TURKEY, ROMANIA, BULGARIA TO COOPERATE ON EU BUILDING STANDARTS

Turkey launched its participation in the EU Build project, which raises awareness about the potential impact of European Union accession and promotes cooperation in the building materials sector.

The project aims to familiarize local building industries with the EU acquis and European standards in the construction sector, establishing connections with Business Representative Organizations-BROs, in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. It also aims to establish a network to address the common issues in the sector regarding EU standards.

Mr. Laszlo Borbely, Minister of Development, Public Works and Housing in Romania, noted that the partnership between Romania and Turkey established through EU Build is crucial to promoting high building standards. “Romania is a strategic partner of Turkey. The economic exchange between the two countries stands at around $6.5 billion. More than 10,000 Turkish firms operate in Romania. Seventeen of these are construction firms, whose about 100 projects are worth some 3.1 billion euros,” he said.

Mr. Borbely added that the construction sectors in the two countries have many similarities. “Unfortunately, both Turkey and Romania are located in a seismic area. We need more attention given to the quality of construction in this field. It will be good to share our experience. We support the EU accession process of Turkey in the EU,” Mr. Borbely said.

The renovation of buildings has sparked a major debate in Romania, which recently launched a $70 million project to revitalize public buildings such as hospitals, said Mr. Borbely. “It is difficult in some cases to decide to demolish a public building and not to rebuild it because it would cost more. We have a lot of issues to solve in this area.”

Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Güler also attended the launch ceremony of the EU Build project. Güler noted increasing energy efficiency in the building materials sector -- one of the aspects of EUBuild -- should be seen as an investment opportunity that could also boost employment.

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING TO START IN ISTANBUL

The Fifth Investment Advisory Council meeting, Chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was set to convene in Istanbul. Top executives from 18 multinational companies such as Cisco, Citi, Danone, Eldorado Gold, Fiat, Finmeccanica, Hyundai, Indesit, ISCAR, ITOCHU, Mango, Nortel, Novartis International, Nunhems, Toyota and Unicredit Group, with a combined $755 billion in gross revenues worldwide last year, were scheduled to attend.

THY AND TURKCELL AIM TO RAISE SERVICE QUALITY

Turkey's biggest mobile phone company and the country's leading air transport company announced that they will collaborate on a new campaign aimed at increasing the quality of service they offer.

“Travel and communication are key factors of life. We believe that the customers will benefit considerably from the cooperation of the two companies,” said Mr. Temel Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines-THY, during a press conference held in İstanbul on 16 June, 2008. “We aim to please the ones who choose THY in their travels and who choose Turkcell in communication,” Mr. Kotil added.

Within the framework of the new agreement, Turkcell's “İştcell” campaign subscribers with invoiced phone lines will be able to earn free flight miles. The miles earned each month will be threefold of customers' monthly cell phone bills. On the other hand, İştcell subscribers with prepaid phone plans will collect half of the minutes they have purchased as free miles.

Miles&Smiles members will also be able to benefit from the new campaign. THY's frequent flyer program members will be able to convert their flight miles into phone minutes.

“As the leading mobile phone company of the country, we aim to provide great opportunities to our customers not only in communications sector, but in many different areas,” Turkcell CEO Süreyya Ciliv told. “This campaign will bring the customers of both companies closer,” he added.

GE SELECTS TURKEY TO BE HEALTCARE BASE

General Electric Company-GE, a subsidiary of GE Healthcare, which is worth $17 billion, has moved its international operations base to Turkey.

The officials of GE Healthcare and Turkey's Investment Support and Promotion Agency told that GE Healthcare decided to combine the Eastern and Asian markets, or EAGM, into a single "International Diagnostic Imaging" operation. As it gathers its units located in Central Asia, Middle East, Africa, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States-CIS, under the GE EAGM title, the company will start managing its operations from İstanbul.

Focusing mainly on the equipment and service markets, GE EAGM is aiming to accelerate GE's growth in equipment and services markets in the region. The EAGM region, which accounted for more than $600 million in revenue in 2007, is expected to double the figure to $1.2 billion by 2010, thanks to the new structuring. GE appointed Richard di Benedetto as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE Healthcare International's EAGM region.

GE Healthcare, which is a leader in the development of a new paradigm of patient care, focuses on medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, disease research, drug discovery and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies. United Kingdom-based GE Healthcare is the first GE business segment headquartered outside the United States.

FOREIGNERS SWEEP TURK HISTORY QUIZ

Aiming to encourage research on Turkish culture, society and politics, Sabancı University presents the Third Sakıp Sabancı Research Awards. Half of the participants in the competition are foreign researchers. 'Obviously, many academics around the world think, carry out research on, and write about the Ottomans,” says Güler Sabancı, Chairwoman of Sakıp Sabancı University Board of Trustees.

Here's a question for Turks and Turkey in the first decade of the 21st Century: Who is doing the best job in studying Turkey's history, Turks or foreigners? The answer of the Sakıp Sabancı International Research Awards made for the third time was clear: foreigners. The five recipients of the award, given for essays that study the influence of the Ottoman legacy on contemporary Turkish culture, institutions, and values, were all foreign academics.

While some might see excessive modesty in an awards ceremony that focuses on foriegn researchers, neglecting Turkey's own deep intellectual wealth, the fact of the matter is precisely the opposite said Professor Tosun Terzioğlu, rector of the Sabancı University and one of the founders of the award. “It is not only us that find our history interesting; others do also, and research it,” said Mr. Terzioğlu. As many as 20 of the 41 participants in this year's competition with the topic “The Ottoman Legacy for Contemporary Turkish Culture, Institutions and Values,” were foreign researchers. He believes this interest in Turkey and Ottoman history is not a new phenomenon.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Sakıp Sabancı University Board of Trustees Chairwoman Güler Sabancı said the awards stood out as the first international award given by a Turkish university on the subject. “There have been 173 participants in the past three years and half of these were foreign researchers. Obviously, many academics around the world think, carry out research on, and write about the Ottomans,” she added.

Professor Amy Singer of Tel Aviv University's Department of Middle Eastern and African Studies won first place in this year's competition with her research essay on “The Persistence of Philanthropy.” Her interest in Ottoman history began while she was doing her PhD degree in Middle Eastern history. “I started to study very modern things and I was very disillusioned by how politicized studies of the Middle East were so I flipped backwards in time. Since I was interested in the area of Israel and Palestine and Jerusalem, I stayed in the same area and I ended up in 16th century. And the 16th century is Ottoman,” she said.

Singer's research started off first as a study of peasants and their relationship with the government during the Ottoman Empire. Through the research, she realized many of the villages she examined were very large “vakıfs” (foundations) founded by Haseki Hürrem, the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. This got Singer interested in vakıfs and imarets. “And working on that, I became very interested in philanthropy as a subject. So I finished a book that is now coming out in August, it is called “Charity in an Islamic Society” and it is about the practice of philanthropy and charity in Islamic societies over time, from the beginning of Islam until today,” she said. Singer plans to keep working on the subject of imarets all over the Ottoman Empire, in the Balkans and in Anatolia, and in the Arab world… “It should take probably 20 or 30 years,” she joked.

Assistant Professor Christine Philliou of Columbia University's Department of History was the winner of last year's Sakıp Sabancı International Research Award with her essay “The Paradox of Perceptions: Interpreting the Ottoman Past Through the National Present.” She is back in Turkey this year to work further on the topic and finish the work on her book on Ottoman governance in the 19th century, just before Tanzimat.  “I was living in Selaniki and I took a trip to Istanbul. I had this revelation that it was the same on both sides. This was the time that Turkey and Greece were almost at war with each other. And this was because of the Ottoman legacy that no one talked about on either side,” she said about how she first became interested in the subject.

Zoe Griffith from Cairo American University and Denise Gilles from University of California in Santa Barbara won honorable mention awards at the competition. Assistant Professor Olivier Bouquet of Universite de Nice Sophia-Antipolis won third place with his “Old Elites in a New Republic: The Reconversion of Ottoman Bureaucratic Families in Turkey.” Maureen Jackson of Washington University won second place with her essay titled: “Crossing Musical Worlds: Jews Making Ottoman and Turkish Classical Music” Singer received her award as the winner of this year's competition from Sabancı herself.

FORUM TO FOCUS ON INNOVATION

The American Business Forum in Turkey, or ABFT, was organized a panel conference in İstanbul on 13 June, 2008, titled “Fostering Innovation in Product and Process for a Better Business and Investment Climate.”

Participants focused on the importance of innovation within the context of Turkey's goal to create a stronger economy, discussing concepts of competition, entrepreneurship and knowledge-based economy.

Aiming to provide a platform for U.S.-based companies active in Turkey, the ABFT, established in 2004, will bring prominent figures of Turkey's informatics sector and representatives of U.S.-based media and communication companies together, to discuss and identify common issues regarding the companies' interests in Turkey.

IMF: "TURKEY WILL BECOME THE WORLD'S 16TH-LARGEST ECONOMY"

Five years from now, Turkey will have the world's 16th-largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund. Under IMF projections for 2008-20013, Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of purchasing power parity will increase to $942 billion by year's-end, and reach $1.3 trillion by 2013.

PIPELINE BRINGS $2.5 BILLION IN TWO YEARS

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline (BTC) which carries Caspian oil to world markets through Turkey, recorded $2.5 billion in revenue within two years. Works on the pipeline, which started delivering Caspian oil on June 2, 2006, are progressing successfully, authorities said from BOTAŞ International Limited (BIL), the manager of the BTC Crude Oil Pipeline's Turkey branch.

The amount of crude oil transferred from the Haydar Aliyev Marine Terminal, the starting point of the line in Ceyhan in Adana province on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, reached 385.100 million barrels as of June 4. Some 490 tankers were used to transfer the oil.

Based on a price of $90 per barrel for crude oil, the revenue Turkey obtained from the line reached $2.5 billion. Out of this income, $2.27 billion belonged to the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, or TPAO. The revenues of BIL's management, the Treasury's taxes and port services totaled $134.78 million, $77.02 million and $15 million respectively.

The attempts to increase the pipeline's daily capacity to 1.05 million barrels were successful, said the authorities. However, the current average daily capacity still remains at 750,000 barrels. The target is to reach 840,000 barrels by the end of the year, according to the statement. The aim to reach 1 million barrels a day solely depends on oil production in the Caspian Sea, the authorities said and added that infrastructure activities to reach 1.2 million barrels are ongoing.

With the BTC Project, worth approximately $3.4 billion, crude oil produced in Azerbaijan is carried to world markets via a pipeline through Georgia and then the Ceyhan Marine Terminal. BTC, which spans a total of 1,776 kilometers, including 1,076 kilometers in Turkey, has the capacity to transfer 1 million barrels a day and 50 million tons of oil per year.

The first loading of the pipeline was officially opened July 13, 2006 with the participation of Turkey's former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as well as Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev and Georgian State Minister Mikheil Saakashvili.

