Made in Turkey - Agustos15 by Made in

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August 2015 Year: 12 No: 124

Turkey ranks second in Blue Flag beaches

Foreigners own 35,000 houses in Antalya’s Alanya P2

Borsa Istanbul will support Istanbul financial hub Developing Borsa Istanbul is an important component of building the Istanbul financial hub, EBRD Director for Turkey Jean-Patrick Marquet told Anadolu Agency in an interview. | Page 2

An interest rate cut by the Turkish Central Bank would benefit the Turkish economy, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said.| Page 3

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his call to political parties to form a government “as soon as possible” after the June 7 elections produced no single-party majority.

“No one has the right to use their position within the post -election framework in an attempt to gridlock the system, rather than undertaking responsibility before the nation,”Erdo-

gan said. “It is a heavy liability to make Turkey look like a country where a government cannot be formed.” Erdogan urged political parties to put their egos aside and cooperate. “If politicians fail to resolve this issue, the sole reference point to resolve it is the nation,” he said, referring to the possibility of a re-election if a government does not take shape within 45 days of the president’s demand. | Page 3

TUPRAS becomes local export champion of 2014

Istanbul rises to become world’s 5th most visited city With 12.56 million projected visitors in 2015, Istanbul outpaced New York and Singapore, climbing two spots to become the fifth most visited city in the world, | Page 4

ANKARA-Turkey’s energy giant TUPRAS was named the country’s exports champion in 2014, while partnering foreign carmakers dominated the top 10 list of leading exporters, according to a survey by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM). The company exported $3.7 billion worth of petroleum products last year, down from $4.1 billion in 2013 and $5.42 billion in 2012. The energy giant captured a 56.4 percent share of the petroleum products

“Best Airline in Europe” Airlines has been named the “Best Airline in Europe” for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, which is recognized by the aviation industry for its global ranking system which tracks customer satisfaction of airlines service and performance around the world, the company said in a written statement on June 16. | Page 7

Turkey’s commitment to political and economic stability prevails ANKARA- “Turkey can fortify its security and stability with a coalition government formed on the basis of a common language, common targets and a common mind,” said Erdogan in his address to 22nd General Council of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly.

“Lower interest rates good for Turkey”

Turkey launches Ziraat Bank’s Islamic branch

Turkey’s arid heart to bloom after irrigation project |Page 6

market, excluding industrial products in Turkey. The company had a market share of 88 percent in jet fuel and 37 percent in diesel. In gasoline, almost all of the demand was met by TUPRAS.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

Turkey aims 30 percent renewable energy usage by 2023

Addressing the opening session of the 21st International Energy and Environment Fair and Conference, or the ICCI 2015, which is sponsored by Anadolu Agency in Istanbul, Yilmaz said that the allocated capacity for wind power plants was 3,000 megawatts, but the authority received a total of 42,273 megawatts pre-license applications. The pre-license applications were accepted between April 24 and 30 by Turkey’s energy watchdog... | Page 8

The top 10 Turkish exporting companies included four automotive, two white good makers and one export services company. One gas producer, German industrial conglomerate Bosch, ranks among them.| Page 3

Travel, tourism sectors account for 12 pct of GDP |Page 7

EconomicNewspaper

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2015

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Borsa Istanbul will support What is next? Istanbul financial hub Letter From The Editor

Mehmet Soztutan Editor-in-Chief

Turkey’s Supreme Elections Committee has announced the official results of June 7 parliamentary elections. According to the official results, the Justice and Development (AK) Party leads the way with 258 MPs elected to the Turkish parliament. The official results indicated that the AK Party secured 40.66 percent of the votes.

As none of the four political parties has the necessary majority to form a single-party government, they are trying to negotiate to form some type of coalition following the opening of parliament with the ceremonial oath-taking by MPs. Turkey’s constitution stipulates that a new government must be formed within 45 days following the president’s demand. If no government is formed, the country will have to hold early parliamentary elections.

What is next? Majority of the economists both at home and abroad think that there would be no deviation from macro stability and fiscal discipline, Actually, the Turkish econo-

my has shown remarkable performance with its steady growth over the last decade. A sound macroeconomic strategy in combination with prudent fiscal policies and major structural reforms in effect since 2002 has integrated the Turkish economy into the globalized world, while transforming the country into one of the major recipients of FDI in its region.

The structural reforms, hastened by Turkey’s EU accession process, have paved the way for comprehensive changes in a number of areas. The main objectives of these efforts were to increase the role of the private sector in the Turkish economy, to enhance the efficiency and resiliency of the financial sector, and to place the social security system on a more solid foundation. As these reforms have strengthened the macroeconomic fundamentals of the country, the economy grew with an average annual real GDP growth rate of 4.7 percent over the period of 2002 to 2014. It seems that 2015 will reap the fruits of success originating from the macroeconomic stability.

Letters to the Editor turkey@ihlas.net.tr Greece Greece will be in default with the International Monetary Fund at the start of July if it fails to make a repayment on June 30 because there is no grace period or possibility to delay, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said . “It will be in default, it will be in arrears vis-a-vis the IMFon July 1, but I hope it is not the case, I really do,” Lagarde told reporters following a meeting with the Luxembourg finance minister. “There is no grace period or two-month delay, as I have seen here and there,” she said, speaking before a euro zone finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg. Lagarde said a reform of the Greek pension system was critical to sealing a deal with Athens, although small pensioners should be protected. So, Greece should be ready for a default. A.Kostas/ Istanbul

Fed policymakers Fed policymakers maintained the current near-zero interest rate for now and said a hike would be appropriate only after further improvement in the labor market and greater confidence that inflation would rise. “Economic activity has been expanding moderately,” the Fed said in its policy statement. “The pace of job gains picked up while the unemployment rate remained steady. On balance, a range of labor market indicators suggests that underutilization of labor resources diminished somewhat.” In their projections, Fed officials lowered expectations for economic growth in 2015 after accounting for the weak start to the year. It was the second time since December that the central bank has downgraded its GDP growth forecast for this year. M. Bailey/ Paris

Solvency Prior to development of the crisis it was assumed by both regulators and banks that sovereign debt from the Euro zone was safe. Banks had substantial holdings of bonds from weaker economies such as Greece which offered a small premium and seemingly were equally sound. As the crisis developed it became obvious that Greek, and possibly other countries’, bonds offered substantially more risk. Contributing to lack of information about the risk of European sovereign debt was conflict of interest by banks that were earning substantial sums underwriting the bonds. The loss of confidence is marked by rising sovereign CDS prices, indicating market expectations about countries’ creditworthiness. A.Nerty/ Frankfurt

Financial assets... As financial assets became more and more complex, and harder and harder to value, investors were reassured by the fact that both the international bond rating agencies and bank regulators, who came to rely on them, accepted as valid some complex mathematical models which theoretically showed the risks were much smaller than they actually proved to be. George Soros commented that “The super-boom got out of hand when the new products became so complicated that the authorities could no longer calculate the risks and started relying on the risk management methods of the banks themselves. Similarly, the rating agencies relied on the information provided by the originators of synthetic products. It was a shocking abdication of responsibility. B. Hyman/ Frankfurt

