Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at April 21st, 2011

Istanbul ranks among the poorest cities in Turkey by means of sustainability and habitability, according to a new survey. Eskişehir, Kayseri and Konya in Central Anatolia and the northwestern province of Bursa are the rising stars, the survey said.

In today’s global world it is cities and regions that compete, not the countries, said Mete Güney, general manager of MasterCard Southeastern Europe, during a Wednesday press conference to reveal the results of the survey.

“Under such conditions, evaluating the current situations in economic, social and environmental dimensions is crucial for cities to build their sustainable development plans,” he said. The survey was organized by MasterCard and Turkey’s Boğaziçi University.

The study is a result of data on 81 provinces in Turkey and surveys with business people from 29 specific cities. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 19th, 2011

A survey conducted among the 500 leading export and import firms in Turkey has shown that the export sector’s expectations for the future have improved by a large margin as a strong indicator of optimism.

According to the Foreign Trade Expectations Survey conducted by the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (DTM) the Expectation Index both for exports and imports are up for the second quarter of this year. The Export Expectation index has gone up by 20.2 points, while the import expectation index climbed by 15.4 points quarter-on-quarter. Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan shared the findings of the survey with the media on Monday in Ankara.

According to Çağlayan, the study showed that the first quarter’s export expectation index of 122.7 increased to 142.9 for the second quarter this year. Any value above, below or equal to 100 represents an upward expectation, lower expectation and neutral expectation, respectively. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 19th, 2011

The Turkish Central Bank will probably keep its benchmark interest rates at a record low until year-end and may extend higher reserve requirements for banks into 2013, according to Istanbul-based Türk Ekonomi Bankası, or TEB.

The Central Bank has cut interest rates by 75 basis points since December to help slow capital inflows, while increasing reserve requirements to cap growth in loans and contain the current-account deficit. The bank last increased the reserve requirement for one-month deposits to 15 percent from 10 percent on March 23. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 19th, 2011

Swedish telecommunications operator TeliaSonera is going to stick with Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator where it holds a 38 percent stake and who is now trying to get more independent directors appointed to the board, Chief Executive Officer Lars Nyberg said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

“If you, as the biggest owner, consider leaving because a company is going through some difficulties, you are then more of a short term investor,” Nyberg said. “TeliaSonera is a telecom operator, we love this asset and we intend to keep it.” (more…)

Posted by meb at April 19th, 2011

Turkey’s Competition Board has fined 15 Turkish automotive companies a total of 277.4 million Turkish Liras for violating antitrust laws by holding talks on future pricing and their inventories.

Local Ford Otomotiv was sentenced to the highest fine, 68.8 million liras, while Tofaş, the domestic maker of Italian Fiat cars, followed with 47.8 million liras.

Top executives from the producers and sellers continued to defend themselves until a final hearing last week in Ankara.

The board finalized its investigation on 23 companies Tuesday.

One of the main pieces of evidence the board mentioned during the last hearing was an inter-company email from a Nissan executive that asked: “Have you talked with the competitors? What will they do?” (more…)

Posted by meb at April 15th, 2011

Social networking site Facebook is the most popular website among Turkish youth, used by 99 percent of Turkish children, according to a report released by the Internet Foundation on Wednesday.

Jointly conducted by the Internet Foundation, Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) and the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK), the report revealed that all children, aged 9-16, who participated in the study were Facebook users. Titled “Children’s Habits in Using Social Networking Sites,” the report also indicated that 38.4 percent of children use the Internet once-a-day, 30 percent use it more than once per day and 23 percent are online more than once a week. (more…)

Posted by meb at April 15th, 2011

The U.S.-based Abercrombie&Fitch, a clothing retailer known for having half-naked male shop assistants greet customers at the door of its New York City branch, and its subsidiary Hollister are looking for the right place to open their first store in Istanbul.

The two brands are searching to secure space at İstinye Park, a stylish shopping mall in the city’s Maslak district.

The brands aim to open their first store after the end of 2012, Hakan Kurt, the general manager of the mall, said Tuesday at a retailers’ award ceremony in Istanbul.

“Still, we face some difficulties to create free space in the mall. Our only hope is turn over of some current renters,” he said.

The famous textile brand H&M opened its second store in Turkey in İstinye Park earlier this month.

The company runs stores in the United States, Japan, England, Denmark and Italy.

Abercrombie&Fitch is among the mostly imitated fashion brands in Turkey.

Posted by meb at April 15th, 2011

Turkey is set to increase organic textile exports, said an industry expert on Thursday at the country’s first-ever organic textile trade fair in the western province of İzmir.

“Our textile exports amounted to $15 billion in 2010 and organic textile exports reached $60 million. Turkey exports organic textile products to more than 30 countries. The world organic textile market reached $6.8 billion in 2010. We want to increase our share in this market in the coming years,” said Aegean Clothing Manufacturers’ Association, or EGSD, chairman Emre Kızılgüneşler at the event’s opening remarks. Turkey was the world’s fourth largest exporter of textiles, he said. (more…)