Meanwhile, Chevron will help Kazakhstan's state oil company build a $1.5 billion pipeline from the nation's biggest producing field to the Caspian Sea, expanding export routes to world markets that bypass Russia.

The U.S. crude producer, the main shareholder in Kazakh oil venture TengizChevroil, will help construct the link from Yeskene, near Atyrau, to Kuryk, near the Aktau port, Chief Executive Officer David O'Reilly said in a statement posted on President Nursultan Nazarbayev's Web site late Thursday. The pipe will add to Chevron's export options as it ramps up production in Kazakhstan. The venture plans to boost output almost 60 percent to 540,000 barrels a day by the end of this year, or about 25 million tons a year.

State-run KazMunaiGaz National Co. said in January it would start sending oil across the Caspian Sea to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in 2012. The new link will carry oil from the Kashagan and Tengiz fields to Kuryk for shipment by tanker to Azerbaijan, where the BTC link to Turkey originates.

TURKEY TO BECOME COCA COLA HUB

The world's largest beverage company Coca Cola has decided to manage a significant proportion of its global operations from Turkey by moving one of its centers to the country.

The top executives of Coca Cola Turkey were informed Thursday that Coca Cola is planning to move its Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle Asia, Caucasus, Middle East and all-Africa center to Turkey. The global player is expected to manage almost two fifths of its global operations from Turkey.
Mr. Alpaslan Korkmaz, head of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency, which was established to attract foreign investment to Turkey, had announced that one of the world's top 50 companies would move its center, which has a turnover of $17 billion, to Turkey. With the new development, approximately 30 top-level executives working at Coca Cola Company's Europe operations in Paris and London will relocate to Istanbul. This development is crucial for the country, “because it will enable Turkish executives to gain experience in the sector and qualify them to work in various units of the company,” he said.

Mr. Muhtar Kent, a Turkish businessman, has been president and chief executive officer of Coca Cola since December 2007.

BUSINESS LEADERS MEET IN ISTANBUL

Istanbul, the heart of the Turkish economy, hosted the business and political decision-makers, investors, bankers and financiers from 20 countries for the Government Business and Investment Summit on 5-6 June, 2008.

The two-day event focuses on success stories in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), fiscal and governmental incentives which include industrial, free and techno pole zones - legal framework, FDI and the role of the banking sector, as well as quality infrastructure, sector opportunities, privatization and concessions.

The event, publicized as a business-friendly platform bringing together Europe and the Middle East, will mainly highlight the investment opportunities in Turkey. It was organized in coordination with the European Finance Convention and the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey and sponsored by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK).

Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Nazım Erken, DEİK President Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, who is also president of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Economy Minister Mr. Mehmet Şimşek, Turkish Industrialist's Businessman's (TÜSİAD) President Mrs. Arzuhan Yalçındağ, Central Bank Governor Mr. Durmuş Yılmaz, Finance Minister Mr. Kemal Unakıtan,  Head of the Structural Policy Analysis Division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Mr. Sveinbjörn Blöndal, and International Monetary Fund (IMF), Senior Resident Representative Mr. Hossein Samiei were some of the participants of the Summit.

WORLD BANKS GIVES TURKEY $600 MILLION EXPORT LOAN

The World Bank announced that it had approved a $600 million Export Finance Intermediation Loan for Turkey.
The loan will help to expand capacity and improve competitiveness of exporting firms by providing medium and long-term working capital and investment finance, the bank said in a statement. The project also aims to continue developing the capacity of banks and leasing companies as financial intermediaries to provide credit to firms, it said. The funds will be made available to the Turkish Industrial Development Bank and to the Export Credit Bank of Turkey (EXIMBANK), with a government guarantee.

The World Bank’s Country Director for Turkey, Ulrich Zachau said the loan will help Turkish firms and banks compete in international markets and increase production and exports. This will bring more and better jobs for Turkish workers and higher incomes for Turkish families.

“The performance of Turkish firms and banks will continue improving. I see strong potential for further export development, and I expect that growing financial markets will play an increasingly important role in funding export and private sector growth,” he said.

TURKISH FILMMAKER CEYLAN WINS CANNES DIRECTOR AWARD

Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan has taken out the Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with his drama Three Monkeys. The director’s award, presented on the last day of the 61st Cannes festival, is one of the premier awards of the event and one of the highest forms of recognition that a director can receive.

In accepting his award, Ceylan said he was honoured to receive the director’s prize from the Cannes jury. “I dedicate it to my lonley and beautiful country Turkey,” he said.

Three Monkey’s stars Yavuz Bingol, Hatice Aslan, Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Ercan Kesal, Cafer Kose and Gurkan Aydin.

It is not the first time that Mr. Ceylan has come away with a major prize from Cannes. His film Uzak (Distant) took the Grand Jury Prize and the Best Actor Prize at Cannes, while his film Iklimler (Climates) won the FIPRESCI Movie Critics’ Award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.

PHILANTHROPITS MEET IN ISTANBUL

The giants of charitable foundations from all over the world gathered in Istanbul between May 29-31, 2008 at the general assembly of the European Foundation Center, EFC which is an independent meeting point of European and world foundations.
More than 650 foundations, including charity and social project giants like the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Soros Foundation, Center for European Policy Studies, and Deutsche Bank AG, discussed the idea of “creativity” at the conference.
As foundations have great freedom of movement, they have an important role in facilitating social, cultural, scientific and technological change, says the web-site of the EFC, describing the theme of the conference. “Fostering Creativity” is the theme of the gathering, which aims to help foundations assume an active role in encouraging social, cultural and scientific change.
The conference posed a number of vital questions such as “Are foundations ready to move toward a long-term role serving as intermediary institutions that work toward change, or are there limits on taking on more ambitious projects? How do foundations update, recreate and redefine their agendas? And how can they positively impact on society's openness and creativity?”
The Turkish Third Sector Foundation, TÜSEV, together with other foundations like the Aydın Doğan Foundation, Asım Kocabıyık Culture and Art Foundation, Hüsnü Özyeğin Foundation, İhsan Doğramacı Foundation, Vehbi Koç Foundation and Foundations General Directorate, hosted the event.

BUSINESS LEADERS UNITE AGAINST GLOBAL WARMING

Chief Executive Officers of the Turkish business world gathered at a meeting in Istanbul on 21 May, 2008 to discuss their action plan against global warming to ensure a liveable planet for the future.
“Unless public and privates sector officials take measures now against global warming, it will sweep away 5 to 20 percent of the world's income,” Mr. James Leape, Managing Director at WWF International said at the CEO Forum.  “However, the damage will amount to just 1 percent of the world's income should proper measures be taken on time,” said Leape.
“Energy should be used efficiently and thriftily. Natural gas should be preferred rather than coal. The world's carbon dioxide absorption capacity is 10,000 tons per annum. However, the world has been producing carbon dioxide more than its absorption capacity since the 1970s,” he added. “Almost 30 percent of the glaciers on Greenland have melted since 1992.”
Mrs. Meral Ak Egemen, CEO  of AvivaSA, the pension and insurance company, explained the measures the Company is taking in several countries against global warming. The Company prioritizes several issues, such as use of diesel and hybrid automobiles and low-weight photocopy paper, she said.
AvivaSA has launched a savings campaign with the “Save Your Future” concept, Mrs. Egemen said. By providing support to the CEO Forum, the company wanted to draw attention to the responsibility of the business world to our planet, the resources of which are being consumed rapidly, she added.  “We should find ways to produce the things we consume while seeking ways to consume less,” said Egemen. The saving campaign launched with this aim is expected to encourage people to use all resources, including money, more consciously, she added.
The WWF network, which operates in over 200 countries, collects $750 million in revenues annually.

SOUTHEAST PLAN FUELS FOREIGN INVESTMENT

The recent announcement of the Turkish Government regarding the allocation $12.5 billion to the country's Southeast has drawn considerable attention from investors.
Besides domestic companies, many foreign investors are seeking to seize opportunities in the region as Turkey intends to complete the Southeastern Anatolia Project, known by its Turkish acronym GAP.
Through a partnership with investors from Turkey and Dubai, an Italian food producers union is preparing to establish 85 food facilities on an area of 25,000 dunams in Kilis, a city on the border with Syria. The official procedure of the project, which is expected to cost around $8-10 billion, is about to be completed.
An Australian group, which has been investigating the region in the past year, is considering building a marble factory. Australian businessmen are also planning to invest in a coal-fired power plant in Şırnak. Also, Saudi Arabia's Agriculture Minister Fahd Balghunaim plans to visit the project in August to discuss future investments. French businessmen are also touring the Southeast as they consider organic production while investors from Israel and India are looking into pomegranate and almond farming.
Domestic investments in the energy, food and textile sectors in the region are also picking up speed. 
Koç Holding, Turkey's biggest company, which aims to focus on education-oriented investments in Mardin and the neighboring area, toured Mardin last month. The company is mostly considering investing in the food and automotive industries in the region. It is possible to reach an agricultural turnover of $50-75 billion in Turkey's Southeast, according to Koç Holding, which has invested $84 million in the last five years in a tomato-processing plant in the region.
Energy appears to be among the areas that draw considerable attention after agriculture and food. Limak Holding, a Turkish construction-focused group, plans to establish two hydroelectric plants on Botan River, which runs between the cities of Siirt and Van. The project, which is expected to be completed in 2010, will provide employment for approximately 2,000 people.
Saran Holding, which operates in the defense industry as well as the health, media and tourism sectors, aims to establish an electric plant in Tunceli and Şırnak. The holding is expected to attend electric distribution privatizations together with a foreign partner.
Global Investment Holdings plans to establish dams and hydroelectric power plants in Siirt, Bitlis and Van by 2011, for an estimated cost of $400 million each.
Hey Tekstil also opened a textile factory in Batman in partnership with construction firm Güneştekin Group.
Gaziantep-based food company Sayınlar Gıda, which owns the largest oil facilities of the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian Region, is preparing to launch exports to China, besides Middle East, Africa and Cyprus.
The GAP, which was introduced to develop water and soil resources in the 1970s, has turned into a development project. Covering an area of 75,000 square kilometers in nine cities, the region features 10 percent of Turkey's population. The GAP, which consists of 22 dam projects, aims to irrigate 57 percent of the soil.

FOREIN INVESTMENT MAY RISE TO $30 BLN

Turkey has the potential to attract $10 billion more in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the coming years, an advisor to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said.
A $30-billion inflow of FDI in the coming years is realistic, said  Mr. Charles Kovacs, who is also a consultant to Lehman Brothers Europe. The case of Hungary shows FDI inflow enables cultural transfer and creates new jobs, he added. “These are both positive developments, which could hopefully also happen in Turkey.”
The Turkish economy has enormous growth potential, said Kovacs. “Turkey obviously has good economic potential. Turkey today has an economy of approximately $500 billion, and by the time the country is likely to join the European Union, its economy will have reached $1.5 trillion, depending, of course, on growth figures,” he said. Today $1.5 trillion is some 10 percent of the EU's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said, adding, “The EU's economy will also certainly grow in the next 10-15 years, but we can still assume that in 10-15 years the Turkish economy will make up some 6-7 percent of the EU's GDP.”
The other benefits Turkey brings to the EU process are its young population and strong military, said Kovacs. “Turkey's young population is good not only for providing social security payments, but also because it can be a source of labor by providing migrants to other European countries.  Finally, he concluded, “Turkey, which has probably the largest military in the EU, will also give the EU greater military credibility.”