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Developing Borsa Istanbul is an important component of building the Istanbul financial hub, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for Turkey Jean-Patrick Marquet told Anadolu Agency in an interview. On May 29, the EBRD entered exclusive negotiations to acquire a 10 percent stake in Borsa Istanbul, which is currently majority-owned by the Turkish government and is the only stock exchange in Turkey. The deal was subject to regulatory approval. “The Borsa Istanbul project is important for us. It’s important for two reasons; one, Turkey wants to build Istanbul as a financial hub, and developing the exchange is a very important component of that objective,” Marquet said. “The second objective is that we are getting into equity investments, usually in unlisted Turkish corporates; we need an exit strategy for the developing markets, and thus developing [relations with Borsa Istanbul] is an important objective for us. We have signed a commercial agreement with Borsa Istanbul, and now we will need the regulatory approval. Hopefully the investment will be finalized in the course of the third quarter. It’s subject to regulatory approval,” he said.

will help to improve access to equity for Turkish companies,” he added. Marquet said he expected Turkey to continue to rank first in the EBRD investment portfolio. “Last year we invested 1.4 billion euros ($1.57 billion) in Turkey, and this year, our plan is to invest 1.75 billion euros ($1.96 billion). We expect to continue at a similar number in years to come. So that would make Turkey the largest recipient of the EBRD. We have very diverse investments in the country: In energy, the corporate sector, working with the Turkish banks to finance SME’s [small and medium-sized enterprises], in capital markets like Borsa Istanbul so we have a

Borsa Istanbul already has partnerships with foreign exchanges like the Nasdaq with various exchanges in Central Asia. “One of the contributions would be building these relationships, and we have previously invested in the Moscow Stock Exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, so we know how to establish partnerships and how to grow,” Marquet said. “Investing in equity, in exchanges and in Turkish corporates will attract more interest, and

Taisei, Obayashi to build nuclear plant in Turkey TOKYO – Japanese general contractors Taisei and Obayashi will participate in the construction of a nuclear power plant project in Turkey led by the Japanese and Turkish governments, media group Nikkei reported on June 20.

The plan is to build four reactors in the northern province of Sinop.

The plan is to build four reactors in the northern province of Sinop. Construction on the first reactor will start in 2017 at the earliest, with plans to bring it online in 2023. The project is expected to cost 2 trillion yen ($16.3 billion), with 400 billion yen to 500 billion yen of that tied to construction. As such, the

Taisei and Obayashi have helped construct several Japanese nuclear plants, but new construction ceased domestically after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. Though the Japanese building market has been bullish thanks to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it is expected to shrink in the long term, leading contractors to look overseas to expand their revenue base.

Turkish, Russian companies to build Rostov airport for 2018 World Cup Turkey’s Limak Construction has won a tender to build an airport with a capacity of 8 million passengers in the Russian city of Rostov, one of the host cities of the 2018 World Cup, according to the company. Limak said it would build the facility with a Russian partner, Marashstroy, adding that the final signatures would be inked by the end of June. “The project will cost around 210 million euros and will be completed in the next two years. Our aim is to finalize the project by the FIFA World Cup in 2018,” said a board

Marquet also said the EBRD received guidance from its shareholders in 2014 that they were not prepared to make further investments in Russia. Since the middle of last year, the EBRD has not had new projects in Russia.

Foreigners own 35,000 houses in Antalya’s Alanya

complete project is expected to come in lower than the original tender price of $22 billion.

Taisei will lead the joint venture, and the two Japanese contractors likely will fulfill the bulk of the duties, Nikkei reported. The venture is prepared to submit a bid, but since project decisions are made between the Japanese and Turkish governments, competing bids are not expected. The project will be overseen by a soon-to-be-established company that will include Mitsubishi Heavy as a stakeholder.

Major French construction company Bouygues and two or three Turkish contractors will partner with Taisei and Obayashi in a joint venture, Nikkei said, adding that the project would be the first overseas nuclear plant construction to include Japanese general contractors.

very broad base. We are open to expanding our partnership in general. For Borsa Istanbul the next objective is, I understand, to list on its own exchange and that should take place in 2016, so we expect energy to be very much focused on that pretty short-term objective. At this point, this is where we are, but of course we are open,” Marquet added.

member of Limak, Serdar Bacaksız. The selection process to pick the company to build the airport started in 2014. A total of 23 companies submitted their proposals, with 18 of them being invited to submit a bid. A negotiation process started in February, after which Limak and Marashstroy were selected by the tender committee, said the company. Limak is also the member of a consortium which will build the controversial third airport of Istanbul. The company is currently building a second terminal at Cairo Airport and has the operation rights to Kosovo’s Pristina Airport.

ANTALYA - The number of foreigners living in the Mediterranean district of Alanya in Antalya province increased by 7.3 percent from the previous year to 34,532 by the end of 2014, according to the district’s Land Registry Cadaster. Most properties were owned Russians at around 5,712, followed by Norwegians with 5,616 and Germans with 4,337. “We had concerns that there might be a slowdown in the property acquisition of Russians due to the economic problems in Russia, but we have not seen any decrease. Around a quarter of the sold properties were bought by Russians,” said Alanya District Governor Hasan Tanrıseven. Also effective in the rise is local construction companies’ participation in promotional events abroad, especially in the Middle East, according to Alanya Contractors’ Association head Mustafa Küçüker. “We now see an increase in the number of houses being bought by Arabs,” Küçüker said

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Turkey’s commitment to political and economic stability prevails

Turkey allows Gazprom to carry out Turkish Stream survey

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his call to political parties to form a government “as soon as possible” after the June 7 elections produced no single-party majority.

ANKARA - The Turkish government has given permission to conduct engineering surveys for the offshore part of Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project, the Russian natural gas company, Gazprom, announced in a written statement.

ANKARA- “ Turkey can fortify its security and stability with a coalition government formed on the basis of a common language, common targets and a common mind,” said Erdogan in his address to 22nd General Council of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly.

“This document envisages engineering surveys for the first line of the project in the Turkish Exclusive Economic Zone and within Turkey’s territorial waters,” Gazprom said in the statement.

