Made In Turkey Newspaper by İstmag Magazin Grubu

Gül becomes the first President to ride in driverless car

nternational credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said that the Turkish government’s recently announced investment incentive scheme would be beneficial for strategic and large scale investments in Turkey for local and foreign groups. The new incentive system differed from previous programs by aiming to reduce Turkey’s dependency on imports, rather than providing financial support based solely on a geographical basis aiming to support under-developed regions in the country, according to Fitch. Page 7

ISSN 1300-2260

Turkish President Abdullah Gül

urkish President Gül visited Google, Facebook and Microsoft during his trip to San Francisco. Google’s Brin took the president on a ride in their new driverless car. Turkish President Abdullah Gül has become the first state leader to test drive Google’s newest innovation. As part of his tour of San Francisco, President Gül paid a visit to Google, Facebook and Microsoft.While meeting with the Turks employed at the Google headquarters, Sergey Brin one of the co-founders of the firm, presented Gül with a very special surprise. Google Technology Chair and Executive Board Member Brin took Gül and his wife Hayrünnisa for a ride in the company’s new driverless car, prior to the project’s official release. Page 7

Fitch praises Turkey’s new incentive scheme

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June 2012 Year: 11 No: 117

OECD: Eurozone crisis largest risk to the global economy P

ARIS- The Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) sees the ongoing euro area as the largest risk to the global economy. However, it is optimistic about the emerging economies such as China and Brazil along with Turkey. The organization’s global growth forecast stands steady at 3.4 percent OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria presented the 2012 Economic Outlook at the group’s HQ in Paris. The report puts EU’s debt crisis as the huge risk to the global recovery. The intensifying eurozone crisis poses the most serious risk to the muted recovery in the global economy, with the United States and Japan set for modest growth, the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) said. Page 5

Euro Zone crisis mounts as leaders argue

ith Greece’s membership in the euro zone teetering, fears of bank insolvency rising and Europe’s leaders bickering about what to do, the euro crisis is once again intensifying and threatening to undermine fragile growth globally. At a summit meeting in Brussels , regional leaders failed to signal any significant new steps to stimulate the sputtering regional economy or resolve the competing agendas of President François Hollande of France, who favors stronger action to spur growth, and his German counterpart, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has opposed aggressive moves to ease the pressure on Europe’s weakest economies. Page 9

IMF chief warns of crisis taint

MF chief Christine Lagarde warned of the risk of “contamination” if Greece quits the euro and said the eurozone might therefore see the value of paying more to keep Greece in. The International Monetary Fund managing director told BBC radio in an interview that a Greek exit from the single currency was “certainly not the most favourable option and not one that we encourage”. The trouble with a Greek departure is “the risk of contamination, from one isolated member that would be carved out, to other members within the zone that want to stay within the zone, who are wanted by their partners and who are doing all the right things,” the former French finance minister said. Page 9

TAV seals deal with French firm

rench airport operator Aeroports de Paris has completed the purchasing process to acquire 38 percent of Turkish counterpart TAV Havalimanları (TAV Airport Holding) for a total of $874 million, and 49 percent of TAV Investment Holding, a construction company. The chairman and chief executive officer of Aeroports de Paris, Pierre Graff, said, “Our partnership with TAV Havalimanları is a defining moment bringing an international dimension to Aeroports de Paris. Page 6

Import Goods Fair offers opportunity to business partners

he Import Goods Fair 2012 aims to help foreign manufacturers and suppliers by providing an opportunity to introduce and advertise their famous brands and quality products to Korean importers and consumers. The fair is being held on June 4th - 6th at World Trade Center, Coex in Seoul, South Korea. Page 7

Global finance firms have faith in Istanbul

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria

urkey’s location is key in making it a financial center says World Bank Turkey Director Raiser. Representatives of the world’s leading financial companies have expressed their full confidence inIstanbul becoming a major Turkish Deputy Prime global financial Minister Ali Babacan center. Page 6

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Letter From The Editor Mehmet Soztutan Editor-in-Chief

Commitment to sustainable growth

World Economic Letters to Forum to discuss the Editor turkey@ihlas.net.tr reform and growth The euro zone in Istanbul

e think that Greeks have no choice but to stick with a painful austerity program dictated by its lenders or face an exit from the euro zone that would devastate the economy, boost inflation and generate new problems. What about Turkey? Commitment to sound economic policies since 2002 has placed the Turkish economy in a good position to embark on a sustained path of faster growth. Progress has been achieved in reducing inflation and real interest rates, improving public finances, restructuring the financial sector, improving the business environment, and reforming the public sector. The OECD projected that Turkey’s economy would grow 3.3 percent in 2012 and 4.6 percent in 2013, despite the crisis prevailing in the EU. The Turkish government’s growth forecast for this year is more than 4 percent, and the 2013 forecast in the government’s medium-term program stands at 5 percent. According to OECD’s, the ratio of Turkey’s current account deficit to its gross domestic product would be 8.9 percent in 2012 and 8.4 percent in 2013. The report also said that the acceleration of structural reforms in production and business markets would help reduce and re-balance the pressure of inflation. This year will be a credibility test for the Central Bank, said Governor Erdem Başçı, adding that Turkey is ready to boost growth with its domestic dynamics, which was the reason the Central Bank has mainly maintained a tight monetary policy. The Turkish Central Bank prefers its monetary policy remains tight and will not allow deterioration in price stability, the governor noted at a meeting organized by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) in Istanbul. The bank is confident that year-end inflation will be at 6.5 percent and would prefer the Turkish Lira remain a “strong currency,” Başçı added. “The relative value of the lira will continue to be better than other currencies because the Turkish Central Bank thinks this will be right for price stability,” he said. We are confident that economic stability would prevail in Turkey.

he world Economic Forum meeting is held in Istanbul on 4-6 June 2012. Istanbul is hosting the world Economic Forum. It is expected over 1000 people from the political, business, civil society and media sectors to discuss the issues of economic and energy. The main theme of the Istanbul summit will be “Roadmaps for Reform and Growth.” In parallel with reforms, growth and unemployment in these three regions will be discussed in Istanbul. Energy is another main subject to be discussed in Turkey, which stands at a point of intersection for energy lines from the Middle East to Europe. Along with geopolitics, new energy strategies, their contribution to growth and pipelines like Nabucco to be discussed at the meeting. According to the comment of World Economic Forum (WEF), the pace and complexity of global change in recent years have been unprecedented, with Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia emerging as a key mega-region of the future. The World Economic Forum on Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia will therefore convene over 1,000 leaders in Istanbul, Turkey, to catalyse new partnerships for growth and

human development. • In light of the global economic contraction, how can governments and business leaders design and deliver new models to drive innovation and economic agility across this mega-region? • How can the region strengthen energy cooperation and deliver the highvalue trade and investment in science and research that are critical to knowledge economies? • How can the social dynamism unlocked by developments in the Middle East and North Africa be transformed into a decade of entrepreneurial opportunity, human security and good governance? The seven co-chairs of WEF’s Europe, MENA and Central Asia summit are Guler Sabanci, Chairman and Managing Director of Sabancı Holding; Ibrahim S. Dabdoub, Group Chief Executive Officer National Bank of Kuwait; Frederico Curado, President and Chief Executive Officer Embraer; Muhtar Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Coca-Cola Company; Andrey L. Kostin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Russian VTB Bank; Italian Eni’s board chairman Giuseppe Recchi; Denmark’s Vestas’ President and CEO Ditlev Engel.

From wasteful economy to competent economy Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “Turkey has transformed from a wasteful economy to an efficient economy”

ollowing his visit to Pakistan, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also paid an official visit to Kazakhstan. Meeting the President and Prime Minister, the leaders discussed mutual cooperation between the two countries. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced establishment of a “High Level Strategic Cooperation Council” following their meeting in Astana.Erdogan also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, joined the Turkish-Kazakh business forum and signed 17 deals with Kazakhstan during his visit. Turkey and Kazakhstan will build jointly a large industrial zone, also the two countries aim to expand their bilateral trade volume to $10 billion within a few years. At the business form in his speech Erdogan also said, “We would like to see more Kazakh businessmen in Turkey too. We have put a very inclusive incentive packet into force in recent months. I believe Kazakh businessmen will evaluate this opportunity in the best way.” Noting that Turkey and Turkish businessmen had previously made a considerable number of investments, Erdogan added the objective was to progress investments furthermore.

In his speech, Turkish premier continued, “The global economic crisis affected relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan, but it was temporary. Relations have gained pace with the measures we have taken. We have constituted an objective to boost our trade volume, which became $3 billion in 2011, to $10 billion within next few years.” “Mutual investments between the two countries should be diversified by directing investments to high-potential industries such as energy, mining, defense and agriculture. It is very important for our businessmen to assume power plant, dam, highway, bridge and port constructions and become more active in terms of deepening economic relations,” Erdogan highlighted. Noting that Turkey could play a noteworthy role in Kazakhstan’s residential sector, Erdogan recorded, “I think Turkish housing estate model could be used and progressed cooperation in this area to

help meeting Kazakhstan’s growing residential needs.” He also indicated Turkish business leaders have managed $2.5 billion worth of investments in Kazakhstan, as for the total worth of projects assumed by the Turkish contractors in the Central Asian country reached by $20 billion. Noting that Turkey has achieved to rank the 17th largest economy in the world, which was 26th in 2002, Erdogan said such an economic performance has been achieved based on a shift from a state-centered model to the private sectormodel. Successes achieved in privatizations have eased private enterprises’ effort, he said, adding that the government had lifted all obstacles against them. Turkey has transformed from a wasteful economy to an efficient economy, he said at the opening session of the 5th Astana Economic Forum, prior to the business forum. Touching on upcoming G-20 meeting in June in Mexico, Erdogan said, “G20 countries, which bring

together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies, should assume a more active role in producing global solutions to global problems. In his speech, Kazkh PM Massimov said at the meeting that TurkishKazakh ties would be enhanced by the new agreements. Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said the Turkish Eximbank would provide long term loans for Turkish businesspeople planning to invest in Kazakhstan. With regard to Premier Erdogan visit, Turkey and Kazakhstan have also established a joint economic cooperation mechanism that is aimed at facilitating commercial relations and improving political dialogue between the two nations that the Turkish prime minister called as “strategic partners.” Meanwhile, the number of reciprocal flights between two countries is designated to enlarge, Turkish Airlines, the flag carrier, currently flies to Almaty and Astana. Following his visiting Pakistan and Kazakhstan, PM Erdogan held a press conference upon his arrival in Turkey and said, “Trade volume between Turkey and Pakistan enhanced from $175 million to $1 billion since our party came to rule. We aim to raise trade volume to $2 billion between the two countries.”

The 17 nations using the euro must cooperate more closely and prevent any country defaulting on its debt as that would jeopardize the region’s healthy economies, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said. “No country should be allowed to default because if any country defaults, it is going to hurt overall confidence, and would open the door for more countries to follow the same route,” Babacan said, “It would increase the risk premium of the whole euro zone, and even those countries that have relatively healthy public finances would be hurt,” he noted. Exports to the euro area are important for the Turkish economy. The Turkish government may have to lower its 4 percent growth forecast for this year if the situation in the currency bloc worsens.

B. Hall/ Frankfurt

Greece’s credit rating Years of unrestrained spending, cheap lending and failure to implement financial reforms left Greece badly exposed when the global economic downturn struck. This whisked away a curtain of partly fiddled statistics to reveal debt levels and deficits that exceeded limits set by the eurozone. Greece’s credit rating -- the assessment of its ability to repay its debts -- has been downgraded to the lowest in the eurozone, meaning it will likely be viewed as a financial black hole by foreign investors. This leaves the country struggling to pay its bills as interest rates on existing debts rise.

M. Hagg/ Brussels

Socializing the costs.. Some of the bail-outs have also been accompanied with charges of hypocrisy due to the appearance of “socializing the costs while privatizing the profits.” The bail-outs appear to help the financial institutions that got into trouble (many of whom pushed for the kind of lax policies that allowed this to happen in the first place). Some governments have moved to make it harder to manipulate the markets by shorting during the financial crisis blaming them for worsening an already bad situation., D.Fren/ New York, New York

Worries about Euro Worries that Greece might default on its debts or even leave Europe’s currency union have deepened since May 6, when Greeks voted in shocking numbers for a left-wing party willing to tear up Greece’s $170 billion international bailout agreement. These days, even though 80 percent of Greeks say they want to stay with the euro, talk of “drachmageddon” can be heard in conversations all around Athens. Democracy has never been the European Union’s strongest suit. It’s an institution where the unelected and the barely accountable have always called the shots – and electorates are routinely made to vote again if they get the answer wrong in a referendum.

B. Harrng/ Brussels

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

“Turkey locates at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East” The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, “Strategically located at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, the open Turkish economy has benefited from a boom in foreign investment”

he EBRD’s Board of Directors has approved a new country strategy for Turkey which will define the Bank’s activities in the country for the next three years. “While Turkey was hit hard by the global financial crisis in 2008-09, the economy has rebounded quickly. Strategically located at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East, the open Turkish economy has benefited from a boom in foreign investment,” EBRD said. Structural reforms continue to be critical to develop the competitiveness of the domestic and export oriented industries and boost businesses in underdeveloped regions.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development started investing in Turkey only in 2009. However, Turkey is quickly becoming one of the biggest countries of EBRD operations by volume of investment. So far, the Bank has invested more than €1.5 billion in over 50 projects, almost all of which are in the private sector, mainly supporting small and medium-sized companies and concentrating on remote areas of the country. While its main office will continue to be in Istanbul, the EBRD will also open a new office in Ankara in May 2012 which will focus on supporting the public-private sector dialogue in areas such as re-

newable energy, food security and capital market development. In the next three years, the EBRD’s activities in Turkey will concentrate on the following areas: • developing sustainable energy • promoting the development of mid-sized corporates in underdeveloped regions • enhancing the competitiveness of Turkish industry • supporting privatisation • promoting market approaches toward investment in municipal infrastructure • supporting women’s entrepreneurship. The Bank will also support Turkey’s further economic

integration with Europe and closer economic and trade ties with the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries. London based EBRD was es-

tablished in 1991 and provides financing to banks, industries and businesses and supports countries to improve their market economies.

De La Rue refused to confirm rumours it was printing drachmas

anknote printer De La Rue said a strong performance in currencies drove underlying profits up 73% last year, but refused to confirmrumours it was printing drachmas in case Greece leaves the eurozone. Chief executive Tim Cobbold said: “There are 200 countries in the world. Every country doesn’t order every year. This year there are orders for customers we didn’t supply in a previous year.” Forward orders for currencies at the year end in March rose 18%, compared with long-term growth in the banknote market of 4%.

De La Rue is still recovering from a scandal in 2010 when employees were found to have falsified certain paper specification test certificates for a limited number of customers. Its thenchief executive and several managers subsequently resigned and profits tumbled. Cobbold said that “discussions remain ongoing with the principal customer concerned”, previously identified as the Reserve Bank of India. He said the dispute was taking longer to settle because the company had to deal with a government who “have a whole series of pressures on them”.