TURKISH AIRLINES TURNS 75 YEARS

Turkish Airlines (THY) celebrated its 75th birthday with an alcohol-free celebration in İstanbul on May.
“This is an exciting day,” said Mr. Temel Kotil, Chief Executive Officer of THY. “In the past 75 years Turkish Airlines has become a global brand. We enjoy the competition we are facing in all routes. Today one in 100 air passengers in the world is flying with Turkish Airlines. We are preparing ourselves to host the remaining 99 customers in the future,” Mr. Kotil said.
The celebrations, consisted of a reception and a concert launching the album “Yollar” prepared by THY and performed by the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Turkish traditional music group Ince Saz. Employees from 85 THY offices around the world arrived at the celebrations, wearing the national costume of their host countries.
THY hosted for the first time the three-day International Airlines Transportation Association (IATA) Conference between 1-3 June, 2008. The IATA consists of 240 member airlines, which comprise 94 percent of all international traffic. IATA employs 1,400 people located in 90 offices that serve over 130 countries around the world.
Mr. Candan Karlıtekin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkish Airlines, told that about the upcoming challenges for Turkish Airlines, including competition and rising fuel prices, only boost Turkish Airlines' determination to increase its market share. “Five years ago Turkish Airlines was making loss in a market setting where there were protective walls and no local competition. Today, we are making profit although there is notable competition and petroleum prices are increasing. These challenges only make us more determined to grow,” he said.

GAZİANTEP OPENS DOOR TO NEIGBORING IRAQ

The Southeastern Turkish city Gaziantep hosted the third Iraq International Fair on 23-26 May, 2008.
As the Iraqi trade delegation arrived in the city for the four-day event, Mr. Nejat Koçer, the President of Gaziantep's Chamber of Industry emphasized the growing trade volume between the two neighbors. Overall bilateral trade surpassed $3.5 billion last year, he said after a meeting with the Iraqi delegation, headed by Mr. Jaafar al-Hamdani, chief of the Iraq Trade and Industry Federation. “Gaziantep, with its industry and world-famous brands, is the closest production and supply base to enter the Middle East and Iraq market,” he continued.
Gaziantep is the only city outside Iraq that hosts the Iraq International Fair. Industrialists of the city mainly sell cotton thread, carpets, legumes, flour, cooking oil, sugar and biscuits to Iraqis. Last year, the export from Gaziantep to Iraq totaled $791 million. The hundreds of companies from 30 countries, including China and the United States participated in the Fair.

WORLD'S SECOND BIGGEST HOUSEHOLD TEXTILES FAIR OPENS IN ISTANBUL

The 14th edition of home textiles exhibition “EVTEKS 2008” opened in Istanbul's CNR exhibition hall on 21 May, with the participation of 740 companies and aims to become the world's biggest textiles fair next year.
Delivering a speech at the opening of the fair, Sate Minister for foreign trade Mr. Kürşad Tüzmen said that Turkey's exports gain in the five months of this year reached $50 billion and that the fair indicated that Turkish textile industry would have a brilliant future. Stressing that over 700 firms from the world's textile industry attended the fair, Tuzmen also said that the textile industry would highly contribute to Turkey's export gains in the years to come.
EVTEKS 2008 is the second-largest home textiles exhibition in the world with 85,000 visitors. The fair consisted of 740 exhibitors, 125 of which have arrived from overseas, including Canada, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom, Greece, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Japan, Ireland, the Netherlands and Mexico.  The exhibition functions as a networking platform for Turkish and international home textile firms looking for new business partners. At present Turkish home textile firms manufacture some 10 percent of the world's home textile production.
Covering an area of 150,000 square meters, the fair is organized with the support of Istanbul Trade Fairs (ITF), Home Textile Manufacturers and Businessmen Association (TETSİAD) and Uludağ Exporters Union (UİB). 

FOREIGN MINISTERS OF SOUTHEAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MET IN BULGARIA

The meetings of Foreign Ministers and Heads of State\Government of the Southeast Europe Countres Cooperation process (SEECP), the term Presidency of which is being conducted by Bulgaria, was held in the town of Pomorie near Burgas on 20-21 May 2008.


The Turkish delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan represented Turkey at the Meetings. Issues concerning the region, topped by developments relating to Kosovo, and the transformation of the Southeast Europe Stability Pact into the Regional Cooperation Council, were the main topics of the Meetings.
Mr. Babacan said the Southeast European Countries Cooperation process was an important Balkan cooperation platform that reflected the region's common will. Saying that the Southeast European Countries Cooperation process aims to find solutions in the region through political dialogue and the common will within the region itself, Babacan added, "The process that began with Turkey's initiatives is the only platform that brings Balkan countries together around the same table."

TURKISH-GERMAN MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES DISCUSS DIALOGUE ISSUE

Organized by Directorate General of Press and Information, The Turkish Research Center Foundation and Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the 8th Turkish-German Media Dialogue Symposium Meeting was held in Antalya on May 15-18. Press members from Turkey, Germany and Switzerland attended the meeting. Four separate sessions entitled "Turkey's image in the German media," "Europe's image in the Turkish media," "Ways to improve news contents," "Turkey's EU membership process in media," "Turkey's EU membership in terms of media" were held as part of the three-day gathering. The Turkish Research Center Foundation Director Faruk Sen and Friedrich Naumann Foundation Director Jörg Dehner and Directorate General of Press and Information General Director Salih Melek delivered welcome speeches at the opening of the symposium. At the closing session, Cumhuriyet daily's assistant editor Guray Oz and German Focus Magazine Foreign News Redactor Andrea Claudia Hoffman talked about the topic of "How well do we know each other?"

CISCO TO FUND TURKISH SMES

U.S.-based information company Cisco is about to implement its “Venture Capital Initiative” fund in Turkey, which aims to help high technology firms step up and enter the global arena.
This new fund will provide access for Turkish companies to approximately 10 million euros. The initiative will help small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey to grow and open up to the global market, Mr. Kaan Terzioğlu, Cisco's Vice President for Central and Eastern Europe, said. 
Cisco, which is seeking telecom, media, and technology companies in Turkey via its Hungarian private capital company 3TS Capital Partners, will provide an opportunity for Turkish firms to benefit from a 30 million euro fund allocated for eastern Europe.
Cisco plans to invest in Turkey in order to help create a qualified labor force and to provide venture capital, said Mr. Terzioğlu. Currently, some 2,800 students are educated at 130 academies, he said, adding that this figure is expected to exceed 15,000 in a short time. The company plans to establish the “Entrepreneurship Institute” in Ankara in partnership with the TOBB University of Economics and Technology, which was founded by the Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges of Turkey, or TOBB in its Turkish acronym. The aim is to provide guidance on how to raise revenues, obtain project funding and expand to the international arena, he said. He also added that Cisco's five-year investment plan for Turkey includes establishing an innovation center.

TEXTILE LOGISTICS BASE TO OPEN

Turkish logistics company Sertrans, known particularly for its activity in southern Europe, is about to open Turkey's first textile logistics center in Istanbul's Hadımköy district.
The company will provide an opportunity for its domestic and foreign customers to handle all their transactions at the facility to be founded on an area of 35,000 square meters. The facility, which is set to become operational in November, is expected to cost 30 million euros.
The logistics base will provide a wide range of services, such as quality control, packaging and ironing, said Ms. Nilgün Keleş, Chairwoman of Sertrans, which has been focusing on textile logistics since its foundation as a family enterprise in 1989.
The logistics base is a first in terms of focusing on one sector and providing such a variety of services, said Ms. Keleş. “For instance, all transaction of goods of our big customers, such as Mango, Zara and Naf Naf, will be handled at the facility, which will create job opportunities for 300 people,” she said.
Sertrans will also ensure the safety of company records with an archive logistics center to be established in Istanbul's Gebze district on an area of 2,000 square meters.
The archive logistics is a first in Turkey, said Ms. Keleş. “There is an intense demand for archive logistics. We aim to help companies store their swelling archives securely and at low prices,” she said. “Archiving is a very significant but neglected activity… We will start operating at the end of the summer.” There is strong demand for an archive logistics center, said Ms. Keleş. “ We were surprised to see such a customer portfolio from every sector.”

TURKISH BUSINESS GROUP WARNS FRANCE

The Turkish Industrialists’ & Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) issued a statement warning France that derailing Turkey’s EU bid would be against its own interests.

The statement was prompted by a recent amendment to the French constitution that would leave it to the discretion of the French President whether or not to call a referendum to approve an agreement on membership of a candidate country to the EU.

“Under the package, the President will not put approval of membership of countries defined as ‘European’ to a referendum while he will be able to call for a referendum for ‘non-European’ Turkey. It is impossible to explain such an unbelievable contradiction stemming from ‘hostile’ attitude by the French president and MPs against Turkey,” the TUSIAD statement said.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has spoken out against Turkey being given full membership of the EU, proposing instead Ankara be offered a privileged partnership arrangement with the bloc.

The TUSIAD statement said that France’s economic ties with Turkey could be harmed in the event Paris tried to obstruct the accession process.

“France’s commercial relations with Turkey amounted to $14 billion last year,” the statement said. “Also, French private sector made investments in Turkey worth of 3 billion USD in the last five years. According to our point of view, it is unfortunate that France has been trying to hamper our EU membership process to digress the public opinion.”

“Efforts of some administrations which are deprived of strategic thought and pursue prejudiced policies, to put the future of the Union under a mortgage is also the problem of the EU itself. The most important key allowing the EU to consolidate its economic and political power in the global platform, and to create an environment of prosperity and security in its region is Turkey’s becoming a member to the EU,” TUSIAD added.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II IN TURKEY

Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh paid a historical four days visit to Turkey in May, her first in over 35 years.
Writing in the visitors’ book at the tomb of Turkey’s founding father, the Queen wrote, “It is an honor to pay my respects to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a much valued friend of the United Kingdom and one of the great figures of modern history”.
Speaking at a banquet hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in Ankara, the Queen said Turkey had become a unique bridge between the East and the West at a crucial time for both the European Union and the world, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the ties between Turkey and the United Kingdom were stronger than ever in this new century. She also added that Turkey played a key role in promoting peace, political stability and economic development in some of the world’s most unsettled areas.

Turkish President Gul expressed that the United Kingdom has been one of the staunchest supporters of Turkey in its progress towards the EU membership. Being allies, Turkey and the United Kingdom protected freedom and democracy in Europe, took their responsibilities to give direction to developments in Europe seriously, and did not remain as spectator to the opportunities that arose, he added.

