Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at November 27th, 2008

Europe’s largest engineering conglomerate, the German firm Siemens, is making a new investment in Turkey, signaling their faith in the Turkish market. Siemens Turkey CEO Hüseyin Gelis said yesterday that the company was investing some 100 million euros in the Gebze district of Kocaeli. “We are establishing a new factory in Gebze because we attach importance to the Turkish market,” Gelis noted.

Gelis said the factory would be one of the most modern factories in Turkey and in all of Europe. “We will continue our growth in Turkey; we are not only growing in Gebze but also in other regions of Turkey,” he said. Regarding the ongoing global financial turmoil, Gelis stated that the crisis would affect short-term investments negatively, but added that Siemens would continue its long-term investments in Turkey. He underlined that they were well prepared for the crisis, having taken precautionary measures, adding that they gave the utmost importance to following a balanced financial policy. With around 400,000 employees, Siemens is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industrial, energy and healthcare sectors. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 25th, 2008

Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, has signed a $530 million syndicated loan to back the acquisition of Turkish fuel distributor Akpet, banking sources close to the deal said Friday.

The loan, which launched to syndication in September, originally totaled $610 million but was subsequently reduced because of difficult market conditions, according to Reuters. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 21st, 2008

Turkey needs to dramatically increase the attention it affords intellectual property rights (IPR) if it is to take advantage of the benefits that flow to countries with high standards of IPR, says a new report released yesterday by the International Investors Association (YASED).

According to research models in the report, a 10 percent increase by Turkey on the Patent Rights Index would lead to an increase in the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) by 16 percent, or $19.2 billion. Based on this figure, the report notes that 150,000 new jobs would be created, exports would grow by 12 percent ($13 billion) and national income would expand by $4.4 billion, or 0.7 percent of gross national product (GNP). (more…)

Posted by meb at November 13th, 2008

A group from Bahrain signed an agreement with Turkey’s Agriculture Ministry to undertake a $3 billion investment in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Milliyet daily reported on Thursday.

The Turkish- based Groupe Danone SA, a member of the world’s biggest yogurt producer, planned to construct a dairy processing plant in Diyarbakir, Milliyet also reported citing the ministry. (more…)

Posted by meb at November 12th, 2008

Groupe Danone SA, the world’s biggest yogurt maker, is planning a $3 billion investment in southeastern Turkey, Milliyet newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Turkey has recently signed an agreement with a foreign company that will invest $3 billion in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker told lawmakers in the Ankara parliament, Milliyet said.

“Especially Gulf and Middle East countries have been looking for places to make production after the food crisis… Recently we had signed a project of $3 billion investment in Diyarbakir with a group,” Eker was quoted as saying. (more…)

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

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…)