Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at October 25th, 2008

Heat insulation regulations, which aim to make savings by reducing the amount of energy used for heating, have been revived and will be put into effect starting Nov. 1, said Kubilay Ulu, the head of the Heat Insulation Industrialists’ Association.

The heat insulation projects of new buildings and modifications in existing buildings must be carried out according to the standards of the TS 825 regulations, said Ulu, adding that this situation in turn would pave the way for more efficient energy use. Residents in buildings that are heated with room heaters will have to install insulation between both the walls and floors, according to the new standard, said Ulu. Residents will also have to use insulated windows from now on according to the new standard, he added. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 18th, 2008

The officials of economy-related ministries have completed a draft set of regulations to provide a guarantee to foreigners that they will face few obstacles if they transfer funds into Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday.

The officials plan to present the draft to the Cabinet for approval shortly. Under the proposed legislation, the government will apply three different deduction rates to money transfers from abroad to encourage foreigners to bring capital into the country. These deductions will allow them to bring in an unlimited amount of capital without facing questions into the source the money. Foreign nationals will have three months to declare their intention to bring their cash holdings into the country. The three-month period will begin when the law is promulgated and published in the Official Gazette. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 12th, 2008

A soon-to-be-finalized free trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is causing concern for Turkey, as its market will be indirectly opened to South Korean products due to its customs union agreement with the EU.

Any country that signs a free trade agreement with the EU enjoys tariff-free access to the Turkish market, a one-way trade that works to the disadvantage of Turkish producers, According to the 1996 customs union agreement.

The EU was trying to convince South Korea to sign another free trade agreement with Turkey as well, officials from Turkey’s Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade (DTM) Referans daily reported. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 8th, 2008

An agreement concluded between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Turkish Republic and ratified on June 3 by Parliament officially come into effect yesterday after being published in the Official Gazette, enabling the EIB to open branches and representative offices in Turkey.

The EIB has a special mission of extending favorable loans to support investment in European countries and in countries that are involved in the EU accession process. The bank can provide loans with repayment terms starting up to eight years after disbursement of funds and terms extending up to 30 years. (more…)

Posted by meb at September 5th, 2008

Turkish banks are preparing to transition from the new Turkish lira (YTL) to the Turkish lira (TL), a move due to start by the end of this year.

Officials from the Turkish Banks Association (TBB), speaking with the Anatolia news agency, noted that the banks will need to make all necessary changes to their systems and technical infrastructure to switch to the TL by the end of the year. The TBB assembled a group to work with bank managers and share ideas on the transition period. Should any problems emerge, they can be addressed early. Banks will be held responsible for supplying their customers with further information prior to the transition from the YTL to the TL. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 28th, 2008

Foreign investors have been pleased with the announcement that Turkey will scrap 700,000 tractors that are over 20 years old, a measure that has been ordered by the government.

Fazlı Özaltın, vice president of the Turkish Farming Devices Manufacturers Assembly, told the Anatolia news agency that the Industry and Commerce Ministry has started work on scrapping the old tractors. “Some Turkish farmers had been using the same tractors for 53 years, and they still use very old ones. The tractors that Turkish farmers use are relatively old when compared to those in Europe,” Özaltın noted. Underlining that a great demand will emerge in the Turkish tractor market with the handover of 700,000 old tractors, Özaltın asserted that for this reason alone more than 30 foreign companies had decided to invest in Turkey in the last two years. “They want to profit from this situation in Turkey,” he said, referring to foreign investors. (more…)

Posted by meb at August 20th, 2008

New incentives for encouraging job creation and helping Turkey’s poorest regions could be implemented by as early as 2009.

In addition to the already announced 5 percent cut in payroll taxes, the government is also planning to cover training costs and help companies with investment and borrowing. There will also be assistance for textiles companies that want to relocate their production to Turkey’s east and southeast. (more…)

Posted by meb at July 10th, 2008

News in the foreign press pertaining to Turkey’s real estate sector experienced a surge in the aftermath of the approval of a bill by Parliament on July 5 that regulates property sales to foreigners. The attention paid to Turkey’s real estate sector, which is characterized by low prices, has been increasing, wrote British newspaper The Times, adding that prices in the sector are expected to skyrocket if Turkey manages to join the European Union.

“It is possible to purchase a property on Turkish shores at a relatively low price of 35,000 sterling (pounds). Does this sound attractive to you?” wrote the paper. “A clever couple can buy a property with a little amount of deposit and with two credit cards. Credit-card companies provide the opportunity of zero interest rates for 15 months period for those with high credit rankings,” The Times wrote. (more…)