FELIPE MASSA WINS TURKISH GP

Felipe Massa won his third straight Turkish Grand Prix to give Ferrari its fourth straight victory to put it in the driver’s seat for F1’s championship.
But Ferrari isn’t convinced after McLaren’s title challenge gained steam despite another weekend of lostpoints. Massa held off McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton’s challenge for a 3.779-second victory at the Istanbul Speed Park circuit to give his championship bid extra momentum.

Massa joined Hamilton on 28 points to trail Ferrari teammate and overall leader Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third, by seven.

A victory at Bahrain and a runner-up finish at the Spanish GP has Massa shaking off a start that featured retirements at the first two races. “I’m right in there in the fight,” Massa said. “The competition is very high, but after some races I feel that I can be competitive everywhere and I’m just happy to reduce the gap a little bit, being similar to Lewis and just concentrate on the next races.”

Renault’s Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber of Red Bull, Nico Rosberg of Williams, Red Bull’s David Coulthard and Jarno Trulli of Toyota round out the top 10.

Ferrari’s championship challenge can continue to gain momentum at upcoming races at Monaco and Montreal, where an improved performance from 2007 is key.

TURKEY’S NEW SMOKING LAW COMES INTO EFFECT

A series of new measures aimed at restricting smoking in public places in Turkey have come into effect.
As of May 19, smoking will be forbidden in many enclosed areas, including all public buildings, education and health institutions, culture and sports areas and transportation vehicles.
According to a notice issued by the department of the Prime Minister on Sunday, closed areas, including tents and sunshades, with a roof are declared to be a non-smoking area. All areas whose surrounding is partially covered will also be non-smoking zones.

The ban will come into force in restaurants, coffeehouses and cafeterias as of July 19 next year.

MILAN MOURNS "LA DIVA TURCA"

A memorial service was held in Milan , Italy yesterday for legendary Turkish soprano Leyla Gencer, who died of respiratory and cardiac failure on May. The service took place at the historical Santa Babila Church, near the Scala Theater. Relatives, friends and students of "La Diva Turca" all attended the service. Following her wishes, her ashes was brought to Istanbul to be scattered over the Bosphorus on.

TURKEY GETS 300 MILLION EUROS OF LOAN FROM EIB

Turkey has been granted 300 million Euros in the form of two loans by the European Investment Bank. The two loans will be used to support investments on renewable energy resources and environmental projects, the Turkish Treasury said in a statement issued in Ankara.

According to the Treasury, 200 million Euros of the loan will be used to support private and public investments for renewable energy resources and projects aiming at mitigating industrial pollution.

The remaining 100 million Euros of the loan would be used to finance construction and procurement works of the railway project in northwestern province of Bursa.

Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said that the Government was looking to save 315 million Euro between now and 2013 with an annual production of 4.4 billion kw/hr through geothermal power plants.

Mr. Guler said that in terms of geothermal energy potential, Turkey ranked 7th in the world and 1st in Europe with a potential of 31,500 MWs. However, currently it was was only producing a total of 30 MWs at three geothermal power plants. Guler said they wanted to increase this to a total of 550 MWs by 2013.

TURKEY’S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP IN MARCH

Turkey’s industrial output showed strong growth in March, according to figures released by the Turkish Board of Statistics on 08 May, 2008. Industrial output rose by 2.4 percent in March compared to the same month in 2007, the report said. However, the rise was lower than the 3.7 percent increase experienced in March 2007.

The Board of Statistics report said that the biggest mover among Turkey’s industries was the mining sector, which recorded a 12.4 percent increase in output, with the utilities sector’s production rising by 3.8 percent while the manufacturing industry sector index lagged somewhat, showing a 1.9 percent increase.

TURKISH EXPORTS UP IN APRIL

Turkey’s export industries had a strong month in April, with overseas sales of goods and services rising by nearly 40 percent compared to the same month last year. According to figures released by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) 1 May, Turkey’s exports increased by 39.16 percent last month compared to April, 2007.

Speaking at a press conference in the western city of Kutahya, TIM Chairman Mr. Oguz Satıcı said the total value of Turkey’s exports last month was $11.3 billion.

Exports for the January-April period also recorded a sharp jump, Mr. Satıcı said, with the value of overseas sales rising 36.9 percent to $42.7 billion. The 12-month export figure as of the end of April increased 27.61 percent, totaling $117.4 billion, he said.

AUTO EXPORTS SURGE 52%

The automotive sector continues to be the locomotive of Turkish economy. The sector's exports rose by 52 percent to $8.99 billion in the first four months of the year, data from the Uludağ Exporters' Association (UİB) revealed.

The sector earned $5.91 billion from exports in the corresponding period of last year. This years' figure surpasses that of all of 2003, when the sector reaped $7.19 billion from exports. Automobile exports, which stood at $1.6 billion in April 2007, climbed 45 percent to $2.33 billion in the same month of this year.

With a volume of $2.97 billion, passenger cars ranked first among export items within the first four months of the year, according to the data. Automobile supplier industry and cargo vehicles were listed just after passenger cars. Tractors and cargo vehicles witnessed the highest rise in exports respectively over the period.

The automotive sector traded with 12 free zones as well as 160 countries and autonomous regions within the first four months of this year, according to the data. European countries received a substantial share of Turkey's exports. Among the countries Turkey exported to, Germany ranked first with a volume of $1.24 billion while France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Russian Federation were the other top countries in the list.

During the period, the sector exported for the first time to the Republic of Seychelles, Tatarstan, Dubai, Namibia, Laos, Benin, Myanmar, Rwanda, Cyprus, French Polynesia, Bhutan, and Trinidad and Tobago.

TURKISH BUSINESSMEN OF THE WORLD JOIN FORCES

Turkish businessmen from as far as Japan and Australia and as close as Kosovo and Iraq gathered in Istanbul on 5 May for the launch of the World Turkish Businessmen Council, the newest addition to the of  Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).
In many ways the gathering of over 200-plus Turks doing business around the globe was a homecoming for the country's representatives abroad. In other ways it was an initiative to find ways to better promote Turkey and boost its economy.

“You, our valauble enterepreneurs, who work in the international arena are the most important asset of our country,” said DEIK President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.  “That's why I would like to express that the representation of Turkey in the best way in all areas abroad is to our common good and benefit.”

Prominent fashion designer Mr. Atil Kutoğlu who lives in Austria told that the new council would create a much needed pooling of sources for a more dynamic Turkish presence in the world. “I think it brings a synergy effect,” he said “It brings the Turkish businesspeople from different areas together and gives them network possibilities.” On Sunday night at the Gala dinner hosted by DEIK for the Turkish businessmen, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan welcomed the initiative of the council and pledged his support.

Turkish CEO of Coca Cola Mr. Muhtar Kent called all Turkish businessmen around the world Turkey's ambassadors and told those present to strive together to make Turkey a world brand. “The biggest irony of globalization is the rising importance of localism,” he said, citing how Coca Cola's best-selling products around the world are usually local ones as opposed to its well known soft drinks. “People who can work outside of their borders with people of other cultures are those who become leaders,” he said.

However, Mr. Gürtay Kıpçak, the director of Coca Cola's Istanbul based Eurasia group said that the challenge of the newly formed council was going to be coordination. “The challenge is there are too many people doing too many things,” said Mr. Kıpçak. “We need to bring it together through coordination and we hope this council can accomplish this.” Mr. Kıpçak as well as Mr. Kent called for long-term vision and a targeted approach for Turkey to make its mark in a global economy. “There are huge opportunities Turkey can tap into because of its dynamic and capable private sector,” said Mr. Kıpçak. “Turkey has raised lots of human talent, so why not tap into it?”

Turkish businessmen from Greece's Western Thrace who engage in trade betweeen the two countries told that they were skeptical about the initiative improving the way they do business. But a Turk born and raised in Kosovo's 8,000-strong Turkish minority, Mr. Adnan Emini, who works in the textile business, said a council like this could unlock doors for his country which just gained independence two months ago. “In June we are writing our constitution and then investments will increase,” said Mr. Emini. “Our other Turkish friends should think to invest in Kosovo,” he said.

Building sector businessman Mr. Ahmet Mustafa Çakmakcı, from Erbil, Iraq where he works, said the wartorn country has nothing and needs help via investments, training and know-how. “I hope they come to help us, not manage us, but to help us,” he said. “We need more effective help.”

BOSSA CHALLENGES GIANTS IN ORGANIC TEXTILES

BosSA, one of Turkey's biggest integrated textile enterprises, is becoming more ambitious as the threat of global warming increases the demand for organic and ecological products. Restructuring itself as a nature-friendly company with an investment of 550,000 euros, the firm has become popular with various global brands upon marketing its ecological product group Re.Set, made with ecological paints and less water. BosSA, which allocated 10 percent of its total production to organic products, sold five million meters of organic-based products in less than a year. Working with renowned brands such as H&M, Paige Premium, Calvin Klein, Habitual, Mexx, Next, Debenhams, JC, Kappahl and Nudie Jeans, it is the world's first company capable of transferring a 100-percent herbal painting process into industry, said Dr. Dilek Erik, product manager at BosSA. Carcinogenic materials used in clothes are absorbed by the skin, leading to serious harm in the long run, Ms. Erik said. “We want to be a leader in organic denim production,” she added. 

“China, which uses neither treatment plants nor health-friendly chemicals during the production process, sells jeans for only 5 €. This is almost the price of my fabric,” Ms. Erik said. Turkey cannot compete with cheap countries, such as India and China, in terms of costs, she added. “However, we can prove ourselves to the world in terms of organic clothing and design.”  
BosSA produces in accordance with “Ekoteks,” an international certificate that indicates that textile products do not include harmful chemicals. “BosSA implements the necessary investment particularly when there is demand from Britain and northern Europe for organic products,” Ms. Eric said. The company, which produces three-and-a-half million meters of organic-based products annually, will also include soybean, linen, cannabis, wool and cotton in its product range, said Ms. Erik. “We will produce more as demand rises. We'd like to see competition in the market.”

HOTEL GROUP EXPANDS IN TURKEY

Mövenpick, a leading five-star business hotel, continues to expand in Turkey. After opening a business hotel with a capacity of 185 rooms in İzmir in February, the group signed an agreement with Varan Group, a leading domestic and international passenger transport company, to build a five-star business hotel in Ankara.

Mövenpick Ankara, which will have 150 rooms, will open by 2010. Mövenpick Group, which operates in Turkey with three hotels in Istanbul, Bodrum and İzmir, aims to meet the needs of customers visiting the city for business, with its convenient location close to Esenboğa, the second-largest airport in Turkey.

“Representing our name in the Turkish capital was one of the expansion aims of Mövenpick Group. We are proud to cooperate with Varan Group. We will complete the rectangle of Istanbul, Bodrum, İzmir and Ankara, which has a strategic importance for us, with our new hotel in Ankara,” said Mr. Jean Gabriel Peres, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts.

“Turkey's tourism potential is absolutely amazing. Turkish people are involved in the tourism sector and the quality of Turkish hospitality is simply great. It is hard to see such hospitality in Europe,” said Mr. Peres.

