’s Minokova airport that would assist in the freer movement of goods to Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici said on Thursday.

Problems with customs transactions between the two countries have existed for almost a year and officials from both countries carried out intense studies in order to put an end to the ongoing conflict, Yazici said at a press conference. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2009

Five companies, including U.S. auto parts giant Gates, Turkish-Dutch joint venture Cappadocia Textile and Italian automotive electronics giant Eldor have announced plans to build plants in Turkey’s Aegean province of Izmir before the end of 2010.

The new investments are expected to create 3,000 new job opportunities, the Anatolian Agency reported.

Turkey has started to receive offers of major investments after tax incentives were resumed and promotional activities took place overseas, the president of the Executive Board of the Aegean Free Zone Development and Operating Company (ESBAS), Kaya Tuncer, told to the agency. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2009

Turkish Central Bank cut its borrowing and lending rates by 150 basis points more than expectations, the Monetary Police Committee said in its post-meeting statement on Thursday.

The bank decided to cut borrowing rate by 150 basis points to 11.5 percent; and its lending rate by 150 basis points to 14 percent to boost slowing growth. Economists had forecasted the bank to reduce its rates by 50 basis points.

“The Committee decided to cut short-term interest rates by 150 basis points on the assessment that the year-end inflation rate will significantly be lower than the target,” the post-meeting statement said. (more…)

Posted by meb at February 19th, 2009

Most world markets, including the İstanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB), dipped well into negative territory on Wednesday as fears drove investors increasingly in the direction of safe-haven investments.

Much of the fear has been brought on by a growing realization that the global crisis has yet to peak. After closing Tuesday’s session a whopping 4.09 percent down, the İMKB closed its first session yesterday down by a further 2.10 percent, and in mid-afternoon trading was down by 3.09 percent from the previous day’s close at 23,168 points. (more…)