Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at October 19th, 2009

The Turkish Investment Summit opens at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London on Tuesday.

The three-day program will provide plenty of time for social networking, acquiring new contacts and discussing business with potential partners and clients.

Organized by the Turkish Embassy in London and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Turkish Investment Summit will provide an in-depth look into the global and domestic outlook for Turkey, including a spotlight on European Union accession. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 5th, 2009

Discussed for months but never detailed, key points of a government plan to turn Istanbul into a global financial center were finally revealed by a top minister on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference organized as part of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Istanbul would soon become “a significant and prominent financial center.” Babacan tied the effort to the “void” created by the global financial crisis.

“Istanbul is the natural finance center of Turkey,” he told journalists. “We need to increase its competitive power regionally and globally. The competitive strength of our economy is very important.”

The project “Istanbul International Financial Center,” or IFC Istanbul, is included in the ninth development plan covering 2007-2013.

“In this action plan, in order to have Istanbul as a global finance center, priorities have been determined to build a legal infrastructure that operates on international standards, to increase diversity of financial products and services and to develop a simple and effective system,” said Babacan. “We need to enhance our legal infrastructure.” (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…)

Posted by meb at September 10th, 2009

Turkey has been the most affected by the economic crisis, according to Germany-based Dekabank, which investigated the performances of 31 countries during the global financial crisis.

According to the report released earlier this week, China, India and Poland were the only ones that managed to turn the crisis into an opportunity. The remaining 28 economies contracted significantly.

Turkey has been affected by the crisis the most, according to the research. The country experienced the biggest decline in gross national product, or GNP, with 14.2 percent. Russia followed Turkey to rank second, with an 11 percent contraction in its GNP.

The impact of the global turmoil was also undeniable among the European Union countries. Among the EU members, Germany ranked at the top in economic contractions, followed by Hungary. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 8th, 2009

Doğan Yayın Holding, Doğan Group’s conglomerate in the publication business that runs newspapers like Hürriyet, Milliyet, numerous magazines and TV channels, sustained the record amount of tax fine, the highest ever imposed on a Turkish company

The Finance Ministry inflicted a grueling fine of TL 3.76 billion ($2.53 billion) to the company for evading tax regarding its accounts for a time period covering 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The harsh blow of the record fine was due to the findings of investigations by controllers that the Doğan companies concealed the profits that stemmed from the share transfers among the partners and avoided to pay the Corporate Tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) on the revenues from the share transfers.

The investigation reports also asserted that the fines didn’t include the penalties for delaying the payments of these debts, which will later be calculated and added to the total amount. The calculation of the delay penalty will start from 2005 and will cover the time period until the projected time of the clearance of the debts. This is estimated to create a tremendous cost on the company considering that the rate of default penalty is monthly 2.5 percent for 2009 alone. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 27th, 2009

The İstanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) plans to hold a Turkish export goods fair in Qatar, in an effort to diversify Turkey’s export markets and create new business opportunities.

Releasing a written statement Sunday, İTO said more than 200 Turkish companies operating in sectors ranging from furniture to construction, cosmetics to food, will attend the fair, to be held in Qatar between Sept. 3 to 6 in a 15,000-square-meter exhibition area.

Commenting on the fair Sunday in İstanbul, İTO Chairman Murat Yalçıntaş said they were pleased to be holding a fair with such a wide range of products for the first time in Qatar, the rising star of the Gulf. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 27th, 2009

Turkey is making an effort to boost relations with the United Arab Emirates.

The Turkish ambassador to the UAE, Hakkı Akil, told the Anatolia news agency correspondent on Sunday that there had been great progress in military, economic and cultural relations between the two countries in the past seven years.

“Between 2002 and 2009, our country’s foreign trade volume rose 800 percent. Today it is worth $9 billion. United Arab Emirates is the third largest exporter for Turkey. Our business volume has also been enlarging non-stop. Turkish companies assumed projects worth $5.3 billion dollars in this country during the past three years,” he said.

Business volume between the two countries will continue to increase in the upcoming years, said Akil. These improved relations will not be just economy related, he said. Within the framework of memorandum of understanding signed by both countries, Middle East Technical University and Istanbul technical University are going to establish campuses in Abu Dhabi, the capital and the second largest city in the UAE, he said. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 27th, 2009

Neighboring Iran is slowly but surely opening up to the world, welcoming foreign investors with attractive incentives. Many Turkish companies are rediscovering Iran’s low costs and tax advantages, but some businesspeople fear the situation could develop into a transfer of investments from Turkey to Iran

Vehicles with Turkish license plates, people speaking Turkish and investment zones and incentives being created solely for Turks are just a few of the signs indicating that Iran is drawing closer to its northwestern neighbor.

The changing face of Iran brings both opportunities and risks for Turkey. As the country slowly opens its doors up to the world, investment opportunities create a new market for Turkish companies. But Iran’s attempts to draw Turkish companies with attractive incentives may divert investments there, as some Turkish firms contemplate moving to Iran altogether.

A 30-hour road trip that passes through Tokat, Erzurum, Erzincan and Ağrı takes a Turkish traveler from Istanbul into Iran through the Gürbulak border gate.

The change in Iran can be observed in figures: since 2002, the country has drawn $35 billion in foreign investment, attracting it mainly through incentives and changes to the law. The government has put great emphasis on foreign investments in the oil, natural gas and petrochemical sectors, among others, insures those who receive foreign-capital licenses so that an investor whose plant is shut down in an extraordinary situation such as a war would be paid back the amount of its investment. (more…)