Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at September 24th, 2009

General Electric, or GE, a global media, technology, services and manufacturing company, has begun to invest in future technologies at its engine-parts division in Turkey’s northwestern city of Eskişehir, according to a GE executive.

The firm will produce new compressor-wing technologies only in Turkey, said GE Turkey Managing Director Kürşat Özkan. The investment totals nearly $50 million, he added.

Speaking about the global crisis and its impacts, Özkan said that GE will continue its activities in Turkey. “We have started investing in future technologies here in our Eskişehir division, although there is a capacity surplus in the world. New compressor-wing technologies will be produced only in Turkey.”

The firm has already started developing some of its production technologies in Turkey, he said, adding, “It may not sound reasonable to make such a manufacturing investment in a period marked with demand contraction in the market, but we will have positioned ourselves once the market demand returns.” (more…)

Posted by meb at September 24th, 2009

Economy Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday that talks between Turkey and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a stand-by agreement are still under way and that some adjustments can be made to a recently announced medium-term economic program if an agreement is reached with the IMF.

Delivering a speech at the International Economic Alliance’s Global Investment Symposium in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly and a G-20 summit in Pittsburg scheduled for Sept. 24-25, Babacan briefed the participants about recent economic developments in Turkey.

Stressing that Turkey and the IMF are now more likely to sign a deal than they were three to four months ago, he noted that negotiations will continue on the basis of the government’s recently announced medium-term economic program, which focuses on putting budget balances back on track between 2010 and 2012. “If we reach an agreement over details, we can make adjustments to the program,” the minister said. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 24th, 2009

The first satellite manufactured in Turkey, created by the İstanbul Technical University (İTÜ) flight and space sciences faculty’s space engineering department, has settled into orbit around the Earth.

According to reports, Turkish satellite İTÜpSAT1, launched from Sriharikota by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at 9:21 a.m. local time yesterday on a PSLV C-14 rocket, settled into its orbital path, 720 kilometers above the surface of the earth, at 9:41 a.m. The cube-shaped satellite travels at a speed of nearly 7.5 kilometers per second, orbiting the Earth once every 90 minutes. It will take photographs of the Earth’s continents. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 24th, 2009

World stocks hit their highest in nearly 12 months on Wednesday and the dollar touched a one-year low before steadying, but investors remained cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later in the day.

The İstanbul Stock Exchange shares gained 0.89 percent following the end of the first session. Crude oil fell towards $71 a barrel, pressured by doubts over US demand after industry data showed a surprise build in crude stockpiles. The MSCI world equity index was up 0.2 percent at 291.69 points after rising to 292.08, its highest since early October last year. The FTSEurofirst index of top European shares rose 0.4 percent on the back of stronger financial stocks. The MSCI index has risen 28 percent so far this year. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 17th, 2009

Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün on Wednesday said Chinese auto maker Chery expected to establish a factory in Turkey with an initial $500 million investment.
“The firm has expressed a desire to access world markets via Turkey. They have applied to build a production base in Turkey,” Ergün told a meeting at the ongoing Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany. Two executives from Chery had visited the northwestern province of Sakarya in January to acquire land to build an automotive factory. The auto producer had commenced feasibility studies with the Turkish Mermerler Group, Chery’s current distributor in Turkey. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 17th, 2009

Turkish Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün has said Tuesday that French car maker Renault would start producing its Fluence brand in Turkey in 2010.
Speaking to reporters at the 63rd Frankfurt Auto Show, which kicked off on Tuesday, Ergün said in 2011 Renault would begin production of the electric version of this car, noting that this would be a major landmark for the Turkish auto sector.

Commenting on the electric version of the Fluence, Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan, who also attended the auto show, said this would make Turkey a base for electric car production and investment. The two ministers evaluated the latest developments in the Turkish auto sector for members of the press. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 17th, 2009

Ali Babacan, the Turkish Economy minister, announced Turkey’s much-anticipated medium-term economic plan yesterday which experts had been speculating would be focused on putting budget balances back on track between 2010 and 2012.
Although some feared that the plan might be unrealistic in its expectations, the consensus amongst pundits that Today’s Zaman spoke with was that the program is quite realistic in its outlook but has fuelled suspicions that the government may be planning to implement reforms without the input of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) stand-by agreement.

Commentators say that they find the creation of a “fiscal rule”, the legal framework of which will be announced early next year, to acheive long-term fiscal sustainability to be the most positive of the statements.

According to statements made by Babacan yesterday, the government foresees growth to contract by 6 percent by the year’s end — significantly higher than the 3.6 percent contraction envisaged earlier — before experiencing a modest rebound to 3.5 percent in 2010, 4 percent in 2011 and 5 percent in 2012. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 17th, 2009

Economy Minister Ali Babacan announces the government’s long-awaited, medium-term economic program in Ankara, emphasizing that talks with the International Monetary Fund will go on from now on based on this program. ‘IMF financing is not a must,’ he says, but notes that the difference of opinion between the government and the fund has narrowed

The Turkish government has announced plans to lower budget deficits over the next three years, saying the proposals may form the basis for a new lending accord with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.

Under the medium-term economic plan announced by Economy Minister Ali Babacan in Ankara on Wednesday, debt will rise as a proportion of economic output this year and next, before starting to decline in 2011. Future talks with the IMF may be based on the program, though Turkey doesn’t need the fund’s cash and hasn’t included it in the fiscal projections, Babacan said. (more…)