“No one has the right to use their position within the post -election framework in an attempt to gridlock the system, rather than undertaking responsibility before the nation,”Erdogan said. “It is a heavy liability to make Turkey look like a country where a government cannot be formed.” Erdogan urged political parties to put their egos aside and cooperate. “If politicians fail to resolve this issue, the sole reference point to resolve it is the nation,” he said, referring to the possibility of a re-election if a government does not take shape within 45 days of the president’s demand. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his AK Party is open to negotiate coalition possibilities with the other three parties with seats in the parliament. He pointed out that he would speak with the three leaders once President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents to him the task of forming a government, as the leader of the party with the highest number of seats. Davutoglu emphasized that the AK Party, which has ruled the country for over a decade, would do its best to form a government to manage the country effectively and in good faith. “Our doors are not closed to anybody; our mind is not closed, our ears are not closed, our heart is not closed,” he said in an emphatic statement. Turkey’s economy continued on its growth path for the 22nd consecutive quarter, expanding by 2.3

percent in the first quarter of 2015 over the same period of last year. Exceeding the market forecasts of 1.6 percent, Turkey’s quarterly growth rate of 2.3 percent secures the country 14th place in the list of world’s fastest growing economies. Commenting on the latest figures, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said that Turkey’s growth continued unabated for the 22nd quarter despite the uncertainties abroad. “Sound macroeconomic foundations, strong public finance, and a healthy banking industry ensure the resilience of the Turkish economy against external shocks. The following months are likely to see higher growth reinvigorated by increasing outside demand,” he noted. Babacan also drew attention to the 577,000 jobs produced in the first quarter of 2015, with the total since 2009 amounting to 6.3 million jobs.

goal in 2015. “ The budget deficit in the first five months constituted 11.5 percent of our estimation of the projected 21 billion Turkish lira ($8.6 billion) budget deficit for 2015,” he said. “We maintained fiscal discipline as always we do. We [the Justice and Development Party] prioritized the medium- and long-term stability of our country in the past five months. We never employed election spending [special spending to attract votes]. We hope it will serve as an example in Turkish political history,” Simsek added.

Challenged by geopolitical crises in adjacent regions and sluggish recovery in its main export market, the EU, Turkey’s annual economic growth reached 2.9 percent in 2014. The country is forecast to grow 4 percent this year.

The Turkish central government’s budget ran a deficit of 22.7 billion Turkish liras ($10 billion) in 2014.

Turkey’s Finance Ministry has estimated that budget expenses for the 2015 fiscal year will reach 473 billion Turkish liras ($192 billion), while budget income will be 452 billion ($183.5 billion), resulting in a budget deficit of 21 billion Turkish liras ($8.6 billion). Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek forecast that Turkey will reach its budget deficit

Turkey received the coordinates for the planned Turkish Stream pipeline’s route on June 15, and ensured that the project was not in any territorial conflict with the economic zone of its neighbor, Bulgaria, in the western Black Sea. The proposed Turkish Stream pipeline project plans to carry Russian natural gas under the Black Sea to Turkey’s northwestern Thrace region to reach Greece and further go into Europe. The offshore part of the Turkish Stream will consist of four pipelines, each with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters. The pipelines are planned to pass 660 kilometers through the old South Stream route under the Black Sea, and move 250 kilometers towards a new route to reach Turkey’s Thrace region. Gazprom noted that gas supplies via the first leg will be entirely destined for the growing Turkish gas market, which is estimated to cost €3.3 billion ($3.73 billion).

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

The Turkish Stream plans to have a total capacity to carry 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It will deliver 47 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, while the remaining amount will be allocated for Turkey’s domestic use.

“Lower interest rates good for Turkey” in no single party winning a simple majority.

ANKARA-An interest rate cut by the Turkish Central Bank would benefit the Turkish economy, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said. The Turkish central bank is expected to hold interest rates at their current levels at the meeting, according to a panel of 14 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency. A vocal critic of the central bank’s policies, Zeybekci told reporters at the Turkish parliament: “I believe the central bank will able to ease rates with the formation of a new

TUPRAS becomes local export champion of 2014 ANKARA-Turkey’s energy giant TUPRAS was named the country’s exports champion in 2014, while partnering foreign carmakers dominated the top 10 list of leading exporters, according to a survey by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM). The company exported $3.7 billion worth of petroleum products last year, down from $4.1 billion in 2013 and $5.42 billion in 2012. The energy giant captured a 56.4 percent share of the petroleum products market, excluding industrial products in Turkey. The company had a market share of 88 percent in jet fuel and 37 percent in diesel. In gasoline, almost all of the demand was met by TUPRAS. The top 10 Turkish exporting companies included four automo-

tive, two white good makers and one export services company. One gas producer, German industrial conglomerate Bosch, ranks among them. An award ceremony was organized by the Turkish Exporters Assembly, attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan along with several cabinet ministers including Nihat Zeybekci, who is responsible for Turkey’s foreign trade. On the top ten list, car makers Ford and Oyak Renault, a joint venture between Renault and Oyak -- the army pension fund -- followed oil refinery company TUPRAS. Vestel, one of Turkey’s leading durable consumer goods makers, was in fourth place. Kibar Dis Ticaret, which exports the products of a number of private and state industrial enterprises and also im-

ports raw materials for them, took the fifth spot in the country’s export champions list. Arcelik, a durable consumer goods producer under Koc Holding, was in the sixth spot, followed by Italian automotive giant Fiat’s local partner, Tofas Turk Otomobil. Toyota Otomotiv took the eight place; Habas, an industrial gas producer and Bosch San. ve Tic. AS, the industrial conglomerate, came in ninth and tenth respectively. Turkey’s exports increased some 4 percent in 2014 reaching $157.6 billion, according to the TIM. Exports from car sales reached $22.3 billion, followed by textiles and chemicals. Germany with $14.9 billion, Iraq with $10.7 billion, the U.K. with $9.7 billion, Italy with $7 billion and France with $6.4 billion topped the list of top markets.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci

government.” Turkish political parties are negotiating to form a coalition government after the June 7 election, which resulted

The central bank left its main interest rates unchanged on May 20; the one-week repo rate, the rate at which the central bank makes one-week loans to lenders, stayed at 7.5 percent, the overnight lending rate, the rate which determines the cost of overnight loans to banks at 10.75 percent and the overnight borrowing rate at 7.25 percent. Zeybekci also said the central bank’s job will be easier with continued political stability.

Austrian company expands in Turkey with new investment STUTTGART-Greiner Packaging International GmbH is expanding its international presence with a new investment in Turkey, the company stated in a press release on June 19.

medium-term strategy to grow outside of Europe. Last year, the company started production at its first U.S. site, which makes packaging for the dairy industry in Pittston, Pennsylvania.

The company based in Kresmünster, Austria has acquired a 51 percent share in the companies Teknik Plastik and Teknik IML from the Özata Group. Taking majority control of the two companies makes Greiner Packaging “the market leader in rigid plastic packaging for dairy products in Turkey,” the group said.

“We are systematically carrying on the globalization strategy with this expansion to Turkey, and this represents the first step toward markets in the Middle East and Asia,” said Axel Kühner, the chairman of Greiner Holding, the parent company of Greiner Packaging.

Teknik Plastik and Teknik IML are headThe acquisition, for quartered in Istanbul and an undisclosed amount, re- jointly employ around 270 flects Greiner Packaging’s people.