The hotel group's aggregate turnover was in a range of between 45 million Swiss francs to 50 million Swiss francs in Turkey last year, while the company's global turnover was 831 million francs.

FORUM ISTANBUL DEBATE ON AGRICULTURE

This year's theme of Forum Istanbul, a platform for business people and academics to discuss current economic developments each year since 2001, was “A New Era and New Horizons: Turkey's Stability and Growth Drive.” The forum, which was held on Apr. 23-25, brought together many important figures from Turkey the world to assess how the country can sustain political and financial stability with sustainable growth despite global financial fluctuations and geo-political risks.

As a current global matter, the agriculture issue was one of the main focuses of Forum Istanbul, touching upon the topic of increasing food prices and agriculture policies.“The recent issue about rice prices caused everyone to eye the agriculture sector. Now it became the main focus of the debates on economy. We aimed to discuss the agriculture issue and all dimensions of the matter,” told Mr. Yavuz Canevi, Chairman of Forum Istanbul.“The United Nations' 2007 development report focused mainly on agricultural issues. We focused on discussing the efficiency and employment problems of Turkey's agriculture sector, such as shifting employees from industry to agriculture,” Mr. Canevi said.

WILBUR ROSS PLANS TO INVEST IN TURKEY

Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said he's looking for a Turkish partner to invest in making automotive parts in the country. “Turkey is a low-cost place to manufacture and has a number of carmakers there like Peugeot and Ford,” Mr. Ross said “We think there would be good auto parts demand there.”

The investment by International Automotive Components Group in Turkey would be a “greenfield” development, building plants to manufacture components such as panels, dashboards and carpets for cars, Ross said. The group recently opened plants in Japan and China and plans another in India in November.

Carmakers including Ford Motor, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Toyota Motor make cars in Turkey for export to Europe, taking advantage of the country's customs accord with the European Union, and for sale in the nation of 71 million. The government is seeking to attract more foreign investment to balance a widening trade deficit.

Turkey's parliament passed a law on Feb. 28 granting tax incentives to companies engaging in research and development. The government expects auto and auto-parts makers to increase investment in the country as a result of that legislation, Alpaslan Korkmaz, head of Turkey's investment promotion agency, said in a March 4 interview. Ross, who said he will be in Turkey this week to discuss the venture, declined to name potential partners or give details of the cost of the planned facility.

TRADE TRANSPORTERS' MEETING HELD IN CROSSROADS

The 31st World Congress of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) was held in Istanbul on May 15-16, with the theme of "Reviving the Silk Road." Stressing the boom in international trade over the last two decades, the Head of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) Mr. Rifat Hisarciklioglu said, "Rising international trade volume, especially between East and West, increases the need for improved land transportation, and Turkey has very big advantages in this area." Hisarciklioglu also stressed that Turkey's special geographic position along East-West trade routes and added that reviving the ancient trade road would benefit international trade relations immensely. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and many high-level figures attended the Congress, as well as nearly 2,000 guests from 70 countries.

TURKEY TO HAVE FIRST NUCLEAR POWER STATION BY 2015

“Turkey should have its first nuclear power station by 2015” said Mr. Duran Gokkaya, the Director General of the Turkish Electricity Trading Company (TETAS). He also added that all the legal groundwork has been laid to authorize the construction of nuclear power stations in Turkey.

The tender process for the first nuclear power station, which began on March 24, would be completed on September 24, he said. So far, there were four companies interested in the tender and this number could rise to as many as 15 before the end of September, Mr. Gokkaya said. “A nuclear power plant costs between $10 to $15 billion. Energy production through nuclear means has become more attractive thanks to support by the state” he said.

ASSOCIATION OF BALKAN CHAMBERS (ABC) IS ORGANIZING INFO-STAND PARTICIPATION IN BULMEDICA-BULDENTAL/2008

Within the framework of Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC) and Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) Partnership Project, ABC will organize info-stand participation of companies from member countries in the 42nd Bulmedica / Buldental 2008 which is an International Specialised Exhibition in South Eastern Europe in the field of medicine from 13th to 16th of May 2008 at Inter Expo and Congress Center in Sofia. 

BALKANS-MEDITERRANEAN TO JOIN FORCES

Parallel to Turkey's integration process into the European Union, collaboration for synergy would not only serve Balkans but also surrounding regions, said Mr. Rıfat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Chairman of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB).

"Our main concern is to develop regional cooperation. Within this framework, we will sign a business cooperation agreement as the Association of Balkan Chambers (ABC) with the Association of Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME) to establish strong business relations between countries of the region," said Mr. Hisarcıklıoğlu, during ABC's first general assembly in Istanbul on 27 March.

Within the framework of regional cooperation, the "Mediterranean Business Partneria" will be organized between May 15-18 in Antalya. Some 300 buyers of 10 sectors from 44 countries are expected to participate in the event. This project aims to further develop markets for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) via establishing a wide business network and building partnerships on sector level from different countries, said Mr. Hisarcıklıoğlu.

Turkey's total investments in Balkan countries have reached $1.5 billion, he said. Adding to that Turkish capital that is invested through third countries, the figure is approximately $1.9 billion, Mr. Hisarcıklıoğlu said.

"The value of housing projects [in the Balkans] that have been undertaken by Turkish contractors is $4.5 billion. These data show that we are strengthening our economic relations with Balkan countries," said Hisarcıklıoğlu. "Currently 15,000 Turkish companies and 20,000 Turkish business people are operating in Balkan countries."

TURKEY'S ECONOMY BEATS IN ISTANBUL

Istanbul, which has a crucial status since it connects two continents, Asia and Europe, is the heart of Turkey in many areas particularly in terms of the economy, various figures reveal. Besides being a center of culture, arts and history, the city draws attention of investors with its demographic characteristics as well as its location.

As the world's only city situated on two continents, Istanbul has recently developed particular activities to turn the city into a finance center under the leadership of the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB). The city, more crowded than several European countries with a population of over 12 million, is drawing attention with foreign investments it has attracted in recent years.

The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) reached a transaction volume of YTL 387.8 billion as of December 2007, while the IMKB National 100 Index ranked 11th among 60 world bourses, with an annual gain of 42 percent.   

"Istanbul is the heart of the economy today, handling almost 60 percent of Turkey's aggregate exports and imports," said Mr. Tanıl Küçük, Chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO). "Almost 25 percent of Turkey's gross national product is of Istanbul origin. Istanbul, which has been the center of the manufacturing industry since the 1950s, creates over 30 percent of the added value of Turkey's manufacturing industry." The ISO had 13,950 members, as of the end of March, said Mr. Küçük. In 2006, there were 216 ISO member enterprises among the top 500 companies, he added.

Istanbul more than deserves to be a global center with the values it has, said Mr. Küçük. "However, this should not mean ignoring industry. It is not realistic to think that Istanbul, which hosts 38 percent of industrial enterprises in Turkey, which creates over 30 percent of total added value of the manufacturing industry, and whose 32 percent employment is related to industry, will give up industry easily and gain a service-focused structure." Among incentive-dependent investments in Istanbul between 2002 and 2006, the manufacturing industry ranked first with 53 percent, said Mr. Küçük. "This reveals Istanbul has not given up industry, and that industry will stay in the city at any rate."

Istanbul, which is one of the world's top 20 largest cities, is the second-largest city in Europe after Moscow, said Mr. Murat Yalçıntaş with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO). In the distribution of economic activities in Istanbul, trade ranks first, with a 34.1 percent share, and is followed by industry, with 23.9 percent, construction, with 17.1 percent, and transportation and communication, with a 7.2 percent share, he said.

Istanbul constitutes 1 percent of agriculture, 28 percent of industry, 21.2 percent of construction, 24.6 percent of trade and 23 percent of transportation and communication in Turkey, Yalçıntaş said. The city holds 46 banks among a total of 50, 42 percent of bank deposits and 48 percent of bank loans, he added.

Istanbul's daily economic production size exceeds YTL 500 million, Yalçıntaş said, and added that there are 26,091 export and 34,722 import firms in the city. Istanbul is ahead of many European Union countries, and all Balkan countries, in export figures he said. Almost one-third of all commercial enterprises in Turkey operate in Istanbul, which produces 45 percent of Turkey's wholesale trade and 55 percent of aggregate trade volume, he added.

Istanbul, is the world's 27th most expensive city, according to a list published by Swiss bank UBS, is considered one of the hottest real estate markets in Europe, according to a joint survey by the Urban Land Institute and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Selected as the cultural capital of Europe for 2010, Istanbul also features historic districts listed as World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNECSO) in 1985.

TURKEY WANTS TO EXPAND ECONOMIC TIES WITH NEIGHBORING BULGARIA

The Turkish Prime Minister met with business leaders in Bulgaria on 27 March, as part of a regional tour aimed at boosting Turkey's economic prospects in the Balkans.

Turkey's trade with Bulgaria has grown fourfold in four years to more than US$4 billion (¤2.6 billion) in 2007, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the meeting with Turkish and Bulgarian business leaders. Mr. Erdogan said the countries' trade was balanced, and could soon reach US$10 billion (¤6.4 billion). The Turkish-Bulgarian Business and Friendship Association, a business lobby, said the visit was key for Turkey's prospects.

"Bulgaria is Turkey's door opening to Europe," the association's chairman, Mr. Ali Kahraman, said in Istanbul. "Our exports to Bulgaria are increasing day by day" he said, noting a construction boom in Bulgaria that accounted for the bulk of Turkish business in the country.

Mr. Erdogan met with his Bulgarian counterpart, Mr. Sergei Stanishev, and planned meetings with President Georgi Parvanov and Parliament Speaker Georgi Pirinski.

Bulgaria and Turkey are also partners in the multinational gas project Nabucco, which will carry natural gas from the Russia's Caspian Sea coast to Western Europe, linking also to Iran, Azerbaijan, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria.

ISTANBUL INCREASES REVENUES PER ROOM

Istanbul ranks third among European cities in terms of the increase in revenues per available room in 2007, consulting firm Deloitte announced in a report.

Turkey's most populous city ranks 20th in the global list. Istanbul increased its revenues per available room by 22.1 percent in U.S. dollar terms, rising above the average of Europe, according to Deloitte's "Hospitality Vision - Global Performance Review" report, which evaluates the past year for the global hospitality sector.

"The East-meets-West charms of Istanbul and its promotion as a center for art and culture has assisted this growth," said Deloitte in the report, noting that Istanbul's average room rates are more competitive than its rivals. Demand is high from Middle East business travelers, particularly in the summer.

Istanbul attracts attention as a symbol of the nation's success, said Mr. Ahmet Cangöz, Hospitality Industry Leader at Deloitte Turkey. "Istanbul climbed 12 ranks to 20th spot [in global ranking] since 2000. It is becoming a rising star of global tourism," he said. "The fact that Istanbul has been elected the European Capital of Culture for 2010 offers new opportunities." Seven out of top 10 cities that obtain highest hospitality revenues are European cities, said Mr. Cangöz adding that Europe is still the heart of tourism and remains a favorite destination for travelers.