Last summer De La Rueintroduced a so-called improvement plan, closing two facilities, which resulted in 200 job losses. Asked whether there would be any further job losses, Cobbold said: “Largely we have been through the actions on the improvement plan.” He said the company was making “good progress” with the plan and is on track to hit its target of over £100m operating profits next year. Full-year pre-tax profits fell by 55% to £32.9m as a result of a one-off boost to profits last year from the sale of De La Rue’s stake in Camelot, and the oneoff costs of implementing the recovery

plan. But underlying pre-tax profit rose to £57.7m and revenues were up 14% at £528m. Chairman Nicholas Brookes will retire in July, handing over to Philip Rogerson, 67, who is also chairman of Bunzl and Carillion. Cobbold said: “[Rogerson] joined the board on March 1. I can only say from the time he’s given since then that I’m very confident he will have the time to dedicate to De La Rue.” The company will pay a final dividend of 28.2p on 2 August, making the total dividend 42.3p, the same as the previous year. The shares slipped 7p to £10.02.

Euro Isn’t Loved, but Few Want to Drop It!

RUSSELS — More than two years into a euro crisis that has toppled governments and sown economic pain, citizens of five euro zone countries — including Greece — say the euro has not been a good thing for them, but nevertheless do not want to go back to their old currencies, according to a survey. Greece, the country most at risk of falling out of the euro, typified the contradiction. There, people were most likely to say that their country had been weakened by European economic integration. Yet support for the euro was highest, the poll found, perhaps showing Greek preferences as they head into new parliamentary elections on June 17 that could determine their future in the currency union. In fact, despite the financial troubles currently facing Europe, majorities in the five euro zone countries in the

survey favored keeping the single currency, ranging from 52 percent in Italy to 71 percent in Greece, according to the poll, which was carried out by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project. The survey did not explain the seeming contradiction in people’s attitudes, but Bruce Stokes, director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center in Washington, suggested that risk aversion might play a role. “They realize it would be a leap into the dark” to lose the euro, he said. The survey covered the eight countries in all with 75 percent of the 500 million people in the European Union: Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Greece, which are part of the euro area, and Britain, Poland and Czech Republic, which are not. Questions were asked from March 17 to April 16 of about 1,000 people in each country;

the margin of sampling error ranged from plus or minus three to four percentage points. The poll also showed Germany to be the most admired country and its leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, to be the most respected, despite her unrelenting push for more fiscal rectitude across the Europe. Least admired was Greece. And support for providing bailouts to crisis-stricken countries diverged in what seemed to be a reversal of popular perceptions. The poll found that 49 percent of Germans were in favor of providing aid, up from 42 percent when the question was asked two years ago. Mr. Stokes noted that the opposition Social Democrats and the Greens, who have been rising in opinion polls there, have been largely supportive of European integration and rescuing the euro, something that

is not generally reflected in statements by Ms. Merkel and her center-right government. In France, where concern about that country’s economic situation has grown, support for bailouts slid to 44 percent, from 53 percent in spring 2010. “There’s a direct connection between your perception of the economy and your perception of integration,” Mr. Stokes said. “Right now, people are in the midst of a declining economy and very upset about it, and it appears that it influences their willingness to help each other, which has consequences.” Doubts about the benefits of membership in the European Union seem to be growing almost everywhere as the euro crisis drags on, indicating fresh political risks for European leaders debating how to stabilize the currency and secure the bloc’s future.

Bosporus’s third suspension bridge to be built in 36 months Bosporus’s third suspension bridge to be at the service after 36 months; the Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ticaret A.S. and Astaldi OGG consortium won the tender of the third bridge construction

he Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ticaret A.S. and Astaldi OGG consortium won the tender to

build the third bridge over Istanbul Bosporus. Turkish Transportation Minister Bi-

nali Yildirim announced the winner at a press conference in Ankara. He said the project is expected to cost $ 2.5 billion. The proposed 1,275-meter-long suspension bridge over the Bosporus is planned to connect the area of Garipce in the city’s Sarıyer district on the European side with Poyrazkoy in Beykoz on the Asian side. Described as Turkey’s second-biggest build-operate-transfer (BOT) system, the project will connect the Northern Marmara Highway with the Trans-European Motorway, spanning 414 kilometers from Adapazarı to Tekirdag. Being built by Built-Operate-Transfer system, the contractor consortium

firm which is the Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ticaret A.S. and Astaldi OGG will operate the suspension bridge for 10 years 2 months 20 days including construction period. The planned 414-kilometer-long North Marmara Highway will connect the western Marmara province of Tekirdag to the Aegean province of Izmir via a third bridge over the Bosporus and another over the Gulf of Izmit. The first bridge over the strait, the Bosporus or Bogazici Bridge, was constructed in 1973. The second, the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, named after 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, was opened to the service in 1988.

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June 2012

Rio+20 targets a better future “Turbulent Year”

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ince human beings have begun to cus on green economic model concept. e left the 2011 behind to- are continuously scanning to evaluate the recognize theyear destructive effects Fulfilling this vital duty, necessary reguwith theclimate bad and good conditions. According to the developsuchgether as hurricane, change, lations, education and awareness have a events.flashfloods, One of the foremost ments, most feared regions is global warming, air pollution; crucial one role of in the order to recover the envievents wassearches political have uprising called seemingly that and would be faced afterward beenthat launched ronmentallyeurozone distorted aggravated Arab spring fatal has results been experienced in with the economic slowdown in 2012. for mitigating of the unwanted world. some of theevents. 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In thedevelopment. last two decades curreddeveloping according to the Ibrahim Kupeli Ibrahim Kupeli Wars, strife and political tries Now seema new lesser risky unwanted destructive events UN. planning ikupeli@img.com.tr ikupeli@img.com.tr uprising push increased the related than the developed have steadily its is considered for counpostcountries with theDue en- to these neg- 2015. tries. 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Following 2008-09 economic after cent for the high-income Euro Area. bodies across the world try tocrisis, constitute So governments would be urged to take some two-year break, the economic crisis In the worsening condition in global awareness against the destructive events action on a number of importantthe global isis expected to show its devastating impact economy letssake eyes to generations Asia which by is and to solve the huge environmentally sues for the of turn future in the yearwhich 2012, too. Some says this the conference. robust economy in the world. problems human beings havetime, suf- seen Rio+20 itfered. would be worse than previous one. The International Fund (IMF) Rio+20 conferenceMonetary aims to let seven key The World of Bank predicts would be is looking to work everinto more closely On behalf claiming the2012 natural assets, areas should be taken action by with govaone ‘turbulent year’. to lessen the generate impact ofdecent the global of the foremost things is economic Asia ernments to help jobs; In addition to the political turbulent es- crisis on food the region and help promote model and production techniques. advance security andtosustainable agpecially the MENA region, there are sounder growth acThe newin paradigm in economic activities ricultureand withstronger a push for zero globally, hunger; unialso expectations in the global cording to David Lipton, IMFenergy; First Depis green economyturbulent and green economic versal access to sustainable unieconomy. Unstable developments would Managing Director. model is being advocated for being ad- uty versal access to safe drinking water and affect entire or As for the provide situationguidance in terms on of sustainTurkey, opted the across the world world.economy Because less of the sanitation; more. of the ainterconnected to the officials, Turkey’s econcurrent Because situation requires new paradigm according able use, management and conservation global economy, for this reason counwould build not beinstitutions affected much from and solutions for overcoming theno huge en- omy of oceans; to support try and no region would be immune from the global crisis as much as vironmental disputes. sustainable development at Eurozone all levels; and that catastrophe. developed a 4-5 percent In the scope of the new economic para- other advance a processcountries; of defining Sustainable The economics and rating organizations development is predicted in 2012. digm, producers and consumers must fo- Development Goals.

Humor Humor

THOUGHT OF THE THOUGHT MONTH OF THE A consultant MONTHis someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells you the time.

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.

THINGS A CONSULTANT SHOULDN’T SAY TO A CLIENT

1. That was my first guess as well, but then I thought aboutlooking it f you’re for a job or looking to 2. You should see theahotel staying at are hire, you need smileI’m break. Here 3. Hey, I just realized that I was in junior high memorable interview moments: when you started working here •4.AI like job this applicant challenged thethem interviewoffice space. I’ll have put me er here to anwhen arm you’re wrestle. in gone • Candidate announced that long-term 5. My rental car is nicer than thather junker you’re goals were to replace the interviewer. driving • Applicant was hired would 6. Sure it’ll said work;if Ihelearned it inhebusiness school demonstrate his loyalty by having the cor7. So what dotattooed you needon mehis to forearm. tell you ? porate logo 8. Of course it’s right; the spreadsheet says so Unusual questions 9. I could the answer, but comwe’re What is itjust thattell youyou people do at this committed to a six month contract pany? 10. What are you, stupid ?

Why aren’t you in a more interesting business? THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T SAY AT A Why do you want references? CONSULTANT INTERVIEW I know this is off the subject, but will you marry 1. I’m ame? t-shirt and jeans kinda person Unusual 2. Do youstatements pay overtime ? 3. I hate flying I usually feel hot all over. Once a week, 4. I’mfascinated useless without ten hours of sleep a night I am by fire. 5. Thereget are hungry. lies, damn lies, and statistics I never 6. Are your rental carsmore covered for collision ? I would have been successful if no7. College taught me working in teams is great body would have snitched on me. for slackers I think I’m going to throw-up. 8. I think three letter acronyms are for people No matter how badly your last job intertoo stupid to remember whole phrases view it family probably 9. Twowent, words: firstwasn’t this bad... • Said was so [that]firing if he 10. Callhe it what youwell-qualified want, it still means didn’t get the job, it would prove that the people company’s management was incompetent. WAYS TO TELL YOU’VE GOT CON• Stretched out on the floor to THE fill out the SULTING BUG job application. • Wouldn’t get out of the chair until I would 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 hire him. I had to call the police. 4. Constant to give advice onand subjects you • Pulled outurge a Polaroid camera snapped know nothing about a flash picture of me. Said he collected 5. Always hyphenating words that-don’t-needphotos of everyone who interviewed him. to-be-hyphenated • An applicant came in wearing onlybullet one 6. Compose your grocery list using shoe. She explained that the other shoe was points stolen her thematic foot in the bus. 7. Can off fit the undercurrents of War What job into am Ia applying for,matrix anyway?” and Peace two-by-two 8. Tired of having a social workI’m “My resume might makelifeit beyond look like 9. A two-page Business Week is all it a job hopper. story But Iinwant you to know that takes to left make youofanthose expert I never any jobs voluntarily.” 10. Firmly believe work that anharder objective “I will definitely for viewpoint you than means more than any real work experience I did for my last employer.”

“I don’t think I’m capable of doing this job,

THINGS YOU’LL NEVER HEAR FROM A but I sure would like the money.” CONSULTANT

I demand a salary commiserate with my

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THE ECONOMIST ECONOMIST THE Alwaysislisten experts. What yourtoadvise?

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Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

OECD: Eurozone crisis largest risk to the global economy

Turkey shifts exports targets

Continued From Page1 merging economies such as China and Brazil, on the other hand, are set for a cyclical upswing, the OECD said in its latest twice-yearly Economic Outlook report. The OECD held its forecast for global growth this year steady at 3.4 percent, but lowered its outlook for the eurozone to a 0.1 percent contraction, urging more easing of monetary policy and euro-wide measures to boost growth. OECD Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan warned “the crisis in the euro area has become more serious recently, and it remains the most important source of risk to the global economy.” The policy forum of 34 advanced economies forecasts growth in 2013 will pick up to 4.2 percent globally and 0.9 percent in the 17-member eurozone, provided it contains the debt crisis. While the eurozone gained some breathing space at the beginning of the year due to the European Central Bank’s pumping over a trillion euros into banks, tensions have soared in recent weeks after inconclusive elections raised the spectre of a Greek exit from

the euro. There is no guarantee Greeks will elect parties in new elections next month that are committed to pursuing the austerity policies required by the country’s massive international bailout and that will be key to keeping the country in the eurozone. “Elections in a number of euroarea countries have signaled that reform fatigue is increasing and tolerance for fiscal adjustment may be reaching a limit,” Agence France-Presse quoted Padoan as saying. Recession, “rising unemployment and social pain may spark political contagion and adverse market reaction,” with countries outside the eurozone also at risk of being hit, he added. The OECD forecast that eurozone unemployment would rise to 10.8 percent this year. “The risk is increasing of a vicious circle, involving high and rising sovereign indebtedness, weak banking systems, excessive fiscal consolidation and lower growth,” Padoan warned. With EU leaders meeting in Brussels to contemplate measures to boost growth, the OECD said “credibility and confidence would be enhanced by euro-area and

EU-wide measures”. While credible medium-term plans to reduce deficits were essential, the OECD said “the speed of consolidation should depend on country-specific circumstances”. New French President Francois Hollande has called for a growth pact to complement the EU fiscal pact, pitting him against German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The OECD said growth in Germany was not enough to carry along the rest of the eurozone, and said higher wages in the country could boost domestic demand and contribute to a less painful readjustment for others. The eurozone’s current account swung to a deficit of 1.3 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in February

moil over too much debt. The Ifo institute survey of business executives released dropped to 106.9 points in May from 109.9 points in April â€” a larger drop than analysts had been

predicting. The drop came even though Germany’s own economy is doing relatively well, and expects moderate growth this year. Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn

I from a surplus of 3.7 billion euros in January, European Central Bank data showed . The current account on the balance of payments, which includes imports and exports in both goods and services plus all other current transfers, is a closely tracked indicator of the ability of a country or area to pay its way in the world. It is crucial for the long-term confidence of investors and trading partners. Over the 12 months to February, the current account showed a surplus of 2.1 billion euros, compared with a deficit of 18.1 billion euros in the corresponding period a year earlier, the data showed.

German business less confident

closely-watched survey shows business confidence in Germany is falling as concerns grow over the 17-country eurozone’s struggles with economic and financial tur-

says “the German economy is being influenced recently by the growing uncertainty in the eurozone.” Ifo’s results are based on a monthly survey of some 2,500 companies.

Polyplex set to invest $150 million in Turkey

planned investment in Turkey by Indian polyester film producer Polyplex Group is “another brick in the wall the incentive scheme has begun to build against the current account deficit,” Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan has said. Polyplex will invest $150 million to build a PET resin production plant in Çorlu, the industrial district of the

western province Tekirdağ. The investment was announced at a press meeting, which Çağlayan and Polyplex executives attended. The construction will take place in two phases, and the ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled to take place before the end of June. The planned annual production capacity of the plant, which will directly employ 250 people, is 600,000 tons.

The plant’s annual export volume is estimated to hit $1 billion in three years, with 70 to 80 percent of the plant’s products being exported to European,American and Russian markets. Polyplex has plants in India, Turkey, Thailand, and is currently building a facility in the United States. The new investment will help reduce Turkey’s foreign trade deficit in the petrochemicals industry, Çağlayan said. Turkey recorded an $11 billion trade deficit last year in petrochemicals, he added. The first phase of the investment will be complete in the first quarter of 2013, and the second phase will be completed three years later, said Kapil Gupta, senior vice president of Polyplex, adding that some of the raw material for the resin will be purchased from local suppliers. Polyplex plans a separate $500 million investment to produce the raw materials for resins within five to eight years, he said.