Teknik Plastik was established in 1967 and produces a wide variety of food packaging with a core emphasis on packaging for the dairy industry. Teknik IML opened in July 2004 and specializes in in-mold-labeling. “The new acquisition in Turkey is confirmation of the successful international trail that we are currently blazing with Greiner Packaging,” said Willi Eibner, the CEO of Greiner Packaging International. “We can continue expanding our competence and now have even more options to respond to the wishes of customers from abroad.”

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THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

Humor

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. THINGS A CONSULTANT SHOULDN’T SAY TO A CLIENT

Turkey ranks second in Blue Flag beaches IZMIR-Turkey with its 436 Blue Flag-certified beaches has ranked second among 47 countries, according to the 2015 list established by Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education, or FEE.

Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Canada and in the Caribbean.

In the list, Spain holds the top spot with its 578 certified beaches. Turkey is followed by Greece (395), France (379) and Portugal (299).

On April, 9, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey aimed to be the world leader in the number of Blue Flag beaches as part of its 2023 targets to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

Turkey had 383 beaches certified Blue Flag in 2014. The country joined the program in 1994 with only 12 Blue Flag beaches. “Blue Flag” is an exclusive eco-label awarded by the FEE, to beaches and marinas that meet certain criteria such as water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, and safety. It is an international program currently being implemented in 47 countries around the world including European countries, South Africa,

In Turkey, the resort city of Antalya has the most certified beaches, with 200.

Davutoglu made the statement during a mass inauguration ceremony of environment and infrastructure projects. According to FEE’s list, Turkey has 22 marinas awarded with the Blue Flag. All Blue Flags are awarded one season at a time. If the criteria are not fulfilled during the season or the conditions change, the Blue Flag may be withdrawn.

1. That was my first guess as well, but then I thought about it 2.You should see the hotel I’m staying at 3. Hey, I just realized that I was in junior high when you started working here 4. I like this office space. I’ll have them put me in here when you’re gone 5. My rental car is nicer than that junker you’re driving 6. Sure it’ll work; I learned it in business school 7. So what do you need me to tell you ? 8. Of course it’s right; the spreadsheet says so 9. I could just tell you the answer, but we’re committed to a six month contract 10. What are you, stupid ?

THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T SAY AT A CONSULTANT INTERVIEW 1. I’m a t-shirt and jeans kinda person 2. Do you pay overtime ? 3. I hate flying 4. I’m useless without ten hours

of sleep a night 5. There are lies, damn lies, and statistics 6. Are your rental cars covered for collision ? 7. College taught me working in teams is great for slackers 8. I think three letter acronyms are for people too stupid to remember whole phrases 9. Two words: family first 10. Call it what you want, it still means firing people

WAYS TO TELL YOU’VE GOT THE CONSULTING BUG 1. Can’t stop using words that don’t exist 2. Worried that he who dies with the most frequent-flyer miles wins 3. Use so many “buzz words” in conversation, friends think you’re speaking a foreign language 4. Constant urge to give advice on subjects you know nothing about 5. Always hyphenating words that-don’t-need-to-be-hyphenated 6. Compose your grocery list using bullet points 7. Can fit the thematic undercurrents of War and Peace into a two-by-two matrix

8. Tired of having a social life beyond work 9. A two-page story in Business Week is all it takes to make you an expert 10. Firmly believe that an objective viewpoint means more than any real work experience

THINGS YOU’LL NEVER HEAR FROM A CONSULTANT 1.You’re right; we’re billing you way too much for this 2. Bet you I can go a week without saying “on board” or “value-added” 3. How about paying me based on the success of the project ? 4. This whole strategy is based on a Harvard business case I read about 5. Actually, the only difference is that I charge more than they do 6. I don’t know enough to speak intelligently about that 7. Implementation ? I only care about writing long reports 8. I can’t take the credit. It was George in your MIS department 9. The problem is, you have too much work for too few people 10. Everything looks OK to me, you’re doing just fine

THE ECONOMIST How much is two plus two?

Well!

How much do you want it to be?”

Istanbul rises to become th world’s 5 most visited city

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ISTANBUL- With 12.56 million projected visitors in 2015, Istanbul outpaced New York and Singapore, climbing two spots to become the fifth most visited city in the world, according to the annual MasterCard Global Destinations Cities Index released on June 3. Istanbul showed the strongest growth at 11.4 percent, moving to fifth from seventh, by international overnight visitors. Both Bangkok and Dubai grew by 8 percent, the second fastest after Istanbul, according to the report. Istanbul, which ranked seventh in the 2014 rankings with 11.27 million visitors, climbed to fifth in 2014 with a projected 12.56 million visitors, constituting an increase of 11.4 percent, the

tra-vel patterns to rank 132 global cities by visitors. The top four were London “Istanbul has a much with 18.82 million visitors, higher growth rate than Par- Bangkok with 18.24 million, is. If these two cities contin- Paris with 16.06 million and ue to grow their internation- Dubai with 14.26 million. al visitors’ numbers at the In 2015, it is expected current rates, in four years, Istanbul will overtake Paris that nearly 383 million overnight trips will be made to become second-ranked by international visitors inEurope after London,” between the Index’s 132 citsaid the report. ies, representing a massive Istanbul was the fastest demand for goods, services growing destination city in and experiences as they Europe, according to the re- spend at total of $360 billion port. Three cities in Eastern during their visits, said the Europe were also among index. the top ten fastest growing Istanbul also ranked 10th European destination cities; in spending by overnight Bucharest (ranked sixth), visitors at $9.37 billion, a 7.3 Budapest (ranked sevpercent increase from $8.73 enth) and Warsaw (ranked billion in 2014. The city eighth). ranked 12 in the previous The Master Card-sponreport. Among all 132 sored index evaluated cities, Istanbul also had the highest growth among the top 40 cities on the index.

most diverse visitor base. The city attracted half of its international tourists from 33 different countries, according to the report. Diversifying sources of visitors means a higher resilience against long-term economic instability, added the report. London, the top-ranked in the world, was the second most resilient with 26 feeder cities, followed by Paris, Amsterdam and Dubai. In terms of visitor crossborder spending, Istanbul ranked as the fourth most profitable city in Europe after Barcelona. It is expected that 383 million overnight trips will be made to the index’s 132 cities in 2015 by visitors who will spend a total of $360 billion during their visits.

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İbrahim Küpeli ibnahim.kupeli@img.com.tr

Paradigm of New Turkey Regarding crucial geographical positioning of Turkey in its region and the world, Turkish general elections have aroused interest in both home and abroad during the political parties’ campaigns.

