Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at October 19th, 2009

The Turkish economy has registered superb improvement in competitiveness in recent years and proven its potential as a magnet for international investors, world-renowned strategist Professor Michael Porter has said. Addressing a group of businessmen and reporters on Saturday at a conference organized by İşTcell, a Turkcell brand directed at corporate customers, Porter, director of Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, said that if Turkey were traded on the stock market, he would definitely make an equity investment in the country.

During the first part of his speech, Porter described the major premises of creating strategies and determining and developing a competitive approach and the role of leaders in the competitiveness of a company. He also shared his views on possible strategies that may be adopted during times of economic crisis. He devoted the second part of his speech to discussing Turkey’s economic strategies, including an in-depth analysis of the business world’s role in these strategies. (more…)

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 2nd, 2009

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is eyeing the growing Turkish market, deputy chief executive Alexander Medvedev told business daily Referans, adding that the firm might invest in the natural gas distribution and electricity production markets.

Gazprom aims to build and operate a center with the Aksa Group, a Turkish energy producer and supplier, in order to sell gas directly to Aksa once Turkey changes regulations that prevent such sales, Medvedev said.

Detailing the company’s negotiations with Botaş, the state-owned Turkish pipeline company, Medvedev said a volume discount in the context of the “purchase or pay” model is being discussed, but no official negotiations have started yet over the issue.

“We have reached an agreement on the political aspects of the Blue Stream-2 project,” said Medvedev. Speaking on Gazprom’s plans for the Turkish market, Medvedev pointed toward current legislative problems. (more…)

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 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 July 17th, 2009

Best Buy, the largest US consumer electronics retailer, will enter the Turkish market in October.

As part of the company’s expansion plans, Best Buy will open its first store in the western province of İzmir. The US company plans to open two more stores by the end of the first quarter of 2010, one in the capital city of Ankara and the other in another western province, Bursa. TeknoSA, Turkey’s largest consumer electronics retailer, has over 220 stores spread throughout 67 cities in Turkey and employs over 3,000 people. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 29th, 2009

Turkey’s Borusan Holding and Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW), the third largest energy company in Germany, have entered a 50 percent partnership with an eye to taking a share of the Turkish energy sector.

Within this partnership, Borusan and EnBW will first direct their investments toward generating 1,000 megawatts of energy in Turkey. The two companies aim to generate 2,000 megawatts in total, particularly through renewable resources. (more…)