İçtaş-Astaldi consortium wins bid

çtaş İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret and Italy’s Astaldi consortium won the bid for a part of the Northern Marmara Highway Project, which includes a third bridge over the Bosphorus at tender at the Highway Authority in Ankara at 1:00. İçtaş İnşaat Sanayi TicaretAstaldi Joint Venture and Cengiz İnşaat-Kolin İnşaat-LimakMakyol İnşaat-kalyon İnşaat Joint Ventures submitted bids for the construction and management of the project. The Salini-Gülermak consortium was omitted from the tender since its proposal envisioned building the legs of bridge in the water, as opposed to land, a

Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan

project pre-condition. The initial tender had been held on April 20, where a total of four bids had been received. Mapa İnşaat

was subsequently eliminated from the tender due to not having been able to achieve the required 70 points for technical sufficiency.

STANBUL - Turkey relegates Canada, Algeria, Jordan and Qatar from its list of ‘target countries’ for exports to ‘priority countries.’ Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and South Africa have replaced them. Containers are seen at the busy İzmir port on the Aegean coast. Turkey has rearranged its list of target and promising countries for exports in a recent study conducted by the Economy Ministry. Turkey’s economy ministry has completed a study of the target countries with which it plans to expand its trade activities in the coming period. In compiling the list of countries in 2009, the ministry examined a slew of factors like political relations between Turkey and the country in question, the size of its market, transparency and openness, as well as Turkey’s export potential in the construction services, capital movements, trade and legal infrastructure of the countries, energy policies and investments. For the 20102011 period, the ministry included factors like the global economic difficulties and the changing global economic, social and political atmosphere. At the end of all the studies the ministry, alongside Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, compiled a list of 17 target countries and 27 priority countries that might turn into target countries. Some countries were removed from the previous 2009 list given today’s existing global economic and social conditions.

As a result, Canada, Algeria, Jordan and Qatar were dropped a notch from target to priority with potential to become target country status, while countries like Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and South Africa were chosen as new target countries. The big surprises however were Japan, Georgia, Syria, Tunisia, Croatia, Kosovo, Senegal, Pakistan, Lebanon and Oman. Japan, which was not even considered a priority country in the last period, was promoted to target country status. Conversely, the rest of the above mentioned countries were removed from the priority country list all together, according to the ministry’s study. The new priority countries were deemed to be Germany, Romania, Slovakia, Angola, Ethiopia, Singapore, Kuwait, Argentina and Colombia. Countries that maintained their status quo as target countries were the United States, China, Russia, India, Brazil, Poland, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Libya. The priority countries, which remained the same were similarly Mexico, Chile, Peru, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and Sweden. Firms that trade with countries that are labeled as “target countries” and “priority countries” will be given added government support based on a 10 to 20 point system with regard to trade activities and marketing.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Global finance firms have faith in Istanbul Continued From Page 1 peaking at a meeting on turningIstanbul into an important center of finance, Director General of J.P. Morgan, Michael Marrese, said that London and New York were the world’s most important financial centers, but that Istanbul was a promising location. “As J.P. Morgan, we believe thatIstanbul is also an important financial center. We think that every step towards makingIstanbul a major financial center is crucial,”

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan

Marrese noted. Among the world’s leading financial centers are London, New York, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Dubai, and Doha. Istanbul ranks 61st among the world’s financial centers, Marrese said. Istanbul needs to compete with places like Doha and Dubai in order to become more prominent, Marrese said. On the other hand, World Bank Turkey Director Martin Raiser said Turkey’s geographical position was key in making the country a more important financial

center. Turkey’s current account deficit is rapidly decreasing and this is good news, and direct foreign investments will play an important role in increasing Istanbul’s profile as a financial center, Raiser added. Meanwhile, speaking at the same meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan announced that the Istanbul Stock Exchange’s (İMKB) name would be changed to the IstanbulBourse (İstanbul Borsa).

TAV seals deal with French firm Continued From Page 1 his partnership has both organic and inorganic growth potential.” The biggest shareholders in TAV Havalimanları – Akfen Holding, Tepe İnşaat and Sera Yapı – have completed the share transfer, the company said in a statement to theIstanbul Stock Exchange May 16. A share sales agreement was signed by the parties on March 11. TAV Havalimanları Executive Chairman Sani Şener said a global airport operating alliance has been formed with the share sale. The alliance operates 37 airports directly or indirectly, serving some 180 million passengers, he said. The transaction also shows the confidence of international firms in the economy of Turkey, he added.

Automotive sector dominates list of export champions in 2011 Aksa Generator opens

ar manufacturers achieved to rank in the half of the top 10 spots in the leading exporters’ list in Turkey, according to the list “Turkey’s Champions of Exports,” which was arranged by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). An award ceremony was held in Ankara by attendees of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan. Turkey’s largest oil refining company, the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TUPRAS) placed at first stop on the list. However, five of the remaining nine spots were filled by car manufacturers, such as Ford Otosan,

Oyak Renault, Tofas Turk Otomobil, Toyota and Kibar Dış Ticaret A.Ş., which sell cars having produced in Turkey by Hyundai to overseas markets. Turkey accomplished the largest export rate ever virtually $135 billion in 2011, with18 percent compared to the previous year. Turkey’s export volume had dropped below the $100 billion mark in 2009 because of the global financial crisis, when its domestic output also shrank by nearly 5 percent. In the past two years, therefore, official data show that Turkey’s exports have grown some 35 percent at a time when there are grave economic risks in

Europe, Turkey’s largest export market. According to TIM data, Turkey’s greatest exports in 2011 were automotive industrialists, more than

$20 billion. This was followed by chemical products and ready-towear clothing, each bringing more than $16 billion worth of exports revenue to the country. Steel exports came in fourth place, at some $15 billion. The top-10 exporter list also included Vestel Dıs Ticaret A.S., which mostly sells home appliances produced domestically by Vestel to markets abroad; Habas Medical; Industrial Gases Corp.; and steel-and-iron producer Icdas. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has the socalled Turkey’s centennial goal is to achieve $500 billion worth of exports by 2023. The executive expects the country’s exports volume to top $150 billion this year, or some 11 percent more than in 2011. It is predicted that if that same rate of export growth to be sustained through 2023, the national exports volume would reach some $470 billion, some below the targeted half a trillion dollars.

its third plant in China

urkey’s Aksa Generator, a subsidiary of Aksa Holding, opened the world’s largest generator factory in the district of Cangcou, China. The new generator plant of Aksa has featured the biggest generator plant of the world with 24 thousand part production capacity per annum. The generator factory is the third plant that Aksa has opened in China to date and will have an annual production capacity of 24,000 generators per annum. Aksa Generator General Manager Alper Peker said that since entering the Chinese market in 2007 there has been an increase in demand. Aksa Generator is among the top five generator firms in the world, according to the announcement of Peker. He added that this new factory expected to export to 150 countries across the world. The generators are manufactured by the new factory will be ranging between 10 kilowatts to 2,500 kilowatts. With its other two factories in the China’s Changzhou and Wuxi regions, Aksa Generator has

become the largest exporter of generators in China. According to Peker, Aksa Jeneratör is the preferred generator label among the Chinese. Peker explained that Aksa Jeneratör brought its raw materials and technology from Turkey and thus they contributed to the Turkish economy as well. In the inauguration ceremony, Necati Baykal, Chairman of the Board of Aksa, said, “The newly opened plant to become one the main production centers in the world. The Chinese economy not only growing quick and stable for long years, it has also become one of the foremost countries of the world via its technological developments. I believe that China will guide the world economy in the future.” Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Board Chairman Hasan Koktas said, “due to the developments in the last ten years, Turkey’s energy sector has become to carry out the locomotive functionality in the progress of the Turkey’s economy.”

Cheap cars:Toyota’s road to new markets

OKYO - Toyota said on May 25 it will roll out a number of new compact cars priced around $12,500 in developing nations, targeting sales of more than one million of the models annually in emerging markets by 2015. Japan’s biggest automaker said it would make eight new cars at plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Indiaand Brazil, priced at “about 1 million yen ($12,500) or more.” “We don’t sell cars priced at 500,000 yen,” Toyota executive vice-president Yukitoshi Funo told reporters at its Tokyo headquarters. While the new models are squarely aimed at emerging nations, including China, Indonesia and Brazil, “if customers in the United States or Europe like them, I will flexibly think about (selling them there),” Funo added. In 2010, the firm launched its Etios compact to the Indian market with a base price of about $10,000, still far higher than domestic rivals such as Tata Motors, whose Nano sells for as little as $2,900. Total sales of Etios have surpassed 100,000 vehicles in India since its debut, the company said. Etios is part of a broader plan to see half of Toy-

ota’s worldwide vehicle sales come from emerging markets, up from 45 percent in 2011, as global automakers rush to emerging nations amid stuttering sales in their developed markets. The automaker, which includes the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino sold 7.35 million vehicles globally in the year to March. Funo offered few details about the new Toyota models, but said they will have an “excitement” factor. “Cars need to have a factor of excitement -- when a father buys a car, he must draw respect from his family who should say ‘Daddy, well done,’ and the family should enjoy going on a picnic on a weekend in that car,” he said. Separately, Funo said the market in Myanmar was “too small” at the moment, but added that Toyota was keeping its eye on the nation as it adopts a string of democratic reforms, and swings opens its doors to business. “We would like to observe the pace of growth in the market in a country with a positive outlook,” he added. Toyota regained its position as the world’s number one automaker in the first

quarter, stealing back the lead from US giant Gen-

eral Motors, according to manufacturers’ figures.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Fitch praises Turkey’s new incentive scheme

“Istanbul to be a finance center”

Continued From Page 16 target. There is no hin- could become a venue cial opportunities of-

he structure has changed, inflation has dropped, the public financing get balanced, and we have paid cost of this.” Touching on the state’s importance to the capital markets, Turhan said there is a work on Capital Market Board (SPK). Stressing that Istanbul owns a capacity for being finance center, Turhan said, “When we look at the market value, proportion of IMKB in Gross Domestic Product (GNP) is 25 percent. This rate is very low when compare with the similar countries. Our aim is to achieve 80 percentages. This is reachable

drance in letting market value to be 80 percent in proportion to gross domestic product. The most liquid market is in Istanbul in its region, IMKB has liquidity rate equals to $2,5 trillion.” He indicated that they had decided to make up a market linkage system with South Korea. Step has been taken with the countries such as Macedonia, Dubai, Oman, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Bosna Herzegovina, and Egypt to attain an agreement in the joint indexes; Turhan said. Turhan also recalled that Istanbul had the potential to be a center for the Islamic finance, adding that Istanbul

the Islamic banking centers come together for the Balkans, Central Asia, the Gulf and Far East. The event was jointly hosted by Garanti Bank and Tufts University and held at the headquarters of Garanti in Istanbul. Amar Bhidé, Thomas Schmidheiny Professor at Tufts University, highlighted Turkey’s rapid growth in recent years played an important role in protecting the country’s economy from global financial crises. He said Istanbul was an exceptional city based on the both geography and population of the city, as well as its labor force potential and the so-

fered. Expressing his confidence in Istanbul becoming an IFC, Bhidé commented, “With the contribution of a secure political environment and stable economy, Istanbul will become one of the most prominent IFCs in the world.” Turhan stressed that Turkey had made major changes, including establishing the independence of the central bank, the establishment of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the positive transformation of the political environment in the country. He stated his confidence in Istanbul becoming an IFC and

(IMKB) Chairman Ibrahim Turhan

said the opportunity provided by the current positive economic environment and government support will not be missed. Garanti Bank CEO Ergun Ozen, ING Bank Turkey CEO Pınar Abay and Bank Asya CEO Abdullah Celik were also at the panel moderated by John McCarthy, chairman of ING Bank A.S. Turkey. Ozen predicted that the size of the country’s financial sector would double, indicating that Turkey is strong in its

bid to become an IFC. Abay marked that with the contribution of incentives given by the government to important sectors, the current account deficit (CAD) would be lowered. “With the current positive indicators and measures being taken to fix structural problems as well as the expanding saving rates in the country, the way is being paved for Turkey to become one of the top five economies in Europe,” Abay commented.

Istanbul among top 10 congress destinations

stanbul retained its place on the list of the top 10 convention destinations centers in the world last year, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) . Istanbul was in seventh place in 2010 with 109 conventions, but fell to ninth place in 2011, although the number of conferences held in the city rose to 113, according to data from the International Congress and Convention Association. In the early 2000s, Istanbul was in 40th place, with only 20 conventions per year, and has made a great leap forward as a global competitor in the conven-

tion-destination market in the past decade. Turkey’s overall achievements in terms of its economy and in other fields has helped it attain this success, as has the IstanbulConvention and Visitors Bureau’s (ICVB) integrated work with the sector, said Murat Yalçıntaş, head of the İTO and chairman of the ICVB. “Now cities around world compete with each other [as well as countries]. That is why it is important that Istanbul retained its place in the top 10,” Yalçıntaş said.

The ICVB was founded in 1997 as part of the Tourism Development and Education Foundation. The president of the board of trustees of the foundation is Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay. Turkey’s southern province of Antalya, which is also a major international tourism destination, hosted 23 conventions last year, putting it in 92nd place, while the capital city of Ankara, listed 273rd, bring in only seven conventions in 2011. Among countries, Turkey was in 23rd place with 159 conventions last year.