Hospitality sector, which displayed a high performance in terms of average revenues per room and occupancy rates in 2007, attained double-digit growth rates, Deloitte said. Average revenue per hotel room in Europe rose by 15.8 percent to $114, according to the report, in which 165 countries outside North America are compared.

According to the European ranking, Moscow tops the list of revenues per available room with a 23.5 percent rise. Paris ranks second with an increase of 23.2 percent, just ahead of Istanbul. Venice and London follow Istanbul with 22 percent and 18.5 percent increases respectively.

The Deloitte report also focused on the positive impact of "open skies" agreement. "We will see more competition as transatlantic air travel is liberalized through the 'open skies' agreement," the report said. "With European airlines now being able to fly to the United States from any European airport and not just their home country, we expect to see a scrabble for flights to and from Europe's major hubs. Airlines are collaborating with former rivals to create competitive schedules, and all of this is good news for the consumer."

TURKISH AIRLINES BOOMS DESPITE GLOBAL TURMOIL

Although most airline companies face a downtrend in terms of both number of passengers and occupancy rate due to the global economic crisis, business at Turkish Airlines (THY), one of Europe's fastest growing airlines, is booming.

"Normally, we would witness a decline in the number of passengers and occupancy rate in January, February, March and April. However, THY has reached the highest figures in its history, with an occupancy rate of more than 70 percent. This year, we have attained a number of passengers almost similar to high season," said Mr. Temel Kotil, THY Managing Director. As of March, the number of international passengers exceeded the number of domestic passengers for the first time in the history of THY, he added.

THY carried more than 370,000 passengers a week on average in March, said Mr. Kotil, adding that international flights constituted more than 60 percent of the total yield. There also was a noteworthy boom in the number of business passengers flying with the THY in recent months, Mr. Kotil said. The total number of passengers flying business class rose by approximately 50 percent during the first three months of this year, compared to the corresponding period last year, he added.

Airline companies in Turkey carried 59 million passengers on both domestic and international flights in 2006, said Mr. Kotil. In 2007, this figure reached 70 million, he added. "Turkey, which has climbed to the 13th spot from the 15th in terms of passenger traffic, may climb even further this year."

THY will establish a new flight network and air bridge thanks to its membership in the Star Alliance, the world's biggest airline confederation, Mr. Kotil said. "We foresee a significant increase in international flights and in the number of transit passengers with full membership in Star Alliance, which is taking affect today," he added. "We predict a 10 percent increase in passenger numbers due to the full membership. We expect the number of transit passengers to surpass 1.5 million and the total number of passengers to surpass 23.5 million this year," said Mr. Kotil.

THY currently flies to 150 international destinations, Mr. Kotil said. Alliance membership is crucial in terms of the destinations the THY is not flying to, he said, adding: "With the alliance, we will add 943 cities to our international flight network. A passenger buying an alliance ticket will be able to travel to those 943 destinations with just one ticket. As long as the customs rules allow, our passenger will be able to complete the travel without any intervention regarding the luggage.  This will bring enormous comfort."

VESTEL TO OPEN FACTORIES IN IRAN AND KAZAKHSTAN

Vestel, Turkey's biggest television maker, will build factories in Iran and Kazakhstan to expand in the region. Vestel's factories in Iran and Kazakhstan will first make cathode ray tube TVs before switching to liquid crystal display (LCD) production, the newspaper cited Vestel Chairman Mr. Ömer Yüngül as saying.

TURKISH COMPANY TO CONSTRUCT MODERN BAZAAR IN CENTRAL ASIA

The historic "Desert Bazaar," one of the world's biggest open bazaars, will be moved to modern premises, which will be constructed by a Turkish construction company. 

Genç Çelikler İnşaat Ticaret Sanayi A.Ş will construct the biggest open market in Central Asia worth $152 million. Located to the north of Turkmenistan's capital, Asghabad, on an area of 500,000 square meters, the Desert Bazaar has hundreds of products ranging from food, agricultural products, automobiles, textiles to carpets, gold, home appliances and furniture. The new premises will include hundreds of stores in an area of 30 square meters each, 12 open bazaar spaces, two hotels, a parking lot for 3,000 cars, cafes, and restaurants.

Located in the the middle of the desert, 20 kilometers away from Asghabad, the Bazaar will also include modern laboratories, banks, medical centers, a pharmacy and a police station in its administration building as well as a large lot for shopping carts, large warehouses and cold storage houses for food products. Approved by President Gurbangulı Berdimuhamedov, the project is set to be complete in October 2010.

TURKISH BANKS GROW DESPITE GLOBAL CRISES

Despite the global economic crisis, Turkey's banks aim to continue hiring new staff and open new branches in the upcoming period.

The banks, which have been grabbing the attention of foreign investors with their customer-focused activities in recent years, plan to hire approximately 20,000 people this year.

Considering Turkey's population, the size of its economy, economic power, per capita deposit and per capita loan figures, the banking sector is still in a development process and it has further growth potential, said Mr. Ekrem Keskin, Secretary General of The Banks Association of Turkey (TBB). "It is natural that banks desire to continue growing as long as the economy is stable, inflation is in a downtrend, public sector deficit is declining and there is a climate for sustainable growth. Accordingly, banks are making efforts to open new branches and increase the number of staff." 

Yapı Kredi Bank, which is co-owned by Italy's UniCredit SpA, opened 70 branches last year. It is planning to add an additional 160 branches, and employ another 3,000 people this year. Garanti Bank, which is co-owned by General Electric Co, currently has 592 branches and 14,400 staff. Garanti, which opened 106 branches last year, is aiming to open 158 new branches this year to increase the number of its branches to 750. The bank will also provide additional job opportunities for 2,600 people.

Akbank, the country's biggest bank by market value, aims to continue opening branches in places with individual, small and medium scale customer potential this year. Having employed 2,700 people last year, the bank envisages keeping up with this trend this year. Ziraat Bank, Turkey's biggest state bank, which sees 1,100 persons retire each year on average, will add 2,500 staff this year. HSBC, having provided jobs for 1,700 people last year, plans to open 80 new branches. Denizbank plans to open 80 new branches, employing 1,500 people, while Fortis aims to exceed 300 branches by opening 50 new branches, employing an additional 1,564 people. Vakıfbank plans to open approximately 100 new branches and employ 1,000 staff members.

Number of branches for deposit banks, development and investment banks rose by 769 to 7,618 in 2007, compared to 2006 year-end, according to the TBB data. As far as deposit banks are concerned, each bank had 229 branches on average during the period.

According to 2007 data, considering all deposit, development and participation banks, each staff member serves 422 people while each branch serves 8,738 persons. According to European Union data for 2006, the figures are 152 people and 2,183 people respectively. The difference between the EU and Turkey figures is 2.8 times in terms of staff and four times in terms of branches. Bank assets per capita, which was 79,000 euros on average in the European Union, was around 3,700 euros in Turkey in 2006.

ANADOLU CAM TO BUILD GLASS FACTORY IN RUSSIA

Anadolu Cam, a unit of Turkey's biggest glassmaker, Şişecam, will start building a glass factory in Russia in April. The Istanbul-based company has acquired 40 hectares of industrial land from local authorities in the Russian city of Novosibirsk to build the plant, Anadolu Cam said in a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange late Monday. The new plant will have a capacity of 240,000 tons a year.

FOREIGN INVESTORS TO BENEFIT FROM TRADE LAW

Turkey's five-decades-old trade law is about to get a major overhaul. The new trade bill, under preparation for the last five years, is expected to save foreign investors from double taxation, carry the fight against unfair competition to a global platform and secure the compliance of the financial reporting system with European Union standards.

The bill, which will tighten audits, is also expected to bring legal status to holdings and ease the procedures to found a company. Though holdings have been part of Turkey's economic life since 1964, they are not defined in the current law.

The current law underwent many changes during the last five decades. Updated now by several academics, utilizing suggestions from nongovernmental organizations and companies, the new trade bill consists of 1,553 articles. Prepared in line with global financial developments, the law will ensure commerce complies with EU norms.

The new trade bill is the most extensive reform within the EU harmonization process, said Ms. Lerzan Yılmaz, a lecturer from Marmara University's law department. Once the bill becomes a law, foreign investors will feel more secure, she said. "Foreign investors prefer to be involved in a system that complies with the laws of their homeland," Ms. Yılmaz said.

Turkey holds bilateral contracts with 136 countries, and a law to encourage foreign investors was already introduced within the context of these contracts, she said. However, in practice, the country has been trying to implement rules that were annulled in Europe in 1965, she added. 

The Code of Obligations and the trade law should be one joint law, said Ms. Yılmaz, adding, "securing compliance of the trade law with the EU while still implementing the 80-year-old Code of Obligations, which includes many clauses that do not comply with EU standards, would mean a deficient reform."

The law is of great importance to the business world, said Ms. Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ, chairwoman of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD). "The implementation of these reforms is just a matter of time. All of them would take three to six months. The draft trade law waiting at Parliament should be accepted as soon as possible."

Reforms should be implemented as soon as possible, said Ms. Güler Sabancı, Chairwoman of Sabancı Holding. "The new trade law should not wait any longer," she urged. The new law will alter the foreign outlook toward Turkey, said Mr. Tahir Uysal, chairman of the International Investors Association of Turkey (YASED). The law will feature several amendments concerning governance principles, Mr. Uysal added. "We are looking forward to seeing the draft become a law."

TURKEY TO HOLD $1.1 BLN RAILWAY TENDER IN APRIL

Turkey plans a $1.1 billion auction on April 15 for the construction of a 466 km. rail way from Ankara to the eastern city of Sivas. The dual-track railway will shorten the current 12 hour trip to three hours according to the state railway authority. Construction will include eight tunnels, 88 bridges and 14 stations.

TOURIST ARRIVALS RISE FOR 15TH MONTH

The number of foreign tourists visiting Turkey rose 14 percent in February from a year earlier, the 15th consecutive month it's increased. About 896,000 foreign visitors arrived in February, up from 787,000 in the same month of 2007, the Tourism Ministry said on its Web site yesterday. Turkey needs revenue from tourism to help reduce a current-account deficit that reached to 5.8 percent of estimated gross domestic product.

VENICE-ISTANBUL TOUR OF ITALIAN SAILORS

The Italian Sailing Association, located in Venice, is organizing a two-way sailboat trip with two sailboats between the cities of Istanbul and Venice, in order to reflect the historical relations between the two cities.

Accordingly, the two sailboats with eight crew members, which will follow the route of Adriatic Sea-Corinth Bosphorus-Aegean Sea-Çanakkale Bosphorus-Marmara Sea, are expected to sail on March 15th, 2008 from Venice and arrive in Istanbul on March 23rd or 24th, 2008. The sailboats will sail back to Venice by following the same route, after staying a few days in Istanbul.

