Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at April 19th, 2011

Turkey’s Competition Board has fined 15 Turkish automotive companies a total of 277.4 million Turkish Liras for violating antitrust laws by holding talks on future pricing and their inventories.

Local Ford Otomotiv was sentenced to the highest fine, 68.8 million liras, while Tofaş, the domestic maker of Italian Fiat cars, followed with 47.8 million liras.

Top executives from the producers and sellers continued to defend themselves until a final hearing last week in Ankara.

The board finalized its investigation on 23 companies Tuesday.

One of the main pieces of evidence the board mentioned during the last hearing was an inter-company email from a Nissan executive that asked: “Have you talked with the competitors? What will they do?” (more…)

Posted by meb at April 15th, 2011

Turkish Airlines has launched direct Istanbul-Arbil flights, the latest sign of the developing relations between Turkey and the Regional Kurdish Administration in northern Iraq. Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek welcomed Iraqi Kurds at a ceremony in Arbil, saying in Kurdish, ‘We have been brothers for a thousand years. No one can destroy this!

Northern Iraq, on what was once one of the most disputed Turkish borders, is closer to Turkey than ever in both economic and political terms. Speaking in Kurdish during a visit Thursday, the Turkish finance minister reiterated the ruling government’s support fro the Iraqi Kurdish region. (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 14th, 2009

Following the end of extended tax reductions for motor vehicles on Sept. 30, the government is expecting to keep the lights on at the Turkish automotive industry with a different version of incentives.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, officials from the Finance Ministry said the government could introduce incentives for the replacement of old vehicles with new ones. Having initially introduced tax cuts on motor vehicles on March 16 for a period of three months, the government decided to extend the terms for another three months on June 15. The private consumption tax (ÖTV) on motor vehicles with engines of up to 1,600 cubic centimeters was set at 27 percent, while the tax on commercial vehicles was changed to 3 percent. Extended for a second time, the tax incentives are due to expire at the end of September.

Noting that they have studied examples of incentives for old vehicles in foreign markets, the Finance Ministry officials said the government could consider introducing such incentives in the coming months, expecting to keep the recovery going in the auto industry. Encouraged by recent tax cuts, the Turkish auto sector has enjoyed a remarkable increase in sales. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 25th, 2009

Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) will purchase five new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the company said in a statement issued to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

The aircraft will be delivered one a month starting from October 2010 through to February 2011, the company said. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 16th, 2009

Turkish carmakers, including Tofas Turk, a joint venture between Italy’s Fiat and local group Koc and commercial vehicle maker Karsan, gained in Istanbul trading as the new stimulus package, including tax cuts on new vehicles, takes affect on Monday.

Tofas advanced the most in nine weeks, adding more than 5 percent in the first trading session later lost its early gains and closed 1.5 percent, while Karsan gained the most in four months, up nearly 14 percent. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 10th, 2009

The unemployment rate in Bursa, Turkey’s car manufacturing hub, has reached a new high, with 13,773 losing their jobs in just the first two months of 2009.

Several major car manufacturers and auto parts producers, such as Tofaş, Oyak-Renault and Bosch, operate in Bursa and export around 80 percent of their goods. The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions’ (Türk-İş) representative in Bursa, Mehmet Kanca, said Tuesday that the increasing unemployment in the city is “worrisome,” adding: “In the final quarter of 2008, the crisis really started to sink its teeth into Turkish markets, in particular. Around 56,700 employees lost their jobs in Bursa, and only 7,815 new employees were hired that whole year.” (more…)