Abdullah Gül becomes the first president to ride in driverless car Continued From Page 1

ül and the First Lady sat in the backseat to enjoy a ride in the vehicle which has yet to be tested out by President Obama, making Gül the first state leader to try out the driverless car. These vehicles, which operate using Google Maps services for navigation and reaches destinations according to coordinates in order to find the shortest routes, also successfully decreases the risk of accidents by half. Relaying his experience in the driverless vehicle, Gül stated, “After a short period of time, they turned on the car’s automatic system. We went up to 80 miles (130 kilometers) on the highway. It was wonderful. The driver doesn’t have to do anything. Sergey Brin said that he uses this car to commute to work. In San Francisco the traffic regulations are extremely tough. I asked who the ticket would be written to if the car committed a traffic crime. They said because there is no chance of it being caught intoxicated they don’t receive tickets.” Explaining that it was Brin who suggested they try out the car, Gül stat-

ed, “The car was entirely controlled by the automatic system. When it detected a truck ahead of us that was going slow, it slowed down on its own and then later sped up

the well-known doctor Mehmet Öz. Gül also had the chance to try on another Google innovation called Google Glasses. The President even watched a film

that he plans to become a candidate for NATO Secretary General when his term of presidency is over. Gül responded by stating, “It is very nice that Turkey is being mentioned in connection to such an important position, however I am not considering becoming a candidate.” ‘THE FATİH PROJECT IS THE PRIME MINISTER’S’

again. Although the car can’t see, it has been completely designed to drive safer than any human. It is extremely successful.” A Turkish woman is overseeing Google’s driverless car project; Seval Öz, who also happens to be the sister of

wearing the special navigation glasses. Gül also checked out the Tarabya Palace from the headquarters’ huge Google Earth screen. After his visit to Google, Gül later spoke with journalists at Microsoft. The president was asked whether the speculation

Continued From Page 1 t will focus mainly on sectors like energy, mining, automotives, and tourism, which are considered the main sources of Turkey’s wide current account deficit. As intermediate goods imports constitute 43 percent of Turkey’s total production, the government is aiming to provide Turkish manufacturers with a competitive edge to reduce the portion of imports,” Fitch said. Noting that the scheme would provide further impetus for new or delayed investment plans in the slowing economic environment, Fitch said it would take time before the full effect of the new system on the competitiveness of Turkish corporations becomes evident. Fitch said the government would provide strategic support through value

After visiting Google, Gül went on to stop at both Facebook and Microsoft, where he introduced the Fatih Project, which involves providing tablet computers to schools in Turkey. When it was brought up that Gül is extremely active in technology, while the Prime Minister is not as active in social media, Gül stated, “Yes, but the Fatih Project is the Prime Minister’s”. Mentioning that a number of Silicon Valley firms expressed interest in the Fatih Project, Gül states, “There will be a lot of competition; however we need to not think about this as being a purchase. We must act in accordance to Turkey’s benefit. This project will be a significant pilot application for these firms.

added tax (VAT) exemption, export tax exemption, tax deduction, employment insurance support, interest rate support and VAT refunds, and that the incentives could enhance some Turkish corporations’ competitive advantage by providing lower labor and financing costs. “Fitch believes the new incentive system could provide some support to petro-chemical companies, which are on the verge of making new investments … Petkim Petrokimya Holdings could be one of the companies that utilize the new incentive system, as its management is planning to increase the capacity of its ethylene and PTA facilities capacity. The incentives could also support Turkish company Aka’s new carbon fiber investments, which are planned to reach $1billion in the long term,” the agency said.

Construction industry grows 11 pct in 2011

kyscrapers are seen rising over İzmir bay in the Aegean province. The Turkish construction sector grew 11.2 percent in 2011, and the total value of new projects granted to Turkish building contractors abroad was $19.3 billion in the same period, according to data provided by an industry association.Turkish contractors have undertaken 6,500 projects abroad in 94 countries as of last year, with a total value of $206 billion, according to a report issued by the Turkish Contractors’ Association (TMB) titled “Construction Industry Analysis.” Leading markets About 44 percent of projects of Turkish contractors abroad were in Eurasia, 24.5 percent in the Middle East, and 19.73 percent in Africa. More than half of the new projects the Turkish contrac-

tors undertook were in four countries: Russia, Turkmenistan, Iraq, and Kazakhstan. The Turkish construction industry grew 15.3 percent in the first quarter of 2011, dropping in the following quarters of the year and down to 7 percent growth in the last quarter. The industry’s overall annual growth was 11.2 percent. “Data regarding construction licenses and occupancy permits shows a reluctance to start new construction and indicates a strong trend of depleting stocks,” and the construction industry may slow down significantly in 2012, the report said. The number of new construction licenses dropped by 30.8 percent last year, while occupancy permits increased by 23.4 percent. Building construction costs went up 12.41 percent last year compared to 2010.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Lagarde’s wording ‘humiliate’ Greece

THENS - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has called on Greeks to pay their taxes. Greece’s socialist leader has accused International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde of trying to “humiliate” his crisishit country by saying that Greeks avoid paying taxes. “Nobody can humiliate the Greek people during the crisis, and I say this addressing specifically Ms. Lagarde... who with her stance insulted the Greek people,” Evangelos Venizelos told an election rally filmed late on May 26 and broadcast.

The decision aims to encourage the G20 to leverage new technologies to make travel “more accessible, convenient and more efficient without a diminution of national security.”

NWTO welcomes the Declaration issued by the Tourism Ministers of the G20 economies (T20) calling for priority to be given to facilitating travel as a means to boost economic growth and create jobs. “To ensure that tourism can play a key role in generating employment opportunities, both directly and indirectly

“I call on her to re-think what she wanted to say.” On May 25, the British newspaper The Guardian quoted Lagarde as urging Greeks to “help themselves collectively” by all paying their taxes, saying she was more concerned about subSaharan Africans in poverty than Greeks hit by the economic crisis. The comments drew thousands of comments on her Facebook page, largely from Greeks criticizing the remarks. Late on May 26 the IMF chief responded: “I am very sympathetic to the Greek people and the challenges they are facing. That’s

why the IMF is supporting Greece in its endeavor to overcome the current crisis.” The French government also spoke out against comments by Lagarde. “I find (Lagarde’s comments) rather simplistic and stereotypical,” government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem told French television. Meanwhile, former Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos warned Greece may run out of money by the end of June if international bailout funds are cut off following next month’s election, a newspaper reported. “From late June onwards, the ability of the government to fund its obligations fully

depends on the approval of the subsequent installments of loans from the EFSF and the IMF,” To Vima newspaper quoted Papademos as saying in a leaked memo. “The available funds in the Greek government will be reduced gradually from about 3.8 billion euros on May 11 to about 700 million euros on June 18 and from June 20 will enter negative territory at the level of around one billion euros.” Centre-left To Vima said Papademos made the warning in a memo to President Carolos Papoulias dated May 11 that was then circulated to party leaders as they tried to form a coalition after

an inconclusive May 6 vote. Separately, Greece’s conservatives have regained an opinion poll lead that would allow the formation of a probailout government committed to keeping the country in the euro zone, a batch of new surveys showed on May 26. Greece was forced to call repeat elections for June 17 after a May 6 vote left parliament divided evenly between groups of parties that support and oppose the austerity conditions. Five polls published in the press showed the conservative New Democracy party, which supports the bailout, with a lead of between 0.5 and 5.7 points over the anti-

bailout leftist Syrizia party. Syrizia has said it would ditch the country’s bailout deal that has led to record unemployment and severe wage cuts. But Germany and other lenders have said they would cut the country’s funding, which would possibly force Greece to leave the euro, if it took such a step. New Democracy would get between 25.6 percent and 27.7 percent of the vote if the election was held , according to the polls by Eleftheros Typos/Pulse, Proto Thema/ Alco, Real News/MRB, To Vima/Kapa and Ethnos/ MARC. Syrizia’s support was between 20.1 and 26 percent.

UNWTO welcomes T20 decision to advance visa facilitation through linkages to the local economy, raising national income, improving the balance of payments and boosting economic growth, priority should be given to facilitating travel and tourism,” says the Declaration. Preliminary research prepared by UNWTO and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that certain improvements to visa processes could generate an additional five million jobs for the G20 economies by 2015 and generate an additional US$ 206 billion in international tourism receipts. In light of the role of visa facilitation in supporting economic growth and job formation, and given the current economic climate,

the Declaration encourages the G20 to leverage new technologies to make travel “more accessible, convenient and more efficient without a diminution of national security.” It further proposes countries look into increasing cooperation on bilateral, regional and international travel facilitation regimes. “UNWTO applauds the commitment of the G20 Ministers of Tourism to visa facilitation,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, on the occasion of the 4th Meeting of the T20. “This Declaration is an extremely positive signal to the international community that we are moving ahead on this issue of vital importance to the tourism sector

and the global economy.” The Ministers of Tourism and Heads of Delegations of the G20 countries met with the President of Mexico and current G20 Chair, Felipe Calderón, as well as with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Patricia Espinosa (Mérida, Mexico, 16 May 2012). President Calderón congratulated the T20 on its focus on visa fa-

cilitation and assured Ministers he would take their message forward to the G20. Russia, which holds the 2013 Presidency of the G20, will host the 5th T20 Ministers’ Meeting. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable

and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Yemenis want to visit Turkey İYARBAKIR - Many Yemeni citizens wish to visit Turkey and see the beauties of the country, the Yemeni Tourism Minister Motahhar Taki said. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency in the southeastern prov-

ince of Diyarbakır, where he arrived to attend the “First International Health Tourism Congress,” Taki said Yemen wanted the Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier, to increase its weekly flights both to and from Yemen to more than four times a week.

“Turkey’s outlook good in medium term”

urkey‘s IMF Representative Mark Lewis, “Turkey’s quota in the IMF would quadruple and the country would become one of the 20th largest economies in the fund” IMF Representative in Turkey Mark Lewis commented that Turkey’s outlook features well in the medium term. International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Permanent Representative in Turkey Mark Lewis said that Turkey’s outlook in the medium term was good. According to IMF’s Lewis, they expected Turkey’s gross national product to grow 2.3 percent in 2012, overall inflation figures to go down and an improvement in Turkey’s current accounts deficit. In order to facilitate a well growth, the participation of women to the labor force must be encouraged, Lewis recorded. The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Turkey representative has also marked that Turkey’s quota in the IMF would quadruple and the country would become one of the 20th largest economies in the fund. Mark Lewis said that Turkey would become one of the 20th largest economies in the fund after the IMF Executive Board approved the administrative reform proposal. Lewis quoted IMF President Christine Lagarde as saying that Turkey should have a more inclusive role in the IMF. Lewis added that Turkey and the IMF had powerful relations. Turkey had a sound macroeconomic basis, he said, adding that Turkey should keep focusing on sound policies against existing difficulties. Turkey has still been good-looking for direct international investments, he said. As for the inflation rate for the year 2012 in Turkey, Lewis predicted as nearly 8.5. He also recorded Turkey had shown a great performance in economic growth in the past decade.

Taki said he had a chance to visit several Turkish hospitals and he personally noticed how advanced healthcare and thermal facility services were in Turkey. He said that Turkish health teams should go to Yemen so that Yemeni patients will be treated in-

expensively. Touching on the popularity of the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Taki said that the Yemeni people love Erdoğan. Erdoğan has a unique character and our people admire him, he said.

Prepare for 100 million Chinese tourists

NKARA - The number of Chinese tourist traveling abroad is estimated to rise to 100 million in 2020. Adopt your kitchen and internet activities, say professionals A Chinese couple happily help Italy’s famous Pisa Tower not to fall over. More Chines traveling abroad is reflecting the country’s spectacular economic growth. AP photo The economic rise of the Middle Kingdom will nourish the global tourism market, as wealthier Chinese make plans to travel overseas, according to the report of a major tourism fair held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. More than 100 million Chinese will travel abroad by 2020, according to the final declaration of the ATM Dubai Tourism Fair, one of the most important events among Middle Eastern tourism fairs. Along with China, the South Asian nations including India and Japan will be the countries sending the highest number of tourists abroad in the next five years. Some 70 million Chinese went abroad in 2011, the report said, adding that the figure will surpass 100 million by 2020. Tourism professionals emphasize the signifi-

cance of having tourism industry workers with Chinese language skills, as well as the food and kitchen quality and culture to lure Chinese tourists. Publicity tops the to-do list in order to get a share of the potential Chinese tourist market, however. Effective use of social media and the Internet in a broader sense to address potential tourism customers from China may lead to getting ahead of competitors, the report says, adding that nearly 485 million Chinese have access to the Internet. The report also includes forecasts on Turkey’s share of the Middle East tourism market, which sends increasing number of tourists to Turkey every year. The report particularly cites the rising number of tourists going to Turkey for health services and treatment. Religion, common cultural aspects, nature, eased visa restrictions, and multiple transportation options are among the advantages Turkey has in among Middle Eastern tourists, the report says, noting that Turkish soap operas airing on regional TV stations also play a significant role in attracting tourists to Turkey. Turkey may lure more tourists during Rama-

dan, the month when Muslims fast, with active promotions in the Middle East, according to the report. Istanbul, the western provinces of Yalova, Bursa and Bolu, and the northern provinces of Trabzon and Ordu are the main destinations Middle Eastern tourists prefer.The number of tourists traveling from the Middle East to Turkey will increase by 10 percent in 2012, according to estimates unless a major change

occurs in the stability of the region, the report says. The Arab Spring and some other factors including adverse economic and political incidents have had a negative effect on tourism in the Middle East. The rate of increase in the number of tourists in the region was 15 percent in 2010 but dropped to 8 percent last year, according to the report. It is forecasted that the region will host nearly 68.5 million travelers in 2020.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Euro Zone crisis mounts as leaders argue Continued From Page 1 et, the urgency for a solution to the region’s debt crisis, now in its third year, may never have been greater. With international economic monitors warning that the Continent could slide back into recession, Spain has watched its borrowing costs climb to unsustainable levels, as concerns rise about the country’s weakened banking sector. Fears continue to grow that it will be difficult to avoid a messy divorce between Greece and the euro zone, with still unpredictable consequences for markets and other struggling European economies, including Spain and Italy. In a conference call held , finance ministry officials from the euro zone countries were urged to make sure contingency plans were in place for all eventualities, including a Greek exit, one European official involved said. “You have a debt crisis, a banking crisis and a political crisis. Those are the three crises that are occurring simultaneously,” said Thomas Cooley,

economics professor at the New York University Stern School of Business. “Anything that undermines confidence in the financial system is bad, not just for the European financial system but the U.S. financial system as well.” Problems in Europe pose a threat to President Obama’s re- election plans as well, because a deeper slump there could drag down the United States economy, as happened a year ago. In a recent report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cited Europe’s potential slump as the leading threat to global growth. Some European leaders had tried to play down expectations for the meeting, one they said was only a prelude to a formal meeting scheduled for the end of June. “Each of us spoke and put forward our position,” said Ms.

Merkel, addressing the discussion of jointly issued debt, known as euro bonds, after the meeting. “François Hollande spoke as he said he would. It was a very differentiated discussion.” But in an indication of developing fissures, Mr. Hollande, who has been vocal in supporting euro bonds, said before the meeting that “the euro zone must show that it can support Greece.” Rather than suggesting a decisive new approach or finding common solutions, the leaders appear to be increasingly at odds. In many ways their most important mission may be to quell their own infighting. The demand from France and others for bonds jointly issued by the 17 members of the euro currency union, to pool the borrowing risk, has grown louder, even as the opposition in Germany has grown more rancorous. German officials said that Ms. Merkel, after arriving, met briefly with Greece’s caretaker prime minister, Panagiotis Pikrammenos. They said Ms. Merkel had told him Germany would do what it could to help Greece, but added as she has many times before that Athens would have to abide by the agreements it made with its lenders.