The trip will be broadcasted on navigation related programs of certain Italian national television networks. Press members, who are willing to capture the trip, should contact Directorate General of Press and Information Istanbul Office. The contact information of our Istanbul Office is provided below

TURKEY'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP IN  JANUARY

Turkey's industries showed a strong increase in output in the first month of the year, according to figure released by the Turkish Board of Statistics (TUIK) on Monday, 10 March. Overall, there was an 11.7 percent in industrial output in January compared to the same month in 2007, the TUIK report said. According to the TUIK study figures, output by the manufacturing industry increased by rose 11.7, while the mining sector's production rose by 7.0 percent for the month. However, the big mover was the utilities sector, with output in the gas and water industries rising by 12.4 percent. 

EREĞLİ DEMIR & CELIK TO INVEST IN IRON ORE

Turkey's largest steel producer, Ereğli Demir & Çelik-Erdemir, is planning to spend $350 million on a mining venture this year, the company's chief executive officer told a press conference in İstanbul Friday, March 7.

"We have long term investment plans in southern Turkey, which has 700 million tons of iron ore reserves," Mr. Oğuz Özgen said during a press conference held to announce the company's 2007 financial status as well as its investment plans for this year. Erdemir will start work on the mine in the second quarter of this year and complete the investment by the second half of 2010, he added.

The company, which invested $947 million last year, plans to invest nearly $800 million in various sectors this year. The company is also planning to invest $4.2 billion by 2012 on projects including upgrading factories and expanding production, said Mr. Özgen.

Global raw steel production was slightly above 1.34 billion tons last year, with an increase of 7 percent from a year earlier, said Mr. Özgen. "China is a great factor. Raw steel production in China increased by 15 percent to reach 489 million tons. Turkey, with its 25.7 million tons of production ranks second, following China in the list of countries which recorded the biggest production increase last year. Turkey maintains its 11th spot at the global list of steel production." Erdemir, with its steel production, ranks 58th in a global listing, 18th in Europe and eighth among European Union countries, said Mr. Özgen.

The flat production in the company's southern factory İşdemir, located in the Mediterranean coast's İskenderun, and in its northern factory Erdemir, located in the Black Sea's Ereğli, total 4.206 million tons. "Prior to the privatization the figure was 3.500 tons. Within the last two years out northern factory saw a production increase of 700 million tons," said Mr. Özgen. The northern factory exported 656,000 tons last year, while the southern factory's experts reached 269,000 tons, he added.

TURKEY'S RICHEST NO.3 IN EUROPE

Turkey is represented on this year's Forbes list with 35 persons, 13 more than on last year's list. The total wealth of these 35 individuals has reached $60 billion, while the country's billionaires surpassed even those of Japan, an industrialized nation.

In Europe, Russia ranked as number one with 87 billionaires, while Germany is at number two, with 59. The number of Turkish dollar billionaires is equal to those of Britain.  

JAPAN ASKS TURKEY FOR NEW EXHIBITIONS

The success of an exhibition titled 'Treasures of Topkapı Palace and Magnificent Ottoman Dynasty,' which was opened in Japan last summer prompts the organizers to request similar exhibitions in three Japanese cities; Hiroshima, Sendai and Shizuoka.

Organizer Yoshiaki Ishikawa, Toei Company chairman told that the exhibition on display in Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya had received great interest from art enthusiasts, having been visited by 200,000 people in Tokyo, 100,000 in Kyoto and 70,000 in Nagoya. "There were also visitors visiting the exhibition for the second or third time," he said. Mostly businessmen from Ishikawa, Hiroshima, Sendai and Shizuoka asked the Culture and Tourism Ministry to see more exhibitions from Turkey. The exhibition was also visited by Japan's Prince Akishino. 

Director of Museums Mr. Orhan Düzgün said that they had opened seven exhibitions in the previous year in Japan and the most successful one among them was "Treasures of Topkapı Palace and Magnificent Ottoman Dynasty."
He said Japanese officials applied for the opening of similar exhibitions in 2011. "In cooperation with Japanese officials we are always ready to open such exhibitions that will contribute to the promotion of our country abroad". A total of 140 items worthed $65.6 million, 111 pieces from the collection of Istanbul's Topkapı Palace and the rest from the Istanbul Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, were showcased in the exhibition.

Among the exhibited items there were kitchen utensils such as coffee pitchers, soup bowls, trays and plates, bathroom items such as Turkish bath bowls, bath pans and jugs and jeweleries such as emerald earrings, necklaces, bangles and jewelry boxes. Japanese visitors also had the chance to see Hürrem Sultana's deed of trust, Sultan Mahmut I's signed title deed, Sultan Mehmet IV's signed mandate and Sultan Selim III's signed deed of assignment in the exhibitions.

TURKISH FIRMS EXPORT 1.5 BLN PAIRS OF SOCKS

Turkish companies have exported 1.5 billion pairs of socks in 2007, having the third rank in the world socks export. The Turkish socks export totaled $837 million with the $243 million to Britain, $175 million to Germany and with the $6 million to France. Turkey has rank just behind China and Italy, said Mr. Tüzmen and adding that socks exports to EU reached $527 million.

STRONG GROWTH FOR TURKISH INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT IN 2007

Turkey's industrial output increased by 5.4 percent, according to figures released Friday, February 8, by the Turkish Statistical Board (TUIK). According to the results of TUIK's Industry Production Index output in the production industry rose by 4.8 percent, in the mining sector by 9.6 percent, and in the electric, gas and water sector by 8.7 percent.

However, while strong, the results represented a fall in the rate of increase for industrial production for the 12 months ending December 31 compared to the previous year. In 2006, Turkish industrial output had grown 5.8 percent.

TURKEY'S NEW SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH

Turkey's latest satellite has been completed, all tests carried out and Turksat 3A is ready to be blasted into orbit, officials said. Turksat 3A will extend the range of telecommunications services across Turkey, Europe and Central Asia.

The new generation satellite, which will replace the ageing Turksat 1C, has been transferred from France, where it was constructed, to a launch site in French Guiana, officials from the Transportation Ministry said.

The telecommunications satellite is scheduled to be put into orbit some time in April or May and is expected to remain in use for up to 20 years, officials said.

TURKISH PRESIDENT GUL IN BUCHAREST

President Abdullah Gul, in the midst of a three-day visit to Romania, met with his Romanian counterpart Traian Bacescu. At a joint press conference on 3 March, Gul said that relations between Turkey and Romania should be strengthened. For his part, Bacescu said, "Romania supports Turkey's EU bid unwaveringly and without hesitation." He also pledged to ease visa procedures for Turkish business visitors and said he welcomed French participation in the Nabucco natural gas pipeline project. Later Gul visited the Romanian Parliament, an Ataturk monument, and a cemetery for Turkish soldiers, and addressed the Turkish-Romanian Business Forum.

TURKISH EXPORTS SOAR ALMOST 50 PERCENT

Turkey's exports rose to $9.8 billion in January, up 49.27 percent from January 2007, according to information from the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TİM).

The 12-month total for exports increased 24.86 percent to $109.16 billion, TİM Chairman Oğuz Satıcı said at a press conference held at Paşabahçe Glass Factory in Eskişehir. State Minister Mr. Kürşad Tüzmen and Finance Minister Mr. Kemal Unakıtan also attended the press conference.

Livestock and fishery products saw the highest rise in exports with an increase of 105.96 percent in January compared the same month in 2007. Dry fruit and dry fruit products exports ranked second with an increase of 75.62 percent. Exports of vehicles and related industry rose 74.97 percent. Chemical materials and products, leather and leather products and machinery parts followed in the ranking with increases of 71.20 percent, 55.97 percent and 53.39 percent respectively. Ready-wear and apparel exports soared to 34.35 percent in January.

The industrial sector had the highest amount of exports last month with $8.4 billion. The sector netted $94.67 billion from exports within the last year. Vehicles and related industry took in $2.15 billion from exports in the first month of 2008, while the ready-wear and apparel sector made $1.44 billion and chemical materials and products made $1.39 billion. The only sector to see a decline in exports in January was the olive and olive oil sector, which dropped 15.76 percent.

Cumulatively, Germany ranked first among countries receiving Turkey's exports. The 20 countries that Turkey exported to were the, Italy, France, Russia, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Romania, the Netherlands, Iraq, Greece, Iran, Belgium, Poland, Israel, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Malta and the Republic of South Africa.

According to the distribution of export amounts among Exporter Unions, the General Secretariat of Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters' Association (İMMİB) ranked first with $3.3 billion. The Uludağ Exporters' Association (UİB) and the General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile & Apparel Exporter Associations (İTKİB) followed in the ranking with $2.19 billion and $1.57 billion respectively.

TURKISH FIRMS LEAVE MARK ON MUSLIM WORLD

Turkish companies loomed large among the top 100 companies of the Muslim world. Produced by the business strategy publication Dinar Standard, the Islamic world's "2007 Largest 100 Companies" list - also known as the DS100 list - includes 24 companies from Turkey.

Turkish companies continue to lead the list with 24 represented enterprises, followed by 17 from Malaysia, 15 from Saudi Arabia, nine from Indonesia, and seven from the United Arab Emirates. Other countries represented include Egypt, Kuwait, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Bahrain, and Algeria.

The purpose of the DS100, now in its fourth year, is to portray as close a picture as possible of the leading domestic business activities in Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries while providing its corporate managers and strategists with a tool to benchmark trends and identify opportunities. The ranking is purely based on the 2006 end-of-year annual revenue figures.

Turkey based Koç Holding - a diversified electronics, automotive, energy, finance, and retail giant - ranks sixth in the 2007 "DS100" with an income of $34.5 billion. Some 11 Turkish companies including Sabancı Holding, Petrol Ofisi, Ziraat Bank, Doğan Holding and İşbank, rank among the top 50 companies. Turkish jewelery manufacturing company Goldaş took place for the first-time in the DS100.

TURKISH TOURISM REVENUE RISES IN Q4

The Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) announced that the Turkish tourism income and expenditure increased in the fourth quarter of 2007 from a year earlier.

Tourism revenue rose by 23.9 percent to $3.86 billion from $3.12 billion, revealed TÜİK's departing visitors survey, which is conducted on foreign visitors and citizens residing outside Turkey. Some $2.88 billion of the tourism income was obtained from foreign visitors while Turkish citizens residing outside supplied $975.84 million.

Individual travels brought $3.38 billion while package tours supplied $484.43 million.  In the fourth quarter, the highest tourism income was collected in October with $1.85 billion. Tourism income was $1.13 billion in November and $874.93 million in December. Average personal expenditures were $609 for foreign visitors and  $1,063 for visiting citizens. The total number of departing visitors was 5.66 million over the period. The figure consists of 4.74 million foreign visitors and 918,052 citizens residing outside Turkey. During the fourth quarter, visitor numbers in October, November and December were 2.77 million, 1.61 million and 1.27 million respectively.

Tourism expenditures also increased 43.9 percent to $875.78 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to a survey carried out on arriving citizens who are resident in Turkey. Individual expenditures constituted $844.41 million and package tour expenditures $31.37 million. In the fourth quarter, the highest tourism expenditure was in December with $332.89 million. Tourism expenditure was $302.86 million in October and $240.02 million in November. Average personal expenditures were $679 over the period.