Erdoğan: Turkey has no patience for making no progress President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at the 22nd General Assembly of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), said Turkey has no patience for a lack of progress, let alone falling behind. ISTANBUL-“It is necessary for Turkey to be strong in order to be protected from the circle of fire surrounding it and to extend a hand to its sister countries,” said the president, and added, “That’s why we have to complete the transitional process after the elections as soon as possible and lead Turkey to the future again.” He said Turkey has exceeded predictions many times with its performance in exports, growth and production. The Turkish president stated that he hopes to see a similar performance that surprises both Turkey and the world and added that he is counting on exporters for this to happen. Erdoğan also underlined how strong the relationship is between political stability and economic

growth. He said sustainable growth is achieved whenever a politician has the support of the majority. Speaking at the event, TİM head Mehmet Büyükekşi said right now Turkey needs a strong government that can build the future of the country in harmony and well-being. He said Turkey needs to achieve at least 5 percent growth every year in order to meet the goals for 2023. Emphasizing that they have to grow faster to reach the demanding targets, Büyükekşi said: “We are sure the new government that will come to power in the upcoming period will protect the macro-economic gains sensitively. It requires a new paradigm, a new growth model and a new perspective.” According to Büyükekşi, this

Publisher: ISTMAG Matbaacılık Gazetecilik İç ve Dış Ticaret Ltd. Şti. Adına sahibi Sorumlu Genel Yayın Müdürü H. Ferruh Işık Managing Editor: Mehmet Söztutan (mehmet.soztutan@img.com.tr) Editors: Prof. Dr. Ismail Kaya Assoc. Prof. Mehmet Ali Özbudun Ibrahim Kupeli Advertising Sales Staff: Talha Elitez (talha.elitez@imgajans.com) Advertising Consultants: Emir Ocal (emir.ocal@img.com.tr) Graphic Design: Tolga Cakmakli (tolga.cakmakli@img.com.tr) Correspondent: Enes Karadayi (enes.karadayi@img.com.tr) Chief Accountant: Mustafa Aktas (mustafa.aktas@img.com.tr) Subscription: Ismail Özçelik (ismail.ozcelik@img.com.tr) HEAD OFFICE: Güneşli Evren Mah. Bahar Cad. Polat İş Merkezi B Blok No:3 34197 ISTANBUL/TURKEY Tel:+90. 212 604 50 50 Fax: +90. 212 604 50 51 www.img.com.tr img@img.com.tr LIAISON OFFICES BURSA: Ömer Faruk Görün Buttim D Blok Kat: 4 No: 1267 BURSA / TURKEY Tel : (90.224) 211 4450 - 51 Fax: (90.224) 211 4481 KONYA: Metin Demir H. Ulusahin Is Mrkz. C Blok No: 603-604-605 KONYA / TURKEY Tel : (90.332) 238 10 71 Fax: (90.332) 238 01 74 PRINTED BY: İhlas Gazetecilik A.Ş. Merkez Mah. 29 Ekim Cad. İhlas Plaza No: 11/41 PK: 34197 Yenibosna - Bahçelievler ISTANBUL / TURKEY Tel: (90 212) 454 30 00 Fax (90 212) 454 34 83

new perspective needs to focus on micro-economy. “We have achieved great success in our macro-economic targets so far. It is time to notch up permanent success in our micro-economic targets. Within this frame, our first aim is to use all of our resources to achieve the highest added value we can,” he said. Exports in the first five-month period of 2015 had dropped 8.3 percent to $61.3 billion, which was $66.87 billion in the first five months of 2014. The main causes of the decline were parity fluctuations and political turmoil in Turkey’s export markets. In the first month of the year, exports to Iraq dropped by 27 percent, to Russia and Ukraine by 37 percent and to Libya by 40 percent.

Russia gives coordinates for new pipeline to Turkey

This time the results of election for the members of Turkish Grand National Assembly have revealed some astonishing results when compared with previous ones. Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (Ak Party) has been ruling party consecutively for 12-13 years since November 2002.

performance regarding its investments, development plans and projects which accomplished in the past three terms in the country. Also macroeconomic indicators have recovered and showed better performance. Turkish gross domestic product has tripled from $230 billion to over $800 billion. Ak party also set some outstanding projections for 2023 such as expanding country’s exports up to $500 billion, raising per capita income up to $25,000 and gross domestic product by $2 trillion.

Even though finishing the race as first party, but it remains little bit lack to form the government itself in terms of number of deputies. Winning the number of 258 deputies, Ak Party needs support of 18 deputies from one of other parties in the parliament. After swearing in ceremony and election of parliamentary speaker, Turkish president Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan will assign Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu, Prime Minister and leader of Ak Party to reshuffle the government by negotiating with the other political parties’ leaders in the parliament.

With its reformist approach to the issues, Ak Party has realized remarkable structural reforms by unshackling nonsense taboos in order to accelerate country’s development and freedoms.

If any agreement would not be ensured with the representatives of the political parties in the Grand National Assembly, a snap election might come on the agenda, presumably in late fall…

Despite the reforms made in its ruling term, there are also two crucial items on the agenda of the country needing to be reformed.

Meanwhile, when we analyze background of Ak Party, one year later from its foundation Ak party had been successful to win the parliamentary election firstly on November 3rd, 2002 and since then it won the general elections successively three time by raising its voting rates until the last election held on June 7th. These results show that Turkish voters have approved Ak Party’s

When we look at the background during 12-13 years, actually Ak Party has realized outstanding performances. The things accomplished to date indicate that the current ruling party will realize its projections which have been on its agenda in the upcoming years.

In this term, Ak Party’s priority is to amend current constitution which does not match today’s conditions. Another principal change is to enact presidency system which would replace current presidency system. If these two long standing reforms will be realized in next period, the paradigm of New Turkey would speed up...

Sınıfının Lideri Sınıfının Lideri Aura Şofben ile Sıcak Suyunuz

5 Saniyede Hazır...

ANKARA-Russia’s Gazprom gave Turkey the necessary coordinates for the planned Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has told reporters. “We took the necessary coordinates from Gazprom.. Now, preliminary permissions are needed for the pipeline’s feasibility report. There could be developments on the issue “ Yıldız said. Yıldız had said that Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expected to get the coordinate details from the Russian company and if these details are completed then both sides will talk about the final details. “All of the permission that we’ll grant or the negotiations that we’ll hold will be about the construction of one pipeline,” he said.. “Mr. Putin and our President Erdoğan agreed this,” he added. Putin met Erdoğan for talks on energy issues and the Syria crisis, Russian news agencies reported. The two leaders met after attending the opening ceremony in Baku of the inaugural European Games, hosted by Azerbaijan. The Kremlin spokesman said ahead of what he expected to be “very substantive talks” that the leaders could discuss the Turkish Stream pipeline to supply Russian gas to Turkey.

Aura Magnetic Control Șofben

Aura Micro Control Șofben

Elektronik Kontrol Sistemi Dijital Dokunmatik Ekran

Manyetik Akış Sensörü

Saniyede Sıcak Su

5 Emniyetli 3 Kademeli

Ücretsiz Kurulum

Russia’s Gazprom announced that the intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the Turkish Stream, which will transfer Russian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, would be signed. Gazprom Vice Chairman Alexander Medvedev said in a press conference that the first phase of the Turkish Stream project would cost 3.3 billion euros, as quoted by several media outlets in Russia. The planned annual capacity of the pipeline is 63 billion cubic meters of gas. The pipeline is due to become operational in December 2016, according to Gazprom.