Fruit juice sector’s exports surge 113 percent

n the last 5 years, Turkey’s fruit juice exports raised 113 percent from $103,7 million to $221 million. Ebru Akdag, Secretary General of Turkey’s Fruit Juice Association, said; “Turkey ranks at the sixth stop with 16,3 million tons fruit produces, accounting for nearly 3 percent of the world fruit produces. While the exports of world fruit juice and concentration are $13 billion, Turkey’s share is 1.6 percent in this.” Akdag also said Turkey ranks first in apricot and sour cherry produces; third in pomegranates produce, fourth in apple and tomatoes produce, sixth in peach and grape produces. Even though the processed fruit kinds increase with every passing year, the most processed fruit kinds keep their place in the sector, Akdag said, adding that the 6 main fruit varieties in processing are apple,

peach, apricot, sour cherry, orange and pomegranates these followed by black carrot and grapes. Due to the advantages in the packaging and shipping stage, the fruit juices mostly exported as concentrated, Akdag said. “Turkey’s fruit juice exports began with a symbolic figure such as 6 tons in 1970. Paralleling the developed fruit juice market, from the beginning of the 2000s to 2008, the exports of the sector reached by $160 million worth of exports. In 2008 – 2009, regarding the global economic crisis, 20 percent constriction happened in the exports. Evaluating this recession period by the investments the fruit juice industry, following the crisis in 2010, achieved exports worth $174 million with 65 percent rise and in 2011, $221 million worth of exports accomplished with 27 percent rise. In the last 5 years, the

sector’s exports reached from $103,7 to $221 million with 113 percent rise. When taken into consideration the potential even remains very under compared to its deserved level the sector maintains its steadily growth in the exports. Nowadays, fruit juice exports are $13 billion, Turkey’s share is 1.6 percent.” Akdag said that the biggest share in fruit juice exports belongs to orange and apple juices in the world fruit juice trade. “As for Turkey’s fruit juice exports the most important item is apple juice with worth$108 million in 2011 accounting for 47 percent of the total fruit juice exports. The number of countries where fruit juices are exported is 151 units. The foremost exporting countries of the sector are the European countries, followed by the USA. Fruit juice industry yields foreign trade surplus every time,” Akdag noted.

Halal and Healthy Products Fair expected to attract thousands

et Halal & Healthy Products Fair be your crossing point to new prospects and possibilities that will inspire you to discover the hidden world of Halal market. “The third Halal and Healthy Products Fair will take place in the CNR Expo Istanbul between 30 August and 02 September 2012. The big encounter of the industry with 20 thousand people which are purchasers of the retail, distributor and service industry from more than 30 countries including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, the Far East and the USA will meet local and global suppliers. The fair will keep the pulse of the market worth 2 trillion USD in Istanbul,” according to the statement of the fair organization. The Halal and Healthy Products Fair organized by the Sine Trade Fairs Inc. and the CNR Expo Trade Fair Inc.. The fair is supported by the GIMDES (Association for the Inspection and Certification of Food & Supplies) which is the Turkish member of World Halal Council and the only authorized association in the country for granting the “Halal Certificate” to the

qualified companies. The Fair will bring the manufacturers with “Halal Certificate” and local and international professionals together and provide an international platform to forge business relations and secure busi-

Conference organized by the GİMDES will take place simultaneously with the fair. The concept of the conference is “One Voice Full Unity” and the theme of the conference is “The current situation of halal and healthy products trade

ness deals for the halal industry leaders. The fair and the international conference are organized simultaneously The 5th International Halal and Healthy Products

in the world of Islam, the obstacles before its moral and financial development and solution suggestions for overcoming these obstacles”. Academics, people working in relevant

fields, public authorities, consumer organizations, food industry professionals and representatives of the national government organizations will attend this conference. Purchasers from all over the world The countries of the Halal and Healthy Products Fair are Iraq, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Syria, India, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Finland, Canada, Philippines, Brazil, Belgium, the UK and France. Leaders of the industry are in this fair... Erpiliç, Lezita, Beyza Piliç Tatşen, Şifa Yemek, Nafia Gıda, Nurçay, Eriş Yumurta, Akdeniz Tarım, AVS Tarım, Helal Kozmetik, Helal Dünya Marketleri, and 7K Dağıtım, Kandazlar, Ege Technology Chemistry are some of the local exhibitors in the Halal and Healthy Products Fair. There is ongoing work to confirm the participation of companies from Indonesia, Germany, the USA, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands. CNR officials have stated that more than 60 companies from abroad will exhibit their products.

Chinese develop taste for Turkish nuts, dried figs

ZMİR- Turkish dried figs and nuts have become a popular part of the Chinese pallet and are being sold in local Chinese supermarkets. Turkish agricultural exports toChina have witnessed a substantial increase, according to the data provided by the Turkish Exporters Union (TİM). The most striking exports are Turkish nuts and dried figs. In 2011, Turkey exported 1,970 tons of nuts worth $11.2 million to the Chinese market. Last yearTurkey also exported 187 tons of dried figs to China. This year this number has already increased to 800 tons before the season is over. Exporters expect this number to hit 1,000 by the end of the season. Turkish olive

oil exports to China have also witnessed a huge jump from 105 tons last season to 464 tons this season. Turkish apricots also saw huge demand from China. TİM Executive Board Member Eli Alharal said exports of dried figs to China increased from 20 tons to 1,000 tons in four years. “Dried figs were not a well known product in China. We organized tastings at local markets and showed the Chinese how to eat the figs. This was a very risky investment for us, but the Chinese liked the figs more than we expected,” said Alharal. Turkish dried figs are now a common item in Chinese supermarkets and are also sold online.China has now become Turkey’s fifth largest market for dried figs, ac-

cording to Alharal. Turkish agricultural exporters are now preparing to introduce dried figs to the Indonesian, Japanese, Russian and Indian markets. Meanwhile Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı said at an exhibition at a wholesale market in Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa that Turkey exports a mere 5 percent of the total fruits and vegetables produced in a year, with the rest consumed in the domestic market. However, 25 percent of the amount supplied to the Turkish market is run to waste due to packaging and transportation deficiencies. The value of fruits and vegetables that run to waste is about 18 billion Turkish Liras, he said.

IMF chief warns of crisis taint Continued From Page 1 sked what would happen if Greek voters rejected austerity in their second general election in the space of weeks on June 17, she said: “If the Greek people don’t want to pay the price, somebody has to pay the price.” Lagarde said other eurozone countries might see the integrity of the 17-country bloc as worthwhile enough to keep supporting Greece with more money. “It may well be that members of the eurozone will

be prepared to support financially more and maybe longer the Greek country and population to stay within the zone,” she said. She said Greece had made “huge efforts but they have more to do” to sort their finances out. Lagarde said there was an “inconsistency” in Greek voters rejecting political parties that supported “belonging to the eurozone and being sensible about it” and saying they want to remain in the euro, as doing so “has a price”.

Istanbul hosts hello kitty

he Japanese company, Sanrio, plans to open a 3,000 square-meter Hello Kitty World store inIstanbul with a $15 million investment, according to a company press release. Hello Kitty World sells a large range of products including

dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, stationary, purses and home appliances based on a cartoon figure designed in Japan in the 1970’s. The firm’s annual turnover is about $6 billion, the press release said. The investment decision is expected to be revealed later in this month.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Turkish firm sells tractors to Poland W MUTLULUK ve BU ŞEHRİN İÇİNDE DIŞINDA, GÜNDÜZÜNDE GECESİNDE, BİR ÖMÜR, SADECE,

ARSAW - Turkey’s Hattat Holding will export 5,000 HEMA tractors to Poland, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan said during his trip to Poland.

Hattat Holding signed a protocol with Poland to export tractors worth 350 million euros, Çağlayan said during the TurkishPolish Business Forum in Warsaw. He also thanked Polish authorities for the

visa concessions they have extended to Turkish businessmen. He noted that over $130 billion in energy investments and $100 billion in railway investments would be made in Turkey within the next ten years.

HUZUR VAR!..

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Gülermak is a part of the consortium which is building the Warsaw Metro, a project totalling one billion euros. The construction of the metro is expected to continue for two more years.

Turkey needs 7.5 million residences by 2023 +1 0.000¨ 1 68,36m 15 +1 8.000¨ 2 96,63m 18 +1 272.000¨ 3 155,66m 2

ccording to the report that was released after the 12th Real-estate Summit and Istanbul Realestate Fair, Turkey’s residence need is number of 7,5 million unit by 2023. The issues such as urbanization-Residence, Retail, Office, Tourism and Logistic were handled in the scope of economic and social indicators which are Determiner in Real-estate sector”. It was said, that changes which affect real-estate sector have won a new dimension by uniting with the environmental conditions; national certificated system in green buildings is needed to enter into force, green buildings should be encouraged in both during construction and sales by some exemptions such as tax reduction. The report also indicated that in 2011, the urban population was 57 million; in 2023, the number will raise by 71 million. Between 2011-2023, number of household expected to increase 4,84 million. These increases will bring housing demand together. Currently 5,3 million homes in question to be transformed, when eco-

BU ŞEHİR KRİSTALŞEHİR!..

Bu şehirde kaliteden konfora, standartlardan ayrıcalıklara, “yaşam kalitesi”yle ilgili tüm bildiklerinizi unutup “çok özel bir dünya”da yepyeni bir yaşama başlayacaksınız!..

Başlayan ﬁyatlarla. İhlas Holding, önceden haber vermeden değişiklik yapma hakkını saklı tutar.

nomic buildable taken into consideration need stem from population increase and KRİSTALŞEHİR SATIŞ OFİSİ this housing transformation would spread urbanization, as for 2 million come from 29 Ekim Caddesi No: 23 34197 Yenibosna / İstanbul Tel : 0212 454 25 25 • Fax: 0212 454 21transformation, 46 into time. Every year 50 thousand buildurbanization according bilgi@kristalsehir.eu • www.kristalsehir.eu ings need to be rebuilt by 2023. Totally to the report. As for average sq meters 600 thousand homes need to be recon- of residences, in 2003 was 161,8 sq m, in structed within 10 years. In conclusion, 2006, the square was 155,6 m, in 2011 it in Turkey the total house need, which dropped by 144,8 sq meters; this change stem from three different sources, is 7,56 occurred regarding price-hikes in houses. million units by 2023. 4 million of this Meanwhile, it is predicted that foreigners’

demand and purchasing for houses would increase due to reciprocity regulation draft enacted. Over 40 countries’ citizens would buy homes from Turkey; especially remarkable demand will occur from the countries such as the Turkic Republics, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries. As an investment tool, residences maintain as an outstanding investment tool in Turkey, according to the report. The office supply in Istanbul has reached by 3,4 million sq meters as of the end of 2011, increasing 128 percent in 8 years from 1,5 million to 3,4 million sq meters. Meanwhile in the best places for business city list which was held in the European cities; while Istanbul was on the 26th line in 2010, in 2011 the mega city raised 22nd in the European cities. In 2023, office stock is foreseen in Istanbul will reach by 7 million sq meters. Istanbul is followed by Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, Bursa, Kocaeli, Adana, Mersin, Konya, Gaziantep, Denizli and Kayseri respectively in the office market development.

Turkish firms do construction business in Turkmenistan

urkish contractor firms do business in Turkmenistan. The Turkish construction firms build up projects such as sports complexes, port, school, hospital, highway, bridge, railway, drilling platform, pipeline construction, textile plant, hotel and social facilities in Turkmenistan. According to the statement, Turkish firms had assumed projects worth $2 billion 610 million in the first five months of 2012. Polimeks assumed construction of the second stage of the Olympiad city, Soykaya railway and

housing projects. Norsel will build cotton processing plants, in addition to the modernization of a plant. According to the statement, Cakır construction firm, Catom, GAP Construction firm, Efor firm will build up different projects in the country. Turkish firms assumed 63 projects worth $3,27 billion last year. Since 1991, Turkish construction firms achieved businesses worth $30 billion.

Chinese firm to construct metro trains

he Tender Commission has approved a Chinese offer to build the trains for the Ankara metro. China’s CSR Electric Locomotive Co. had offered the lowest bid at $391.2 million to construct the metro cars on March 5. All the bidders were notified on May 11 and have until May 21 to report any objections they might have. After that date, CSR will be invited to sign the contract. The Chinese firm will build 324 metro trains to be used on Ankara’s Tandoğan-Keçiören, KızılayÇayyolu and Batıkent-Sincan lines. After the signing of the contract, CSR will have 20 months to send the first shipment of 15 metro trains. The company is then expected to provide the remaining metro trains within 32 months. According to the terms of the tender, the first 75 metro trains will be required to have 30 percent of their parts supplied by a local manufacturer to support the local economy and industry.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Russian tourists to surpass Germans in Turkey

NKARA - Each year, the number of Russian tourists to Turkey inches up, and it will soon surpass the number of visitors from Germany, the country from which the most tourists come to Turkey. Last year, 3.5 million Russian tourists came to Turkey, while the number of German tourists, including Turks with German passports, was 4.8 million. High quality facilities The high quality of Turkey’s tourism facilities and professional services has made Turkey an important brand in global tourism, the president of Turkey’s Tourism Investors Foundation (TYD), Turgut Gür, told the Anatolia news agency. While most countries recorded a drop in the number of tourists last year, Turkey saw a 15 percent increase from the year before, with 31.5 million tourists, said Gür. He expects 33 million tourists to visit Turkey in 2012, and that the country will see $25 billion in tourism revenues. “All our early reserva-

tions are completely booked. We have not been affected by the European economic crisis. We see an increase in tourism revenues from Lebanon, Russia and Kazakhstan, countries unaffected by the cri-

sis,” Gür said, noting that every year more and moreRussian tourists are interested in vacationing in Turkey, particularly in Antalya and Belek on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Turkish Airlines to purchases 36 new planes in 2012 Continued From Page 16 e also added that they had completed flight programs and destinations of 36 aircrafts which would be purchased this year, adding that every year they would open average 20-25 new destinations. Topcu also reminded that they would increase number of frequency to provide more often transport. “Of course the biggest difficulty of ours is frequency in the matter of getting flight right. Our government, ministry of transport, our prime

minister, president let our demands reach the countries where they go in order to get flight permission,” Topcu said. In Turkey, THY flights though 40 cities via 44 airports across Turkey to connect the country to 194 point both in interior and exterior flight lines. Topcu also said that THY also invest not only material areas or hangars, but also on human resources. Turkish national air carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY) will have 36 new planes. THY Executive Board

Chairman Hamdi Topcu said that 36 new planes would be added to the airline’s fleet this year. Topcu said that the airline company made investments worth 950 million USD last year and the company would continue its investments. Turkish Airlines increased its sales revenue by 40% in 2011, compared to 2010, and recorded operating profit of 339 million TL ($185.04 million). Net profit came in at 19 million TL ($10.3 million). Number of passengers carried surged 12% to 32.7 million in 2011.

Import Goods Fair offers opportunity to business partners South Korean Import Goods Fair, which is being held on June 4th - 6th at World Trade Center in Seoul, offers good opportunities to set up business partnerships

Continued From Page 1 he Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) is proud to bring exhibitors at the 10th Import Goods Fair sponsored by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT), according to the statement. KOIMA is the only private organization with over 41 years of expe-

rience in the promotion of imports into Korea. Under the megatrend of globalization, the trade volume in Korea and the world economy is increasing day by day, the statement says. “This trend has seen Korea emerge as an important economy on the world scene, especially the import market. KOIMA plays an important role in facilitating this increasing

trade.” The Import Goods Fair 2012 is intended to help foreign manufacturers and suppliers by providing an opportunity to introduce and advertise their famous brands and quality products to Korean importers and consumers. This is a great opportunity for you to find business partners to access and expansion into the Korean market.

