Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at January 2nd, 2009

The automotive industry in Turkey, like so many other countries throughout the world, entered a period of stagnation in the second half of 2008 as the global financial crisis, coupled with a resulting drop in demand, slowed the industry’s production lines.

Tens of thousands of workers relying on work in the sector to feed their families have lost their jobs and the gloomy situation is expected to get even worse in 2009. It is estimated that just in Bursa, a major center of auto manufacturing in Turkey, nearly 55,000 people will be laid off this year. Experts say the crisis will get even deeper in 2009 and the first positive signs will only be seen by early 2010. Many companies have already started to grant their workers temporary leave as they halt production for two-to-four-week periods. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 24th, 2008

Turkey’s shipbuilding industry has been experiencing a serious decline in production over the last four months. Erkan Selah, a leading figure of the industry, says the ‘shipyards crisis’ is due to the controversy over fatal workplace accidents in Tuzla and not the global crisis

As the global financial crisis begins to bite in Turkey, many industries have complained of its destructive effects. But for the shipbuilding industry, the crisis began much earlier and due to a very different reason, according to a top industry representative.

The crisis of Turkish shipbuilding began with “the incidents in Tuzla shipyards,” Erkan Selah, vice chairman of the Turkish Shipbuilders Association, or GİSBİR, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review in an interview last week. (more…)

Posted by meb at December 6th, 2008

The total amount of Turkish manufacturing capacity utilized in November fell by a record amount — 9.7 percent — compared to the same month last year, according to recently released figures.

The latest “Trends in the Manufacturing Sector” survey, conducted by the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat), was released yesterday, indicating that just 72.9 percent of total industrial capacity is now used. The figures were derived from the provisional results of 4,862 industrial establishments.

TurkStat cited the main reason for businesses failing to operate at full capacity as decreasing demand in the domestic market due to the negative effects of the ongoing financial turmoil in global markets. In addition, a shortage of raw materials and high energy prices have led to a decline in the utilization of industrial capacity, noted TurkStat. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 14th, 2008

A Dutch company opened a factory in the west of Turkey on Friday.

Fokker Elmo company of the Netherlands constructed a factory manufacturing aircraft cables in the Aegean province of Izmir.

Turkey’s State Minister Kursad Tuzmen inaugurated the factory in the Aegean Free Zone.

“The Fokker Elmo company have decided to invest in Turkey despite the global economic crisis, which is a big decision,” Tuzmen said during the inauguration ceremony.

The company invested some $12 million in the factory, which will employ 350 people. Leading world companies like EADS and Boeing are among the clients of Fokker Elmo. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 13th, 2008

Groupama, which owns Başak Sigorta in Turkey, is now eyeing another insurance company, Güneş Sigorta. Figures testify to the fact that Turkish insurance market promises a lot, according to Jean François Lemoux, managing director of Groupama

Groupama eyes growth Despite the global turmoil, Turkey remains an attractive market for insurance companies. “Turkey is our third largest international market,” said Jean François Lemoux, the managing director of Groupama International which owns Turkey’s Başak Sigorta, yesterday. The French manager also revealed the company’s interest in acquiring another insurance company.

“Turkey’s insurance market has grown 7 percent since 2002. Premiums grew 25 percent in the same period. While the total amount of insurance premiums stood at 2.3 billion euros in 2002, it reached 5.6 billion euros in 2007. These figures show there is great potential in Turkey,” Lemoux told journalists in Istanbul. (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…)

Posted by meb at September 2nd, 2008

Turkish bank Yapi Kredi has narrowed the list of potential buyers of its Yapi Kredi Sigorta insurance operations, Dow Jones reported on Monday citing people familiar with the matter.Italy’s Assicurazioni Generali SpA and Zurich Financial Services were the two companies still in the frame to acquire the assets, the report said citing two unnamed sources.

Other sources had said previously that offers could be in the range of 600 million to 800 million euros and that the sales process was expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter.

Yapi Kredi Bank, one of Turkey’s largest private banks, is owned by Italy’s UniCredit SpA and Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding owns the majority of the insurance company, had hired Merrill Lynch and Unicredit CAIB as advisors to help it reorganize its operations in the insurance sector. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 27th, 2008

Zurich Financial Services, which purchased Turkish general insurer TEB Sigorta at the beginning of the year, has finalized a campaign to promote the name change as of yesterday. The company will operate in Turkey as “Zurich Sigorta” from now on.

“We are an insurance company whose aim is not to follow the market, but to lead the market in every country that we operate. We also aim for permanent, consistent and a high level of profitability,” Lutz Bauer, Zurich Financial Services Central and Eastern Europe chief executive, told members of the press in Istanbul yesterday. (more…)