TURKEY'S STAR TO SHINE IN EUROPE WITH LEVI'S

Levi Strauss as part of its restructuring, plans to convert its Çorlu factory into a product development center. The factory currently concentrates on sewing and washing.

The company, established a new operation tying Russia and Middle Eastern countries to Turkey.

Levi's Europe Vice Chairman Mr. Haluk Aksoy leads the new organization that covers 26 countries and a population of 450 million. The region that includes Turkey, Russia and the Middle East is poised for growth, said Mr. Aksoy. "We need to focus on this region, so we decided to join it as a separate region. The Middle East has already been managed from Turkey.

However, the focus was not adequate. We now plan to attain double-digit growth each year by focusing on this region," he said. In Russia, the company is available only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, said Mr. Aksoy, adding, "it is unnecessary to talk about our potential in the Turkish market, the age average of which is 24.5. This year will be a year of restructuring and transition while we will initiate our leap in 2009."

Levi's decided to restructure its Çorlu factory, which currently concentrates on sewing and washing. "We will shift the sewing to contract manufacturing and turn the factory into a washing and product development center to provide services to Europe. It will be a laboratory for us, because washing is the most important part of jeans construction. The company invested $2 million in the factory for this project, adding, we will invest another $2 million to change the machines. The product development center will start operating in April 2008" said Mr. Aksoy.

Mr. Aksoy also added that the collection produced in Europe may not be appropriate for the style or climate of Russia or the Middle East. "Therefore, we will develop new products in our product development center both for these regions and for Europe. This is a very important opportunity for Turkey, as it will the first product development center to be established by Levi's in Europe," he said.

Levi's increased its number of stores from 25 to 40 last year, and it will grow to have 50 stores this year, this means a growth of 100 percent. Mr. Aksoy expressed that Turkey is the most successful country in the world for the company's second brand, Dockers. "Turkey is being shown as a model in Europe. Dockers will continue growing in Turkey. To ensure this growth, we will increase our stores from 22 to 28 in 2008," Mr. Aksoy said.

THY PASSENGERS INCREASE 16 PCT

Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkey's national carrier, said passenger numbers rose 16 percent in 2007 compared to a year earlier.
A total of 19.6 million people flew on the airline last year, according to a filing with the Istanbul Stock Exchange yesterday. Passengers flew a total of 41.6 million kilometers, up 13 percent from the previous year.

FINNISH COMPANY EXPANDS IN TURKEY

Finnish metal sector company Componenta is expected to invest some 9 million euros to expand its casting facilities in Orhangazi near Bursa. Componenta had bought Turkish listed company Döktaş in October 2006 for 89 million euros, making it the largest Finnish investment in Turkey to date.

The investment in Turkey is a part of Componenta's plan to invest 12 million euros in expanding its casting capacity in Karkkila, Finland and Turkey, said Mr. Heikki Lehtonen, the company's Chief Executive Officer. "The expansion of our casting capacity in Turkey will make nearly 75 percent of the total investment," Mr. Lehtonen said. The expanded capacity, totalling 45,000 tonnes a year, is expected to increase Componenta's sales by approximately 65 million euros.  

Due to the expansion of facilities the total casting capacity of Componenta, Döktaş in Turkey will increase from approximately 140-180,000 tonnes a year. The new facilities are expected to be up and running by September 2008. The new facilities are also expected to boost employment in the Bursa region by creating 100-200 new jobs in Orhangazi. "This capacity increase represents almost third of the whole casting capacity of Finland and 5 percent of the total casting capacity of Turkey. As such the expansion will be major," Mr. Lehtonen said.  

The reason behind Componenta's decision to expand its capacity is the strong growth of its order volume. Order stock in 2007 increased by approximately 35 percent. There are two main reasons for the increased need for iron and aluminium components, said Mr. Lehtonen. "The boom in infrastructure in China, India, Latin America and Easter Europe is boosting iron component business on macro level. In addition the growth of the automotive sector in Turkey is increasing our sales domestically," he added.  

Mr. Lehtonen also noted that Componenta recently started building a new machinery unit in Orhangazi and is about to decide on the construction of a new aluminium component unit in Manisa. These new unit will double Componenta's capacity in Manisa.

Over the course of 2007, the operating profit of Componenta increased from 14.9 million euros to 38.2 million euros. Net sales of the firm rose from 362 million euros in 2006 to 635 million euros in 2007. The figures cover all business of Componenta, which has presence in Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Turkey. "Our operations in Turkey made a notable impact on our business volume in 2007. Turkey will play central role in our business strategy also in the future," Lehtonen concluded.

TURKISH HOSIERY EXPORTS SECOND IN THE WORLD

Turkey's hosiery sector, with production of 2 billion pairs in 2007, has maintained its position as second largest producer and exporter in global markets, only following China.

"Turkey's record-breaking achievement should not be undermined. Millions of Europeans wear Turkish made hosiery," said Mr. Özkan Karaca, Board Member of the Istanbul Ready-Wear and Clothing Association (IHKIB).

Turkey's hosiery exports in 2007 increased by 6.79 percent to nearly 1.48 billion pairs from 1.39 billion pairs the previous year. Meanwhile, Turkey's hosiery export totaled $881 million in 2007, an increase of 17 percent from $752 million in 2006. With the contribution of shuttle trade, tourism and domestic consumption the volume was worth $1.2 billon.

"The European Union (EU) eliminated the Chinese quota in hosiery sector back in 2005. Still, against all odds. Turkey exported hosiery to 118 countries all around the world in 2007. EU countries constitute 90 percent of Turkeys entire hosiery export.We own a 45 percent share in the EU market. Almost one in two Europeans wears 'Made in Turkey' hosiery"  he noted.

Turkey's exports to the United Kingdom increased to 414.80 million pairs, worth $254 million. Germany's hosiery import from Turkey in 2007 totaled 308.63 million pairs, worth $176 million. Exporting 113.65 million pairs of hosiery to France, Turkey earned $77 million in 2007, while it earned $57 million from the sale of 92.23 million pairs of hosiery to the Netherlands.

Further down the list of Turkey's hosiery exports, Italy paid $37.6 million for 65.75 million pairs of hosiery, while Spain paid $24.9 million to import 35.93 million pairs of hosiery.

However, Turkey is still is not an affective hosiery player in the world's largest economy, Japan. Turkey has only been able to export hosiery worth $145,000. "But our exports to Russia, which as 150 million population, are $3.3 million. Our exports to Ukraine, with a population of 50 million, are worth $3.7 million," said Mr. Karaca.

TURKEY SETS EXPORT TARGET OF $125 BILLION FOR 2008

Turkey is aiming to increase its exports to $500 billion by 2023, Turkish State Minister Mr. Kürşad Tüzmen said.

Turkey is looking to earn $125 billion from exports in 2008, approximately 25% more than was generated last year, Mr. Kürşad Tüzmen said. Addressing a meeting of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM) in Istanbul, Mr. Tüzmen said the performance of Turkish exporters had been impressive in 2007, with overseas sales topping $100 billion.

Mr. Tüzmen, whose portfolio includes being the Minister responsible for foreign trade, said that the coming year would be a stellar one for Turkish exporters, pushing politics into the back- ground.  "2008 will be a year where business will overtake politics," he said.

According to Mr. Tüzmen, Turkey's 2007 export results were well above expectations, coming in $6 billion above target. "Turkey's monthly export figures are well over the annual export figures of many European Union countries, and we are moving ahead with decisive steps toward our exports target for 2023, which is $500 billion," he addressed.

SABANCI FIRST TURKISH FIRM TO HAVE ISO 27001 CERTIFICATE

The Sabanci Group has become the first holding in Turkey to have an ISO 27001 certificate, which is an international information security management system (ISMS) standard. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Ergun Hepvar, Sabanci's Chief Information Officer, said the group got the certificate after passing an audit by the British Standards Institute (BSI). He said Temsa, a motor vehicle manufacturer, became the first Sabanci group company to get the certificate as well. Mr. Hepvar said that information security was a basic goal for Sabanci and that the certification would strengthen its strategic approach on the issue.

MACEDONIA INVITES TURKISH ENTERPRENEURS

The Macedonian prime minister called on Turkish entrepreneurs to invest in his country, underlining that the good relations between the two countries should be deepened further.
Mr. Nicola Gruevski spoke at a meeting organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) in İstanbul on 17 December, after a brief visit to Ankara. The meeting stressed the importance of bilateral relations as both Turkey and Macedonia are candidates for European Union membership, both seek foreign investment and both aim to be the continent's energy hubs.

Despite these similarities, Turkey and Macedonia differ in macroeconomics. Macedonia, with an annual inflation rate of less than 2 percent, an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6 percent and a budget deficit of 2 percent, could set a good example for Turkey. In addition to economic growth, the nation has embarked on bold economic reforms, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) thanks to the lowest flat tax rate in Europe with 10 percent on profit and on income.
 "Turkey is one of the first countries to confirm the constitutional existence of the Republic of Macedonia," said Mr. Gruevski. "Turkish investors are always welcome in our country."

Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Zoran Stavreski, meanwhile, said that Macedonia has adopted a view of "less bureaucracy for more business."  "Within these terms we are attracting more FDI and encouraging entrepreneurs in diversifying products,"

Mr. Stavreski said.
The Macedonian delegation comprised of a total of 17 officials, underlining the importance the Balkan nation gives to Turkey.

BOOM YEAR FOR TURKISH TOURISM

Turkey's tourism sector has enjoyed a bumper year in 2007, with more than 22 million visitors arriving from overseas in the eleven months ending November 30, according to figures released by state officials on 14 December.

Up to the end of November, 22,322,736 tourists arrived in Turkey, with 17.82 percent of these coming from Germany.

The overall number of foreign tourists represented an 18.15 percent increase compared to the first eleven months of 2006.

GLOBAL LEADERS TALK BRANDS

The responsibilities of brands to society, the future of marketing and the nature of thinking, were the topics of discussion at the "Marka 2007" International brand conference in Istanbul held at the Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel on 13 December. 

Some world-renowned brand creators including Kenneth Cole, Lara Fabian, Petteri Kilpinen, Zeynep Yalın Uzun, Robert Friedman and Lama Shenpen Rinpochea attended the eighth year of the conference.

Mr. Kenneth Cole, the owner of the Kenneth Cole Productions Inc., highlighted the importance of determination, instincts and essence in order to create a successful brand. "The best solution is the most creative one to reach the ultimate goal," said Mr. Cole.  "The ultimate challenge you confront on the way of the ultimate goal is reflecting your work on the principles hastily and effectively."

TURKEY'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT JUMPS

Output from Turkey's industrial sector jumped in October, according to figures released on 10 December by the Turkish Board of Statistics (TUIK).

Turkey's industrial production recorded a 7.9 percent increase in October compared to the result of the same month in 2006.

Turkey's mining sector was one of the major driving forces in the increase, with production up by 16.8 percent compared to a 13.3 percent fall in October last year, while the utilities (electricity, gas and water) sector increased production by 8.8 percent.