Greece bookings decrease Greek tourism experiences a hard year. wo more German travel firms noted they were having a sharp plunge in bookings to Greece. Air Berlin, Germany’s second largest airline, and Rewe, the retail and tourism group both pointed out that bookings to Greece were around 30 percent below that of last year. Rewe Tourism chief Norbert Fiebig said Germans were instead choosing to travel to other places like Turkey, echoing comments from Thomas Cook Germany, which has said Spain is also proving a popular alternative. Tourism is a vital source of income

for Greece, accounting for about a fifth of gross domestic product. “Greece is doing very badly, just like North Africa,” Air Berlin Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn said. Groups like TUI AG and Thomas Cook’s Germany-based airline Condor have already said offers and discounts to try to stem the fall in bookings. Reports of animosity towards Germans over the hard austerity measures demanded by Chancellor Angela Merkel in return for bailouts, as well as fears of strikes, are keeping the world’s biggest spenders on foreign holidays away from Greece.

Foreign automakers increase their investments in Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

“Leader Turkey to be built by youths”

Major foreign auto manufacturers, like U.S. Ford and Japanese Mazda, Nissan and Toyota will increase their investments in the Turkish market “Theeconomic leading Turkey volatility. of the future will in 2012 despite the global

heighten on the shoulders of our youths, all nent. French value. car makers Continued From Page 1 The largest leap of will be are whom a distinctive The first prefer step to buy brand new and lack of maintenance like PSA Peugeot Citroen azda, another with the Skyactivof motor cars Ataturk in Samsun on 19 May 1919, was a due to their safety costs. Renault expect a lull again Japanese auto Mazda3, which will comestepand crucial in being written of history in sales. Such stagnation maker, plans to to the Turkish market in and on the way founding the republic,” Kocould also affect auto proboost its offerings in Tur- 2013. The Mazda3 will said. nukoglu key by focusing on new have a 1.3 liter diesel enTurk- be auRemindingducers’ youthsplans that for theythewould motor technology. Mazda gine, which will be capaish market. thority in the governance of the country and has been relatively quiet in ble of using only 3.3 liters Meanwhile, there has with advocating them to prepare themselves Turkey over the past five of gas per 100 km.fully equipped beenfora this dropprocess in second in the every to six years . Now, howev- “We plan to boostaspect, Mazda Konukoglu hand autocongratulated sales in Tur-Ataturk STANBUL - Turkey will keep on ater, the company has plans sales from the and current key with all the attractive tracting foreign investments. says Mark his fellow soldiers who arrived in Samyeartotolaunch to revamp its technology 2,200 vehicles persun yearend sales and offers. Mobius. campaign in Anatolia and our per and bring forth a new era a minimum of 10,000 Mersin’s Auto Salesmen Franklin Templeton, the Singapore-based inmartyrs and war veterans who achieved war become in auto production, said year. Turkey will for Foundation Head (MODvestment company, has not been influenced the independence of which example has sales to Nurkan Yurdakul, manag- the hub of Mazda not ER) Hüseyin Kış said he by the recently downgraded view of Turkey been in the world and in scarcity condiing director at Mazda Mo- Europe,” added Yurdakul. thinks there will be a pickby credit rating agencies and is planning to tions. He also congratulated the 93th youth Mazda currently day. has 30 up in second-hand auto tor Turkey. make new investments in the country, noted dilto Sani Konukoglu, Chairman ofcenters in sales “We plan introduce our distribution the New Year. Mark Mobius, the executive chairman of the Konukoglu alsoafterhighlighted Gaziantep, the Gaziantep Chamber of Industry Turkey, but onlywhich 12 ofwithstood new technology Mazda “With by the the NewAntep Year, 2 markets 5 1 4branch. 8 7 3 6 9 1 2 Defense 4 5 3 6 group’s 8 9 emerging 7 “Youths buildare a leader active. The comCX-5 to(GSO), the Turkish mar-will these many of the special offers The Turkish economy is dynamic against occupation and the people of Ga3 6 8 5 9 1 and 4 will 7 2 3 7 5 9 8 2 1 4 6 Turkey” this ket as soon as this April,” pany plans to increase and promotions will come continue to be a center of attraction for inziantep have been shown an example for the 9 7 4 2 3 6 5 8 1 8 9 6 4 7 1 3 5 2 Issuing a message anniversa- entire Turkey number. Yurdakul told . regarding “After 93th to regarding an end and are during ternational investors all around the world, theirthere fighting 1 8 5 3 7 2 6 9 4 9 4 7 3 5 8 Mobius 2 6 told 1 ry the Independence War ofDespite Turkey ambitious which the investthisofmodel we will launch always more Anatolia news agency during war, Konukoglu also second-hand said Gaziantep will 4 3 6 9 5the8 eurozone 2 1 7 2 1 3 6 9 7 4 8 5 was by Mustafa Kemalment Ataturk from2012continue plans, could toauto our started two liter diesel mosales in the summer,” a recent interview. Despite contribute in the maximum level the Samsun, be aKonukoglu rough year for auto tor northern Mazda6 province that usesofour he said. He did, howev7 9 2 6 1 4 8 3 5 crisis, Turkey would curb inflation, Mobius 8 ar1 2 4 7 3 9 to industrialization, exports and5 to 6many reminded that the 19th May has been gifted makers, especially those Skyactiv technology at the er, say the overall trend said. 6 1 3 7 2 5 9 4 8 eas for Turkey’s aim to achieve 6being 3 an 1 au2 4 5 9 7 8 to youths. on the Europeanthority conti-in the end of 2012.” showed world. that customers 5 4 7 8 6 9 1 2 3 7 5 9 8 1 3 6 2 4

Mobius confident in Turkey

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Vefa Group launches ‘collapsible life units’ Turkey may revise down

its growth target for 2012 ANKARA - Turkey might be forced to revise down its 4 percent growth target for 2012 if the debt crisis in Europe continues, says Deputy PM Babacan says for the first time. Continued From Page 1 increase in the import tax on various textile “Growth of 4 percent in 2012 would mean that products and the rise in cigarette prices, he 2012 would have to be as good a year as 2011, added. if not better,” said Babacan at the Independent Babacan also said there was likely to be an derstanding and responsibilities that we have Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association improvement in Turkey’s current account defundertaken, allow us to take our solutions (MÜSİAD) meeting at the Rixos Hotel in An- icit and in the past four to five months they which composed of our six different brands kara. had seen substantially more direct investment as Vekon, Steelife, Nestavilla, Prenta, ProInflation target realistic without a serious outflow of capital from Turfacto and Neopan across the world,” Turan The current inflation rate in Turkey was key. said. This has brought us leaderthe percent, solutionbut partner of big con- Kocyigit around s10.45 a 5 percent inflation The Turkish Central Bank had sold a large ship, and visionary of the sector in wide struction companies of Babacan Vefa Group, target was certainly achievable, said. amount of dollars, he said. “The volatility in geography included Turkey which is the Vekon is making breakthrough This high inflation reading awas, in his opin- the lira is less than what you see in other deproduction base in the area of prefabricated that lead theand sector. firm its veloping countries,” ion,will temporary not aThe result of debuts monetary said Babacan, adding that constructs. In 2011, we managed projects in Super Units which have been policyPractical but ratherLife developments regarding the currency devaluation was a problem facing all 67 cities of Turkey and 27 countries of the developed meet needs first after exchange to rate, risehousing in electricity prices, an developing countries and not a phenomenon world. In Q1 2012, we have achieved to reach catastrophic events and then the needs for out to 13 different countries and 25 cities of camping, construct-work sites and similar Turkey.” aims. Taking in the structure of Vefa Group, Ve- At the beginning of 2012, the firm has rekon is putting its Super Practical Life Project newed their brands, called Vefa Prefabrike into force that will lead the sector and hav- Constructs which produce prefabricated umberin a of billion 629 buildings, million worth of exoffices and living containers, the ing installed shortexporting time, especially folprovinces over $1 bilports last year. brand continues on its way as Vekon. Kocylowing catastrophic events. lion raised by 16 in The northwestern province of igit recorded that Vekon would be a brand Having developed to meet housing needs in the year 2011. The figure of 16 Bursa ranked third exporting more innovative than before. He said that an easy and quick way, first for catastrophic provinces’ exports composed goods worth $12 billion 538 they had taken its first step with Super Pracevents and for other aims such as camping, totally worth $109,6 billion, acmillion. work sites and similar aims, Super Practical counting 81 percent the By the addition of Konya and Life Units for composed of six of different products overall exports of Turkey. Trabzon as Vekonada, Vekonoba, Vekonest, Vekonas, provinces onto previThe dataandfrom the Super Turkish ous year’s Vekonant Vekonar. Practical Life provinces Istanbul, Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) Kocaeli, Units were introduced at the Marmara with Bursa, Izmir, Ankara, showed the province of Gaziantep, Manisa, Denizli, the press that conference. Istanbul ranked with $59 inHatay, stating their firm atop was established 1990 inSakarya, Adana, Kaybillion 49 million worth of exseri, Mersin and Antalya, the his speech at the press conference, Turan Koports in 2011. number cyigit, Chairman of the Board of Vefa Group, of provinces which Istanbul followed by the export billion ticalover Life $1 Units both in Turkey and world said; Vefawas Group determined its aim as thegoods province of Kocaeli with $12 reached by 16. with 6 different products. implementer of prefabricated-construct principle that features aesthetic, durability, be- Foldable feature provides big easiness in ing set up in a short time, and he continued; transport and warehousing “We have been working for 22 years without Vekon Sales Manager Ozgul Yucel reiterated making any concession from this principle.” that Super Practical Life Units which comHe also added that they had perceived the posed of six different products - as Vekonada, demands from customers to develop new Vekonoba, Vekonest, Vekonas, Vekonant and functional products suitable to the needs of Vekonar - respond quickly to sheltering need with their different use areas. She also noted this age. “Our working determination, innovative un- that one of the most striking features of Su-

Turkish Deputy PM Ali Babacan

specific to the Turkish case. Meanwhile, in evaluating 2011 and spelling out its 2012 expectations, MÜSİAD said Turkey’s growth rate was five times that of perU.S. Practical Life Units is being collapsible, the and Europe and had surpassed other the products bring practical and safety soluBRIC countries bringing it on par with China. tion which in a way has not been seen to date MÜSİAD also praised Turkey’s employment to the dwelling places. Yucel continued, “Verecord saying unemployment was equivalent meet allthan urgent dwelling needs tokon U.S.products figures and less the current unemprimarily such as catastrophic events and ployment seen in Europe. then camping, construction-work sites and similar aims in a quickest and safest way.” “Vekonada which takes place in Super Practical Life Units, was developed as an alternative to the current tents. This product is suitable for both individual and mass uses. Providing cost advantage in warehousing and transport due to their collapsible features, thanks to their improved legs can be used on every kind of ground, as for its lightness they can be transported and dropped onto the remote regions via helicopters,” Yucel said. As for Veconobe, Yucel stressed that it can be used collapsible multi propose life unit for urgent dwelling need in the community life areas especially following any catastrophic event. Vekonest is especially preferred as a hobby home, its installation can be made by only two persons without needing any equipment. The life container Vekonas is especially used at the construction-work sites.As for Super Practical Life Units; Vekonant, which has a wet voluminous core, features collapsible life containers were developed as a version of collapsible life containers after the earthquake in Van province. Vekonar, which is made up by rotating modules, is telescopic double floor containers are used as office and life containers.

Number of exporting provinces reaches by 16

Turkey’s privatization trade continues $32.4 billion worth of net revenue has been obtained via privatization in Turkey since the beginning in 1986

et revenue of $32.4 billion has been obtained from privatization in Turkey since the beginning year 1986. According to a report by the Privatization Administration of Turkey, privatization implementations in the country have amounted to $43.1 billion U.S. dollars since 1986. In 2011, $1.4 billion has been gained from privatization. Block sale, combination of public offering and block sale, public offering and asset sale are the methods that were used in privatization process. The block sale accounted for 47 percent, premises and asset sales 32 percent, 16 percent was offered to public, 3 percent sold in the stock exchange, as for 2 percent privatization process gained by other method. As of the end of 2011, privatization income became $1,4 billion. By the privatization, the state foresees to pull back from the state-run establishments such as electric distribution and sugar production completely and reducing shares in electric generation, telecommunication, port, and highway and bridge operation. In 2012, TL12,5 billion worth of privatization trading is foreseen.

Turkey aims to make Istanbul a ‘UN center’

InTHY signingTeknik, a cooperation protocol the Onur penwith deal Istanbul Municipality Government, STANBUL - Onur Air is set to take advantage of Turkish AirForeign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said lines’ technical service and logistical support for the components its fleet of 22 A320aims aircraft after with Turkish the forgovernment to signing makea deal Istanbul Airlines Teknik, the national carrier announced. deal between of Turkey’s most established civil aviation a The major hubtwofor the United Nations andcompanies shows the commitment to safety, Onur Air General Manager world financial and cultural organizations. Cankut Bagana said, adding that in a global environment of competi-

tion between firms, such cooperation was a must. Luxembourg on the subject. Davutoğlu the governOnur Air will alsosaid be allowed accessand to Turkish Airlines’ component Davutoğlu said if human culture ment wanted to make Isstocks as part of the deal. were to be encompassed in tanbul a center for politics Turkish Airlines Teknik General Manager İsmail Demir also added three Istanbul be one of andthat diplomacy asworking a “U.N. city.” “We cities, they were on expanding their service andwould maintenance them. It was crowned the European want all countries’ flags to wave in capacity as part of growing their investments. Istanbul. It’s a diplomatic perspec- Capital of Culture in 2010. At the annual ambassadors’ meettive. “We aim to make Istanbul a U.N. ing held in Istanbul, Davutoğlu said center for issues of mediation, he was proud to give Istanbul Mayor peace and issues concerning the fu- Kadir Topbaş the year 2011 award ture of humanity,” Davutoğlu said. honoring a Turkish statesman’s con“We agree with the U.N. on these tributions to diplomacy. matters and determined we have an At the ambassadors’ conference, important place [in these discus- Turkey signed an agreement to be the host country for the Cooperation sions].” The foreign minister also said the Council of Turkic Speaking States government hopes Istanbul will be- (CCTSC). come a center for finance, a main Davutoğlu said the CCTSC headcenter for global economic influx quarters will be in Istanbul under and a main station for transporta- the agreement, contributing to the tion lines. He said Turkey has al- effort to make Istanbul a center for ready had talks with Switzerland international organizations.

