Turkey Financial News

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…)

Posted by meb at March 6th, 2009

Jean-Philippe Collin, the CEO of French automotive giant Peugeot, has announced that the company is preparing to invest in Turkey as part of a new project. Speaking at the Geneva Auto Fair on Wednesday, Collin said they were planning to manufacture a new car model and had already started conducting research and development.

“We plan to invest in Turkey for a new compact sedan model. There are some problems in financing the project, and we will accelerate our studies as soon as we find enough money,” he said. (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…)