Bütçenize uygun taksitlerle.

• Kurulumu kolay, kullanımı pratiktir. • Su tankına ihtiyaç yoktur. • Sıcak su için beklemeniz gerekmez, anında sıcak su sağlar. • Ekonomik olduğundan fazla elektrik harcamaz. • Üç kademeli olduğundan suyu her mevsimde istenilen derecede ısıtır. • Zarif bir görünüme sahip olduğundan yer kaplamaz. • Yaygın servis ağına sahiptir.

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444 49 49

EconomicNewspaper

July-August

2015

Please mention “Made in Turkey” when writing to advertisers

IEA chief economist: Nuclear energy must for Turkey Nuclear energy is a must for Turkey especially because its energy demand grows more than any other European country, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist Fatih Birol told Anadolu Agency in Doha. “Nuclear energy is one of the rare zero-carbon emission energy form and it is an indispensable option for Turkey, considering its regional and global gravity,” Birol said, adding: “It is a must for Turkey”

Fatih Birol Energy Agency’s chief economist

At the moment, Turkey relies heavily on expensive natural gas exports from Russia and Iran for its domestic electricity production. The country strives to decrease this dependence by increasing its renewable energy resources and plans to construct at least three nuclear power plants. Birol highlighted the important of renewable energy resources along with the nuclear plants to meet the domestic demand.

“Nuclear energy is a must for Turkey”

“Turkey faces the most rapid increase in energy demand among European countries, so we must utilize not only renewable energy but alsonuclear energy. We must use all these and consider their cost burden on the economy,” he said.

nomic boost in the country.

Turkey’s energy demand is constantly increasing daily because of its industrial growth, rising population and general eco-

Turkey’s energy sector is also investing heavily to meet the demand. Turkey has already doubled its installed capacity since 2001, and in 2014 alone, the country consumed more than 255 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, while the installed capacity was more than 70,000 megawatts.

Early May, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said that six nuclear power plant units were being planned to provide 9.6 gigawatts of installed capacity by 2026. The construction Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu NPP, which is located in the Mediterranean coast of the country will begin in 2016. It is a joint venture between Turkey and Russia agreed in 2010. Russia’s Rosatom will finance, build and run the $22 billion plant which will have a life cycle of 60 years. Akkuyu will generate 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and provide more than 10 percent of Turkey’s demand for electricity. The first reactor of the plant is estimated to be operational by 2019. The other planned three reactors are due to become fully operational by 2023. Turkey’s Energy Ministry has sent hundreds of university students to Russia to study nuclear engineering, who will then be hired at the Akkuyu plant and will form the basis for human resources at other nuclear projects. For a second nuclear plant project in northern Turkey, the country will cooperate with Japan and France, of which the construction is scheduled to start in 2017 and will produce 40 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year with its four reactors.

Turkish Halkbank opens new branch in Macedonia

SARAJEVO -Halkbank, one of Turkey’s biggest banks and a state-run lender, on June 17 opened its 33rd branch in the Cair municipality of the Macedonian capital Skopje. The opening ceremony of the branch was attended by the general director of Halkbank in Macedonia, Necdet Palakçı, Turkish Ambassador to Macedonia Ömür Şölendil, Cair Mayor İzzet Meciti and representatives of Turkish institutions in Macedonia, as well as other guests. Speaking at the ceremony, Palakçı said Halkbank had already bought a majority stake in Serbia’s Cacanska bank and it was aiming to be the top bank in the entire region. Halkbank bought a 76.76 percent stake in Serbia’s local lender, Cacanska Banka AD on May 20, 2015. The Turkish bank is also the main sponsor of the National Basketball Team of Macedonia. In 2014, the bank’s assets were valued at over 150 billion Turkish Liras ($60 billion) and its net profit reached 2.2 billion liras ($0.85 billion)

First Turkish-made car to appear in August

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that Turkey will finish the prototype of its first domestically-produced car in August. “All preparations have been finalized,” he pointed out. He said the first batch of vehicles will begin to be produced in 2016. Davutoglu recalled that a Turkish-made fighter jet is under construction in Istanbul, in a project called ‘A Turk in the sky’ that he had presented. “Once, Turkey had to import even a single bullet. Now it is a country that can produce its own fighter jet,” he disclosed. Davutoglu said his government will realize previously abandoned plans to build the country’s first domestically designed jet plane -- Dornier 328 and 628 model airliners - adding that jets wholly designed and built by Turkish engineers would be flying as soon as 2019. The planes will not only be used as passenger airliners but also as military transport aircraft, VIP planes and air ambulances, he noted.

Turkey’s arid heart to bloom after irrigation project A major irrigation project in Turkey has seen the country’s arid heart irrigated for the first time. The Blue Tunnel Project started transferring water to the Konya Plain in Anatolia, an official of State Water Works Department confirmed. The second-largest irrigation scheme of Turkey after the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GOP), the Blue Tunnel aims to provide the Konya Plain with 414 million cubic meters of water annually in order to maintain agriculture and save wildlife. “We are witnessing a historic event as Konya has been dreaming of redirecting from the Goksu, a 260-km-long river in southern Turkey, to Konya Plain” Mustafa Uzun, a water official, told Anadolu Agency The tunnel, the most important leg of the massive Konya Plain Project (KOP), will enable 235,000 hectares of agricultural land to be irrigated with water which flows from Mediterranean Basin to Konya Closed Basin. “The water of Goksu River is collected in Bagbasi Dam, which was constructed in the first phase of the project with 180-million-cubic-meter capacity, and is directed to Konya Plain with a

Turkey launches Ziraat Bank’s Islamic branch

17-km long Blue Tunnel” said Uzun. According to Uzun, the project was begun by Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid Khan II 120 years ago: “It was attempted many times through the years but the project could not be made real.” “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put so much effect into this project as well as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is also from Konya,” he said. Stating that the water would be also directed to Hotamis Storage via a 125-km channel, Uzun said: “The lake, which is going to be formed here, will be Turkey’s biggest artificial lake.” “With this project, the climate of Konya will be changed, the product range will be increased and 700 million cubic meters of water will feed Konya Plain instead of emptying into Mediterranean Sea.” “Konya will not have any drinking water problems until 2050,” Uzun added. KOP is considered to be the most comprehensive project to bring water to Konya Plain. Over one million hectares of soil will be irrigated, 1.5 million people will have potable water, and three billion kilowatt/hours of energy will be produced annually when Konya Plain Project is fully completed.