Automotive sector may shrink 10 percent in 2012 United Brands’ AssociaM

ustafa Bayraktar, Chairman of the Turkey’s Automotive Distributor Association (ODD), said that the automobile and lightweight commercial vehicle market which broke record with the sales of 864,439 units in 2011, would constrict 10 percent due to slowing down in economy nited Brands’in 2012. Association Bayraktar announced that the automo(BMD), which employs 220 bile and lightweight commercial vehicle thousand persons throughmarket achievedwill 13.61 percent riseabroad. with out Turkey, open stores theYilmaz sales of 864,439 units in 2011. While Yilmaz, Chairman of the passenger cars’ said sales they became association had593,519 closely units, as for lightweight commercial ve-to pursued the opportunities abroad hicles’ sales became 270,920 units last jump atop in the world markets. Deyear. spite negative conditions in the world “When 45,000 heavy weight veeconomy andunit reduction in turnover hicles are added, the total market will that stems from additional tax which reach by 910 thousand units and so to the is carried out on textile products, exsales of a 1 million units have been apcept food the retail sector would grow proached,” Bayraktar 15-20 percent thisnoted. year. Yilmaz said Bayraktar continued, “In 2012 regardin this growth the share of the newly ingopened the economic growth would be stores, increased sharelower of orthan 2011, the general plunge. ganized retail and market increaseto in young In population my opinion,would some be 10 determiner. percent freefall could happen. But we can see bigger United Brands’ Association introshrink in the first half. It will on by duced its new members of go board that recovering from the middleby of 30 the persons. year.” have been heightened Telling that there were two of main Assuming chairmanship the reaasso-

sons which affect the demand, Bayraktar pointed out that consumer purchasing power and confidence would be lower compared with the last year. Opposite of foreign currency rise, which was expected to affect the demand, did not affect the demand much, Bayraktar said, special consumption sand“The unitsgeneral by 2014. In the structure tax increase affected 10 percent of 500 the of the association there are some total sales. Change did not happen in the brands of nearly 150 firms. Among majority of theofsegment. The 5arepercent the member BMD there firms increase effect is felt in the light comsuch as Boyner, Colin’s, Collezione, mercial vehicles’ sales.” Derimond, Desa, Kiğılı, Koton, LCW, The tax rise was introduced in the veMavi, Twigy, Vakko. hicles oversaid 1600cc andthe in current the com-3 Yilmaz they cars foresee mercial vehicles October 2011. million sq meters sales area to reach

tion aims to open abroad

ciation second time Yilmaz Yilmaz informed about the projects and targets of the association which have been scheduled to accomplish by 2014. He said that the member firms would increase their total turnover which is TL30 billion as of April 2012 to TL40 billion; number of employment from 220 thousand to 310 thou-

by 3,7 million sq meters in 2014, the number of store from 50 thousand to 60 thousand. In 2012, number of store abroad to reach by 3 thousand 125 units with 25 percent rise. Saying BMD brands run toward the top in the world retail league, Yilmaz continued, “In the scope of the measures to reduce the current account deficit last year addition taxes have been introMustafa Bayraktar, of the to duced in the rate ofChairman 15-20 percent Turkey’s Automotive Distributor fabric imports and 17-30 percent onto Association ready-made garments.” Yilmaz reminded that Eximbank has let the loan for brands enter into force in terms of Turkish brands’ acquisitions and opening abroad. Yilmaz also said that they would measure the sq meter productivity of Shopping Malls (AVM) and proportion of rents to turnover by the study of “Rent, Turnover and Performance Index”.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Final stage reached in visa-free travel to EU

urkey is nearing the final bend towards establishing the right to visa-free travel in the EU. The most critical decision in the ongoing cut throat negotiations will be from France. Brussels has shown a sign of hope in regards to the lifting of visa regulations for Turkish nationals travelling to EU nations. While the stand-off between Turkey and the EU on the lifting of visa regulations and the readmission agreementcontinues, EU term president Denmark has made significant strides in attempting to unravel the knot. While a number of EU nations have approved in principle exempting visas for Turkish nationals, France remains to be the key nation to determine whether the regulation will pass. Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has been closely following developments and while meeting with EU Commission Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle last week,

the two laid the issue on the table. Davutoğlu is also speaking with EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström over the phone regarding developments on the regulation. While the commission wing tends to support Turkey, term president Denmark is also conducting intensive and sincere effort in order to persuade member nations. It appears that these collective efforts may soon bear fruit. Germany is on board Although Germany, Austria and Holland had previously expressed that they did not even want to debate the possibility of visa exemption; it appears there is now an obvious change in stance. At this stage there are just two countries remaining that have yet to approve the Committee of Permanent Representatives text. There are the Greeks, who refuse to approve the protocol because of a request to reference that “all member nations will be subject to

the agreement without discrimination,” and France, which is having issues establishing a position due to the current administrative transition. Both Turkey and the EU are waiting on a decision to come in from France. During the Nicolas Sarkozy era, France had taken on a negative stance to the visa-waiving concept; however speculation says that there is a high probability that the new administration under François Hollande may light a green light on the concept. Neither the EU nor Turkey are expecting France to reach a decision prior to the June 17th parliamentary elections, however the door is not closed entirely on the possibility of a last minute development to come in the form of a step being taken by Paris. A negative decision reached by France could block the entire process, while a positive response could have the potential to eradicate all of the issues holding the process up.

World Health Assembly closes with new global health measures The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly concluded after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues. The six days of discussions involved nearly 3000 delegates, including health ministers and senior health officials from amongst the 194 WHO Member States, as well as representatives from civil society and other stakeholders. The agenda covered some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing public health today. “As challenges, let me mention noncommunicable diseases and ageing, maternal and child health, under- and over- nutrition, the eradication of polio and health demands during humanitarian emergencies,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “As opportunities, let me mention immunization, and the decade of vaccines, and the new multisectoral strategies made possible when we take a social

determinants approach.” The Health Assembly opened with delegates noting the tremendous achievements in health in recent decades and the emergence of global solidarity around health. Multiple Member States supported the concept of universal health coverage. “Universal health coverage is the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer,” added Dr Chan. “Public health should be one of the top priorities in our development projects, because without health, no development is possible,” says Professor Thérèse N’Dri-Yoman, Minister of Health of Côte d’Ivoire and the elected President of the Health Assembly. “It was clear from all the presentations that the best and safest way to reduce inequalities in health-care delivery in our countries, either poor or rich, is by implementing universal health coverage.”

“Competition is carried out by tax rates”

peaking at the panel held by the Treasury Account Experts Association, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarciklioglu said, “We must first render society flawless. For that, we need to bring economy under registration. And in order to switch to a fully registered economy, we must make the tax rates affordable.” The Treasury Account Experts Association’s “Turkish Tax Audit System in Light of the Applications in Developed Countries” panel was held at the Ankara Swiss Hotel. In his speech, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarciklioglu emphasized

that this structure must be changed. Hisarciklioglu said that there is a primary theory in economics, according to which, increase in tax rates result in increase in unregistered economy. Explaining that the drop in SSK rates hastened many going on the record, Hisarciklioglu said, “As the private sector, we employed 1.3 million people in 2011. Of these, 1.12 million started their jobs on record. This means that the registered employment rate is 85%. Unregistered economy is directly interested in democracy.” Countries are competing in terms

of tax rates Stating that the first thing needed are affordable tax rates, Hisarciklioglu emphasized the need to renew the system accordingly. Stating that there is competition between countries in terms of tax rates, Hisarciklioglu said, “We’ve lowered institutional tax to 20%, as you well know. During that time, the Slovakian Union of Chambers and Exchanges President was my guest. I reported that we had lowered the tax to 20%. The guest president stated that he was aware of it and that they had lowered rates to 19.8% accordingly. Thereby there is competition via tax rates.”

Turkish people not ambitious for EU as much before

ccording to a survey was conducted about Turkey’s membership to the EU asking ‘while a plebiscite would be implemented in favor of Turkey’s membership to the European Union, what can be you r

respond’, the rate of youths decreased from 74 to 47.2 percent. As for the adults, their rate decreased from 63 percent to 44.3 percent in the membership to the EU compared to the previous one which was conducted six years ago. According to the data of Turkish Statistic Institute (TurkStat), in the case of a plebiscite is held for the membership of Turkey to the European Union, 47.2 percent of youths will vote yes which was 74 percent in 2005. In other words, the support rate of the Turkish youths reduced 26.8 percent in the past 6 years. In 2005, as

for the youths who were against entering the EU raised from 16.8 percent to 30.8 percent. The rate of the youths, who do not have any idea in this issue, raised from 9.2 to 22.1 percent. The 28.1 percent of women in 15-24 age group responded that they did not have any idea in the issue; as for upper age group of women, whom 41.8 percent stated they did not have any idea in the subject. Turkey has applied for associate membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1959. Turkey is a candidate country for EU membership following the Helsinki European Council of December 1999. Accession negotiations for the membership launched in October 2005 and since then have been continuing.

Izmit suspension bridge tested in wind tunnel

xperts at Italian Politecnico di Milano University tested the Izmit suspension bridge which will be built over the Izmit Bay as part of the Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Highway buildoperate-transfer project. Transportation, Maritime and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım was there during the test and said the bridge was not affected by strong winds of up to 230 km/h. A wind tunnel is a tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. The Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Highway Project will abridge the highway transport time between Istanbul and Izmir by three and half hours. The Izmit Bay Bridge is a planned suspension bridge located on the eastern end of the Marmara Sea, close to Izmit and approximately 50 kilometers from Istanbul. It will be one of the longest suspension bridges in the world in terms of the length of its central span. The construction and operation of the bridge was granted to a joint venture which composes of five Turkish construction companies (Nurol, Ozaltın, Makyol,

Yuksel, Gocay) and one Italian construction firm (Astaldi) following a tender in April 2009. A contract of the project, which presumably to cost $11 billion, was signed in 2010. Izmit Suspension Bridge will have three lanes in the both sides. Big ships can pass under the bridge as the strait bridges. Pedestrian passage will not happen. According to the announcement, the bridge will be durable against earthquake in Richter magnitude 8. Transportation, Maritime and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım, Turkey’s ambassador to Rome Hakkı Atil, Turkey’s State-Run Railways General Manager Suleyman Karaman, Highway General Manager Cahit Turna and the representatives of contractor firms of the suspension bridge attended the wind tunnel test of the bridge.

Citigroup sells 10 pct stake in Akbank

STANBUL - Citigroup sold 10.1 percent of its stake in Turkey’s Akbank on May 24 in order to comply with Basel III banking regulations, which required Citigroup to lower its stake in Akbank to less than 20 percent, according to an announcement made by Akbank Executive Board Director Suzan Sabancı Dinçer May 25. Citigroup’s shares in Akbank have now dropped to 9.9 percent. The accelerated book building took place after the market was closed and demand for Akbank shares were 1.6. times oversubscribed and amounted to more than $2

billion. According to the announcement, shares of Akbank open to the public will increase from 31 percent to 42 percent after the transaction is complete. The shares’ weight and liquidity are also expected to increase. According to the terms of the sale agreement, Citigroup will not be able to sell its remaining stake in Akbank to a third party for another three years. “This is the second largest transaction in our region since 2008, not including privatizations,” said Dinçer in the announcement. Dinçer also said it was Turkey’s largest accelerated book building transaction to date.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Turkish Airlines adds Bilbao and Leipzig to its flight roster urkish is now flying to its fifth Spanish destination Bilbao as well as to the German city of Leipzig every week. Turkey’s national air carrier Turkish Airlines began operating flights to its fifth Spanish destination, Bilbao. Present in the Spanish market since 1986, Turkish Airlines now has 49 weekly flights to and from Spain, including new ones to Bilbao. Turkish Airlines will fly to and from Istanbul and Bilbao on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays

and Saturdays. The airline also flies to Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia. Turkish Airlines also commenced flights to the German city of Leipzig . As with Balboa, the airline will fly between Istanbul and Leipzig on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Turkish Airlines operates scheduled services to 150 international and 41 domestic cities (38 domestic airports), serving a total of 187 airports, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.

Turkish petroleum company to explore oil in Iraq

urkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) gained a tender to explore oil in a field in Iraq’s Basra region, according to the statement from TPAO. A consortium entitled Kuwait Energy, also includes Turkey’s state-run Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and Dubai-based Dragon Oil, has gained the auction to explore oil in southern Iraq. The consortium will be running in a 900-square-kilometer oil exploration block in the southern province of Basra, for a service fee of $6.24 per barrel of oil. The companies must pay a $25 million signing bonus, while their minimum expenditure is set at $90 million. According to the announcement, TPAO possesses a 30-percent share in the consortium and it would initially invest $150 million, the company would cover 30 percent of the overall investments scheduled over the next 20-25 years. Among the approved companies there are the Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, British BP; Chevron and Occidental of the U.S., Chinese CNOOC and CNPC, Japanese Japex, and Russian Lukoil.

Polisan Holding’s stakes traded in stock exchange

o l i s a n Holding attended gong ceremony due to its shares have begun to be traded at Istanbul Stock Exchange. Polisan Holding’ shares have begun to be traded at the Istanbul Stock Exchange as of 24 May 2012 with the code ‘Polho’ and TL832,5 million worth of market. Within the last year, Polisan Holding demanded 4,9 times as individual and in total 4,3 times, so it has achieved the highest public

offering of the domestic investors. While worth TL191,6 million demanded to TL44,4 million worth of Polisan Holding’s public offerings. As it planned, 83 percent of offering sold to the individual investors, 10 percent to corporate investors, 7 percent to employees of Polisan Holding, Polisan Paint Distributors, dealers and partners. TL44,4 million worth of revenue has entered the case of the holding which will use for the capital need and financing of investments. P o l i s a n

Holding Chairman Necmettin Bitlis said, “The demand in 5 folds that came from the individual investors is an indicator of trust in our establishment and our brand.” During the gong ceremony, Bitlis said, “Now we will witness together to introduction of Polisan Holding, which is one of the foremost establishments of Turkey, with stock exchange. P u b l i c Offering of Polisan Holding is the

Yuan-yen trade set to begin

sia’s largest two economies announce that they will begin trading in each other’s currencies. The move will help internationalize Chinese yuan and Japanese yen, scraping the US dollar as an intermediary unit. Shoppers look at merchandise at Fast Retailing’s new flagship Uniqlo store in Tokyo’s Ginza district. China is set to trade with Japan, its largest trading partner in yuan and yen instead of US dollars. REUTERS photo Japan and China said that they would start direct currency trading this week, marking the first time Beijing has let a major unit other than the dollar swap with the yuan. The move, which will scrap the greenback as an intermediary unit, comes as China introduces measures as part of a long-term goal to internationalize its currency, and rival the dollar as the world’s benchmark. The yuan-yen trade -- part of a wider deal reached last year between Beijing and Tokyo to forge closer ties --- will also be allowed to move in a wider range than the narrow band at which the dollar and yuan change hands, Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei business daily reported. China will set a daily rate based on dealer quotes with trade allowed to move within a 3 percent band above or below that rate, the reports said, compared with a 1 percent band fixed to the yuan-dollar. The Chinese central bank earlier introduced a rate of 7.9480 yuan for every 100 yen, Dow Jones Newswires said. The yen trades freely against other major currencies on global foreign-exchange markets, including the greenback. The new system, which starts on June 1, makes way for “full-fledged di-

rect exchange trading,” Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi said. By not using the dollar as an intermediate currency “we can lower transaction costs and reduce settlement risks at financial institutions as well as making both nations’ currencies more useful”, he added. Beijing’s tightly foreign exchange policy has triggered huge trade deficits in the U.S., which accuses China of artificially undervaluing the yuan to boost exports, and has been a long-running source of friction between the world’s two largest economies. China said direct yuan-yen trade was an “important step” in “strengthening cooperation between China and Japan in developing financial markets and mutually promoting direct trading between the two currencies based on market principle.” China overtook Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy in 2010, and the neighbors are forging closer business ties despite frequent diplomatic spats over territorial claims and lin-

gering historical animosities. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, but about 60 percent of their mutual trade is denominated in U.S. dollars. The Xinhua news agency reported that the deal will save about $3.0 billion in annual costs tied to using the dollar in trade transactions. In March, Japan said it had won approval to buy Chinese government bonds for the first time -Beijing does not allow investors to freely purchase its debt, requiring official approval instead. Tokyo said it would buy about 65 billion yuan ($10.25 billion) in Chinese public debt, a relatively small amount that was seen as largely symbolic. The economic powerhouses have also agreed to promote the use of their currencies in bilateral transactions -- such as yuan-denominated foreign direct investment by Japanese companies in China -- to reduce foreign exchange risks. The yen, meanwhile, hit historic highs against the dollar last year, denting exporters whose products become less competitive overseas when the unit strengthens.

first step to the stock exchanges; I would like to herald our shareholder companies’ public offerings will happen in the next terms. In the 1920s, my family’s entrepreneurship which was started in the province of Malatya, today has taken place among the leading and powerful companies of Turkey with the 7 powerful partnerships and over 1000 employees. This development has not been by chance and coincidence.” He commented the success of the holding as the result of true businesses which were achieved along with professional staffs in exact times.”

