Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 1st, 2008

Turkey has scored yet another major investment, totaling nearly $9 billion, from a major Gulf investment fund despite the ongoing turbulence in the global financial markets.

Turkish officials were quick to portray the investment as a vote of confidence and a sign of the success of Turkey’s economy in recent years. “We punched through the face of the crisis,” senior executives of the fund said. The investment is primarily focused on the agricultural industry in Turkey, particularly the multi-billion dollar Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), officials said.

Vision3, a strategic alliance between Ithmaar Bank B.S.C., Abu Dhabi Investment House and Gulf Finance House — all globally respected financial institutions in the Gulf region — signed an agreement yesterday with the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 1st, 2008

One of Italy’s largest textile, retail, and real estate companies, has decided on a 100 million euro investment in Turkey, reported the Ekonomist magazine.

The company, Fingen, is still working on buying land on the European-side of Istanbul for an outlet center, which will feature many high-end brands, such as Gucci, Prada, Guess and Valentino.

The real estate arm of the Italian company, RDM, will begin development of the outlet center in 2009 and Fingen will start operating the center in 2010. The outlet, which will be built over 150,000 square meters in a single story resort style, will be the first of its kind in Turkey with high-end brands and a central location, according to the company.

Fingen, the owner of some of Italy and Europe’s largest outlet centers such as Palazzo Mattci, Barberino Designer Outlet and Castel Romano, is also looking to bring Tie Rack, also owned by the company, to Turkey. Meetings for the franchising deal are still on-going. The company plans to grow both its retail and real estate business in Turkey. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 31st, 2008

LUKOIL, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, has raised a three-year $250 million loan at 6.5 percent from a group of banks to finance its purchase of Turkish petrol retailer Akpet, it said on Friday.

The lenders were ABN Amro, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Capital, Dresdner Kleinwort, ING and West LB.

LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov said at the time the acquisition was announced that the price was $500 million. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 31st, 2008

Vision3, a Gulf investment fund made up of three financial institutions, has signed an agreement of intent with Turkey to invest 6 billion USD.

The fund consists of Ithmaar Bank B.S.C., Abu Dhabi Investment House and Gulf Finance House under the umbrella of a project called Vision3 to invest in agriculture and infrastructure. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 30th, 2008

Italian pharmaceuticals company Recordati has signed an agreement to acquire Yeni İlaç, a Turkish pharmaceutical company, for 48 million euros.

In a statement yesterday Recordati noted that the purchase price will come from its own funds. The completion of the transaction, expected to take place before the end of 2008, is subject to the clearance of the relevant competition authorities, the statement stated.

Founded in 1927, Yeni İlaç is a well-known Turkish pharmaceutical company dedicated to the production, marketing and sales of both proprietary and licensed drugs. Its products are well known and the company has a leading market position in the area of urology. The company is also engaged in contract manufacturing for other pharmaceutical companies. Yeni İlaç has 300 employees, around 100 of whom are medical representatives. The company has a solid financial infrastructure and is growing. Sales have increased consistently over recent years and in 2008 are expected to be around 17 million euros. The Turkish pharmaceutical market is 13th worldwide and is continuously expanding, with a growth rate of over 15 percent in recent years, due to the growth and increasing average age of its population within a national economic context, which has a growing gross domestic product (GDP) and where healthcare expenditures are still relatively low. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 29th, 2008

Despite the ongoing global financial crisis, the Hilton Family hotel chain is planning to add an additional 40 hotels to its Turkish portfolio, which currently has only seven hotels in Turkey.

Citing a lack of international hotels providing world-class service in the Turkish hotel sector, senior Hilton executives unveiled the group’s plans yesterday morning during a breakfast at the Hilton İstanbul. Hilton executives, including Mike Collini, vice president of development for Northern Europe, Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president of development for Europe and Africa, and Didier Martin, vice president for Eastern Europe and Turkey, drove home the message that Turkey has the brightest future for hotel growth in Europe at this time. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 24th, 2008

Turkey’s Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at more than four times the rate in the euro region to defend the Turkish lira, or YTL, as emerging market currencies tumble worldwide.

The Central Bank in Ankara kept its overnight borrowing rate at 16.75 percent, according to an e-mailed statement late Wednesday. The Bank will release minutes of the meeting within eight working days.

YTL dropped to its lowest level against the dollar since June 2006 today as the global financial crisis led investors to withdraw from high-yielding emerging market assets. The currency has lost almost 30 percent of its value against the dollar since Aug. 1. Hungary’s Central Bank Wednesday raised its main rate to 11.5 percent from 8.5 percent to defend its currency. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 22nd, 2008

Dutch insurer Aegon, which acquired Turkey’s Ankara Emeklilik, entered the Turkish life insurance and pension market on Wednesday.

Aegon’s chief executive officer Gabor Kepecs said the company was aiming to be among the top five insurance companies for news sales in the coming five years, Anatolian Agency reported.

“I have a target to be in the top five for the new sales in the coming five years. I will prove that this can be achieved with a good administration team,” he said. (more…)