ISTANBUL-Turkey’s largest state-owned bank, Ziraat Bank, has launched its first branch for Islamic finance in Istanbul. “This is a historic step. Other state-owned banks should follow Ziraat’s move,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 29 during the opening ceremony in the Eminönü neighborhood, referring to Vakifbank and Halk Bank. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) allowed on Oct. 15, 2014 Ziraat and its sister companies - Ziraat Insurance, Ziraat Savings, Ziraat Investment and Ziraat Technology - to establish the new Islamic bank as main shareholders with a capital of $300 million. Erdoğan underlined that Ziraat Bank should increase the share of Islamic banking in the country instead of taking a part of the current market. Islamic banking comprises 5 percent of the total banking system, Erdoğan highlighted. The market share should increase to 20 percent by 2023, he said. The Turkish government aims to see the establishment of three Islamic banks in total as subsidiaries of the current state-run

conventional banks by the end of 2015. Saying that London is an important center for Islamic banking, Erdoğan stressed that Istanbul should take “its deserved place” in Islamic finance. The Turkish government aims to establish Istanbul as a regional financial center and then as a global financial hub by 2023. Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister, said this is an important start for Turkey, adding that the new bank aims to open 20 branches with a total of 400 employees at the end of this year. “In 2018, the bank aims to have 170 branches with 2,200 personnel,” he said. President Erdogan said the bank should have 500 branches in 2023. Babacan stressed that Islamic finance is rapidly growing around the globe. “In 2003, the market was at $200 billion, but it will reach $2 trillion by 2014,” Babacan said. Islamic banking is based on the principle that money should not simply be lent at interest, but rather invested in a productive process which produces returns.

Bulgaria proposes gas storage facility for Turkish Stream MOSCOW - Bulgaria wants to build a storage facility for the natural gas from the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project, said Alexander Novak, Russian energy minister. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the cancellation of the South Stream gas pipeline project on Dec. 1, 2014. Instead, he proposed a new natural gas pipeline route through Turkey’s northwestern Thrace region to reach Greece. This route is commonly referred to as the Turkish Stream. “Bulgaria has renewed desire to build a natural gas storage facility,” Novak said adding that the facility it would be located on Bulgarian soil and not on the border between

Turkey and Bulgaria. Novak addressed the media during the International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and spoke of his meeting with Temenuzhka Petkova, the Bulgarian energy minister. The same proposal was made six months ago, he indicated without providing further information regarding Russia’s position on the project. The Turkish Stream is expected to have a capacity of carrying 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It will deliver 47 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe, while the remaining amount will be allocated for Turkey’s domestic use.

Turkish tourism sector eyes $36 billion income in 2015 KAYSERİ- Turkish tourism representatives expect to reach over $35 billion in this year’s annual income by hosting more than 42 million tourists, despite Europe’s economic problems and conflicts in neighboring countries, said Başaran Ulusoy, president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB). “The sector has been growing by 2-3 percent, despite the downfalls all around, including security concerns in Syria, Iraq and Libya as well as economic problems in the eurozone. Turkey will close the year with more than 42 million tourists and over $36 billion in yearly income, I believe,” he said in an interview with Anadolu Agency. He

also said more than 8 million Turkish people go abroad for vacation and visit 78 countries. Ulusoy also addressed the winter tourism potentials of Turkey, referring to the Erciyes Skiing Center in the province of Kayseri. “We should evaluate such centers 365 days a year. Our aim is to enable these [newly built] facilities to attract tourists, both local and foreign, in summer as well as in winter,” he said. The number of tourists who visited Turkey reached an alltime high of around 37 million in 2014, pushing Turkey closer to Italy on the most visited destination chart.

EconomicNewspaper

July-August

2015

Please mention “Made in Turkey” when writing to advertisers

Travel, tourism sectors account for 12 pct of GDP ISTANBUL-Travel and tourism sectors generated, either directly or indirectly, $96 billion of Turkey’s GDP in 2014, making its direct contribution to GDP impact greater than many sectors except for the retail and agriculture sectors, according to a recent report by the World Travel & Tourism Council. “Based on its direct, indirect, and induced GDP impact, travel and tourism generated 12 percent of Turkey’s GDP in 2014, higher than the global average of 9.8 percent. This is nearly twice the size of banking’s GDP impact at 6.4 percent,” according to the Turkey country report, which was published on May 28 along with 25 other leading tourism countries’ reports and a global assessment report for 2014.

Turkish Airlines named best airline in Europe for fifth year in a row

The 2015 Benchmarking Report of the WTTC compared the travel and tourism sectors to eight other sectors, which are considered to have similar breadth and global presence, across 26 countries, including automotive manufacturing, chemicals, banking, mining, financial services, retail and agriculture.

of 2.1 million direct, indirect, and induced jobs in Turkey in 2014. These sectors thus directly employ more people than the mining, chemical manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, financial services, and banking sectors.

Travel and tourism sectors’ direct industry GDP expanded 256 percent in Turkey between 1990 and 2014, while the total economy expanded 110 percent, according to the report, undertaken by Oxford Economics and sponsored by American Express.

The report showed that travel and tourism comes third out of the eight researched sectors, after retail and agriculture. The industry supported 277 million jobs in 2014, or 9.4 percent of global employment.

Turkish tourism representatives expect to increase this year’s annual income over $35 billion by hosting more than 42 million tourists, despite Europe’s economic problems and conflicts in neighboring countries. The number of tourists who visited Turkey reached an all-time high of 37 million in 2014, pushing Turkey closer to Italy on the most visited destination chart. The two sectors’ GDP is expected to grow at an annual average of 5.6 percent

over the next decade, while the total economy is expected to expand 3.8 percent per annum in real, inflation-adjusted terms, according to the report. The global assessment report showed that the travel and tourism sector, contributing $7.6 trillion to the global GDP in 2014, was the fourth largest sector after mining, financial services and retail respectively. According to the Turkey report, travel and tourism sustained a total

“This research demonstrates the huge importance of travel and tourism sectors in creating jobs around the world. It shows that this industry provides more jobs than automotive manufacturing, mining and financial services combined. It confirms that our sector is one of the biggest contributors to global GDP, and significantly is forecast to outpace the global economy every year over the next decade,” said David Scowsill, president and CEO of the WTTC.

ISTANBUL -Turkish Airlines has been named the “Best Airline in Europe” for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, which is recognized by the aviation industry for its global ranking system which tracks customer satisfaction of airlines service and performance around the world, the company said in a written statement on June 16.

“World’s Best Business Class Lounge Dining.”

The newly refurbished and expanded Turkish Airlines Lounge Istanbul offers a wide range of activities and services known for transforming passengers’ preflight or connecting time into an experience and was recognized for its food for the second consecutive year. SkyTrax survey participants The awards, based on over also recognized the carrier’s 13 million surveys of worldwide airline customers from successful catering partnership with Turkish DO&CO. May 2014 to January 2015, evaluated traveler experiStar Alliance member ence using key performance Turkish Airlines is a 4-star factors including check-in, airline with a fleet of 279 arrivals, transfers, security passenger and cargo aircrafts and immigration. flying to 274 destinations worldwide, including 226 inThe carrier also received ternational and 48 domestic, the distinction of having according to the company’s the “World’s Best Business website. Class Airline Lounge” and

EconomicNewspaper

July-August

2015

Please mention “Made in Turkey” when writing to advertisers

Turkey aims 30 percent renewable energy usage by 2023

EU extends Russian sanctions to 2016

Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority has received 14 times more pre-license applications than its allocated capacity for wind power plants, Mustafa Yilmaz, head of the authority, revealed. Addressing the opening session of the 21st International Energy and Environment Fair and Conference, or the ICCI 2015, which is sponsored by Anadolu Agency in Istanbul, Yilmaz said that the allocated capacity for wind power plants was 3,000 megawatts, but the authority received a total of 42,273 megawatts pre-license applications. The pre-license applications were accepted between April 24 and 30 by Turkey’s energy watchdog, which would be sent to Turkey’s General Directorate of Renewable Energy for technical evaluations. Yilmaz said that applicants had requested 5,500 megawatts capacity through 115 applications for the western Canakkale region; 4,500 megawatts in 102 applications for the western Balikesir region and 5,000 megawatts in 80 applications for the southern Karaman-Mersin region to build the wind power plants. “ Turkey has a great potential for wind power and I strongly believe thatTurkey

countries in Europe with respect to its capacity,” Yilmaz said. He said that the number of applications and capacities to build power facilities rose rapidly after the regulation of unlicensed electricity production went into force; majority of such applications were for solar power.

Mustafa Yilmaz, Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority of Chairman

will reach its 20,000 megawatts installed capacity goal by 2023,” he said. Turkey’s efficient electricity capacity is 48,000 megawatts and its 8,000 megawatts is highly efficient, he added. Yilmaz said that the goal was to increase the rate of renewable energy usage

to 30 percent by 2023. Energy Market Regulatory Authority has so far given 10,000 megawatts licenses and almost 4,000 megawatts of it was already in use; 6,000 megawatts were under construction. “Turkey’s annual solar power capacity is 380 billion kilowatt-hour, which makes Turkey one of the leading

Turkey’s biggest wind power plant, Geycek, is located in central Turkey, which entered into service in January. This wind power plant consists of 70 wind turbines and will generate around 384 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year with an installed capacity of 150 megawatts. Turkey currently has 40,000 megawatts of installed capacity in solar and 36,000 megawatts in wind power. The country aims to add another 20,000 megawatts of solar and wind by 2023. Yilmaz added that Turkey’s hydro-electricity production capacity was 36,000 megawatts.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

LUXEMBOURG - EU foreign ministers agreed at a meeting in Luxembourg to extend sanctions against Russia until Jan. 31, 2016, in an attempt to make Moscow abide by the cease-fire agreement signed in February. On Feb. 12, Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany signed a cease-fire agreement, also called the Minsk Agreement, over the crisis in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russia slammed the EU’s decision and said it would extend sanctions against the European Union in turn. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited by Sputnik news agency as saying: “Russia, naturally, considers these sanctions to

be unfounded and illegal, and we have never been the instigators of sanction measures.” Sanctions were imposed more than a year ago over Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine and for its support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. The sanctions mainly target senior officials in Russia and exclude its state banks from raising long-term loans. At least 6,417 people have been killed and 15,962 others wounded in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists since April 2014, according to the U.N.’s latest report.

IFC launches bond program in Turkish Lira

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Model No Input Power max Vacumm Rated Voltage Air Flow Water Suction Capacity Pump Power Pump Pressure Extra Basin Volume Waste Basin Volume Container Dust Capacity Dust Bag Capacity IP Code Gross Weight Size

: 114H : 1300 W : 1950 mmH2O : 220-230 V AC, 50/60 Hz : 200 m3/h : 1,5 L/S : 26 W : 2,5 bar :7L : 8,5 L :5L :5L : IPX4 : 13,5 kg : 410x510x593 mm

ANKARA-The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said that it introduced an innovative financial instrument to expand the availability of Turkish lira financing for private enterprises in Turkey. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the first multilateral institution to issue lira-denominated discount notes. IFC issued an inaugural tranche of discount notes in the amount of 100 million lira ($37.5 billion).

: 114R : 1300 W : 1950 mmH2O : 220-230 V AC, 50/60 Hz : 200 m3/h : 1,5 L/S : 26 W : 2,5 bar : 3,5 L :6L :5L :5L : IPX4 : 11,5 kg : 385x485x485 mm

“The issuance is part of a broader program to regularly issue lira-denominated discount notes and expand the availability of shortterm local-currency finance for private enterprises in Turkey,” the IFC said in a statement. The notes are issued under IFC’s Global Discount Note Program, set up with London Stock Exchange.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Model No Input Power max Vacumm Rated Voltage Air Flow Dust Bag Capacity IP Code Gross Weight Size

: 114L : 1300 W : 1950 mmH2O : 220-230 V AC, 50/60 Hz : 200 m3/h :5L : IPX4 : 8,5 kg : 390x418x440 mm

BOSB, Mermerciler Sanayi Sitesi 7.Cd. No:12, 34524 Beylikduzu, Istanbul/TURKEY Phone: (0212) 875 35 62 pbx - Fax: (0212) 875 36 64 www.iea.com.tr

Jingdong Hua International Finance Corporation

government-sponsored agencies or highly rated corporate borrowers. “Adding Turkish lira as a currency to the IFC discount note program introduces a new asset class for investors seeking high-quality credit, and shortterm financing alternatives in the lira market,” Jingdong Hua, vice president and treasurer at IFC, said. “It reflects IFC’s strategy to meet the growing demand for local-currency loans, especially at the short end of the maturity spectrum.”

IFC issues discount notes in U.S. dollars and CNH, the deliverable form of Chinese Renminbi that is traded outside mainland China. IFC is also exploring opportunities to extend the program to other emerging- market curIFC supports capital markets rencies where there is demand for development in Turkey by providshort-term local-currency finance. ing local currency loans -- since 2011, IFChas committed 459 milBy setting up the Global Dislion Turkish lira, or approximately count Note Program with Lon$170 million, for private sector don Stock Exchange, IFC will investment in the country. strengthen its London presence, promote the development of an IFC also supports Turkish offshore market for lira, Rencorporates’ entry to the capital minbi and dollar- denominated markets, participating as an aninstruments as well as extend its chor investor in the bond market cooperation with London Stock debuts of Sisecam, a glass and Exchange Group. chemicals producer, and Mersin International Port, which issued A discount note is a shortthe first infrastructure bond in term debt obligation issued at a Turkey. IFC also said that HSBC discount to face value. Discount notes have maturities of up to one is the arranger for its lira-denomiyear and are typically issued by nated discount note program.