Istanbul an official candidate for 2020 Olympics

he executive board has decided that the following cities can continue to the next phase and become candidates for 2020. In the order of drawing lots: Istanbul, Tokyo, and Madrid,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. The three remaining candidate cities will enter into Phase 2 of the selection period. Files from the cities will be submitted to the IOC by January 7, 2013. Following an official visit by the IOC Evaluation Commission between February and April of 2013, a report will be made to the 2020 IOC Evaluation Commission and candidate cities will brief IOC members. “The executive board has decided that the following cities can continue to the next phase and become candidates for 2020. In the order of drawing lots: Istanbul, Tokyo, and Madrid,” said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, formed by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president. Today its membership consists of the 205 National Olympic Committees (though Kuwait is suspended since 2010). The IOC organizes the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in Summer and Winter, every four years. The first Summer Olympics organized by the International Olympic Committee were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics were in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. After that year, however, the IOC shifted the Winter Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning of the two events two years apart from one another, and improve the financial balance of the IOC, which receives greater income on Olympic years. The first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012.

Productivity on the rise, despite arable land diminishes

urkey’s arable land diminished by nearly ten percent between 1995 and 2010, however crop productivity has improved significantly thanks to technological advancements, regarding use of better and more resistant seeds, and growing agricultural know-how of farmers, according to the announcement of Union of Turkish Chambers of Agriculture. In a written statement released by his office on Sunday, Turkish Union of Agricultural Chambers (TZOB) President Semsi Bayraktar in his statement continued that Turkey had 268,300 square kilometers of arable land (in 1995), which diminished to 243,900 square kilometers in 2010. highlighting the fact that the nearly 25,000 square kilometer loss is larger than the Thrace, Turkey’s European territory, Bayraktar noted it is of utmost importance for the country to stop what has become a sharp decline in cultivatable land. The decline during the last decade and a half can be reversed, the TZOB president said, and around 3,100,000 square kilometers can be gained if investments in better irrigation are increased in the near future. Although, an unprecedented amount of cultivatable land has been lost, Turkey’s agriculture industry has achieved to be more productive and more diverse over the 15-year period. “In contrast to the decrease in arable land, the productivity of the land has expanded by a significant degree,” said Bayraktar. According to his figures, the aver-

age number of kilograms of grain produced by a square kilometer of land increased 14.6 percent, up from 212,000 kilograms in 1990 to 243,000 during the 2010-2011 cultivation season. The productivity of other staples grew even more quickly, with corn production up 77.9 percent from 408,000 kilos per square kilometer to 726,000 and rice doubling from 434,000 kilos to 869,000. Bayraktar also noted that the crops grown by farmers had also changed dramatically between the years 1995-2010, with the area used for growing vegetables decreasing from 7,850 square kilometers to 7,300. The same period, however, saw a dramatic rise in the total area used for fruit production from 19,600 square kilometers to 24,600. The number of cattle increased from 12 million to 12,4 million between the years 1991-2011. In the same period, number of sheep decreased from 39,6 million to 25 million, number of merinos sheep raised from 490 thousand to 1,22 million, number of hair goat decreased from 9,6 million to 7,13 million; angora goat from 1,2 million to 151 thousand. Number of turkey decreased form 3 million to 2.56 million, as for the number of chicken, an outstanding rise was seen; the chicken for egg production raised from 51 million to 79 million, broiler chicken raised from 88 million to 159 million unit. According to the announcement, milk productivity exceeded 15 million tons first time in 2011.

Turkey welcoming Europe’s elderly as health tourism rises

he number of people receiving healthcare in Turkey reaches 130,000 annually, A rapidly aging European population is also looking to Turkey for retirement services Tourists enjoy a thermal facility in the Aegean province of İzmir. Along with medical tourism, Turkey is becoming a leading destination of thermal recreation. Turkey is on its way to becoming an important destination in health tourism, especially in the areas of rehabilitation, retirement homes and communities, said the President of the Health Tourism Board Dr. Dursun Aydın. Every year 130,000 people come to Turkey for treatment with another 250,000 coming for thermal tourism, rehabilitation and services for the elderly, Aydın said, as reported by Anatolia news agency. Health tourism in Turkey has achieved important growth over the past nine years, Aydın said. With an improvement in quality health services, Turkey has become an attractive health tourism destination, said Aydın. “Turkey provides both quality and affordable health services. A lot of people that live in the region travel to Turkey to take advantage of these services,” said Aydın. According to Aydın, health tourism should not only be viewed as medical treatment. Equally as important are thermal spas, rehabilitation and retirement communities and services that cater to the elderly population. Turkey has taken important steps in developing these facilities and services. “In developed countries, 20 percent of the population is over the age of 65 and in the coming years this elderly population is expected to increase even more…. Turkey is going to become Europe’s new address for elderly care,” said Aydın, noting that European countries are currently contemplating where they can send their aging population. Turkey only receives $1 billion in health tourism revenues per year from abroad, while the total global health tourism sector turnover is approximately $100 billion. Turkey does not receive even one percent of the pie, according to Aydın. “The preparations we make going forward will strengthen this sector even more,” said Aydın. Ege University Dentistry Faculty President Prof. Dr. Oğuz Aktener told Anatolia news agency that dental services were a part of Turkey’s health tourism and that many patients from Europe and the region were coming to Turkey for dental treatment. Aktener said that prosthetic teeth and implants are far more affordable in Turkey and provide price advantages for patients coming from abroad. Aktener also claimed that Turkeysurpassed Europe in dental treatment. “In many European countries, governments have put a cap on dental payments. As a result, many Europeans spend the money they would otherwise spend on costly implants in their countries to come to Turkey for both dental treatment and a holiday,” said Aktener.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

The World Bank’s key issues to be discussed T

he UN Conference on Sustainable Development is an opportunity to build the planning and policy structures, measurement systems, and ambition that the world needs to deal with the food, water, and energy crises and prepare for the future. These are the stakes: In the next 40 years, the Earth’s population will expand from 7 billion to 9 billion people, and they will all count on the planet to provide them with energy, water, and food. The course we are on right now will make that extremely difficult. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, known as Rio+20, offers an opportunity to build the planning and policy structures, measurement systems, and ambition that we need to prepare for the future and to deal with the converging food, water, and energy crises that we face today. Around the world, there is a growing understanding that to make progress we must give equal attention to the economic, environmental, and social pillars of sustainable development. The conference— expected to draw 75,000 people including over 100 heads of state and thousands of people from the private sector to Rio de Janeiro in June—is a chance for the global community to harness the power of inclusive green

growth as the pathway to sustainable development, to move beyond just GDP and incorporate natural capital and ecosystem services into national wealth accounting, and to scale up new integrated public and private sector approaches to cityscapes, landscapes, and oceans. At Rio, we would like to see widespread endorsement of and commitment to inclusive green growth. The private sector has a key role to play, as well, in terms of innovative financing and business models that can leader to sustainable growth today and less waste, pollution and energy use tomorrow. Six key messages which are being discussed at Rio+20 are as follows. Inclusive Green Growth The world’s current growth patterns are not only unsustainable, they are also deeply inefficient. That is why inclusive green growth is necessary and urgent. It is also far more affordable for countries to act now than to grow dirty and expect to clean up later when growth patterns may be irreversible and will certainly be expensive and socially disruptive to change. Natural Capital Accounting Since before the Earth Summit in 1992 there has been growing recognition that GDP alone is not a sufficient measure of progress towards sustainable development. GDP looks at only one part of economic performance—output —but says nothing about the wealth and assets that underlie this. For example, when a country exploits its minerals, it is actually deplet-

ing wealth. The same holds true for overexploiting fisheries or degrading water resources. Relying on GDP alone to assess economic performance can be misleading, as countries could grow in the short run by running down their assets, thus endangering growth in the long term. Oceans This spring, the World Bank convened a coalition of 130 of the world’s leaders in ocean health and use, including governments, international organizations, scientists, and industry to form a Global Partnership for Oceans to begin confronting the problems of overfishing, marine degradation, and habitat loss. This includes setting goals for action over the next 10 years. The oceans provide food security, coastal protection, and economic security for billions of people. They supply about 15 percent of all protein, but at the same time, mismanagement, development, and pollution has led to 85% of fisheries being fully exploited, overexploited, depleted or recovering, and 35% of mangrove forests and 20 percent of coral reefs destroyed. Landscapes Meeting international goals for food security and inclusive green growth will require better integrating the management of land, forest, and water resources. Consider these facts: agricultural production must increase by 70 percent to feed the growing population, with little increase in available land and water; by 2025, nearly two-thirds of countries will be water-stressed and 2.4 billion people will face absolute wa-

ter scarcity; forests cover 25-30 percent of the earth’s land surface and absorb about 15 percent of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions; agriculture accounts for more than 70 percent of the world’s fresh water use and about 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, or approximately 30 percent when considering land-use change, such as deforestation driven by agricultural expansion for food, fiber, and fuel. Urban Development As the global community considers the way forward, the 70 million people who move into urban areas in developing countries each year warrant particular attention. Urbanization has enabled economic growth, innovation, and poverty reduction, as the world’s urban areas currently account for three-quarters of global economic production. At the same time, urbanization has contributed to environmental and socioeconomic challenges, including climate change, pollution, traffic congestion, and the growth of slums with their associated health and security impacts.w Sustainable Energy Vital to sustainable development is sustainable energy. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading a push for universal access to electricity and clean cooking fuels, doubling the share of the world’s energy supplied by renewable sources from 15% to 30%, and doubling the rate of improvement in energy efficiency—all by 2030.

Turkish foreign trade deficit on recovery Turkish exports expanded 6.8 percent in April 2012 to $12,7 billion from $11,8 billion in April 2011 urkey’s foreign trade deficit which was foreseen $7,3 billion for April 2012 decreased by $6,6 billion. Turkish trade deficit plunged worth $6,6 billion with 27.3 percent constriction in April 2012. As for in the first four months, the foreign trade deficit decreased 20 percent and became $27 billion over the same

period last year. According to the temporary data which was jointly prepared by Turkey’s Statistic Institute and the Ministry of Customs and Trade, exports in April 2012 became $12 billion 676 million increasing 6.8 percent over the same month previous year, imports became $19 billion 274 mil-

lion plummeting 8 percent over the same month last year. As for the foreign trade deficit in the same month, dropped from $9 billion 80 million to $6 billion 597 million. According to the calendar adjusted series, in April 2012 while exports raised 10.4 percent, imports decreased 4.2 percent over the same month last year. As

for the series which was adjusted according to the season and calendar, in April 2012, exports increased 6.4 percent, imports decreased 0.8 percent over the same month preceding year. Being 56.7 percent coverage rate of exports to imports in April 2011, the rate raised by 65.8 percent in April 2012.

Turkey’s trade to North African countries on rise Turkey’s exports to the three North African countries, which experienced the Arab Spring last year, raised by 84 percent in the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year

urkey’s trade relations with North African countries of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt are boosting following the period of stagnation due to the Arab Spring last year. In the first quarter of 2012, Turkey’s exports to these countries boosted 84 percent to these three countries. Regarding Syria has exited from being a safe haven; the new route has become via Mersin-Port Said Duba. The security problem in Syria has forced Turkish exporters to use Mersin-Port Said-Duba route. In the first quarter of 2012, Turkey’s exports to Libya surged to $526 million from $264 million, to Tunisia $208 million from $139 million and to Egypt $917 million from $496 million over the same period last year. Turkey’s total exports to North African countries was calculated as $6.7 billion as of the end of 2011. This figure accounts for 5 percent of overall Turkish exports. The increase in the Turkey exports to North African countries accomplished mostly in textile and iron-steel products, in addition to fuel items in the first quarter 2012.

Made in Turkey Economic Newspaper, June 2012

Greek citizens not considering euro area walkout, business council says I

STANBUL - Most Greeks want to remain with the euro and politicians must take heed as the general elections are set for June 17, says President of Turkish Greek Business Council. Some 70 percent of the Greek people want to keep the euro, according Dimitris Papanicolaou, the president of the Turkish-Greek Business Council, adding that political parties cannot turn a deaf ear to this voice. Greece is set for another round of general elections in June, after the results of the May 6 elections produced a political deadlock, leaving the country

without an elected government. Greek people “punished” the largest two political parties in the general elections, Papanicolau told the Anatolia news agency during a recent interview. “If the existing parties ignore people’s demand to keep the euro, they might be punished likewise.” Turkey presents a model for Greece to emerge from the economic crisis, he also said. “We have an open model before us. We have to take the steps that Turkey has already taken to resolve the crisis,” he said. “Unfortunately there were

some politicians who employed people at government institutions in exchange for votes. Thus, the number of public servants surpassed 700,000. We are not as big as Turkey, we do not need that many public servants.” Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said over the weekend that Greeks would not only be electing lawmakers in the elections, but also voting on whether their country stays in the eurozone, “Europe is ready to help the Greek people ... But Europeans can’t do the work that Greece must do, that depends on the

Greeks,” he told the Sunday edition of Greek Kathimerini. Separately, a spokesman for Angela Merkel strongly denied that the German chancellor had suggested Greece hold a referendum on its eurozone membership at the same time as a general election. “The fact is the chancellor did not propose a referendum and said nothing that could be

misunderstood as such,” Georg Streiter insistently told a regular news conference, echoing similar flat denials last week. The Greek caretaker prime minister’s office said Merkel had sug-

gested in a phone call to President Carolos Papoulias that Greece should submit its eurozone membership to a referendum, to be held alongside the general elections on June 17.

Turkey earns $32.4 bln in privatizations

NKARA - The Turkish government is still trying to privatize its remaining electricity distribution grids in a bid to totally withdraw from the sector. Turkey’s Privatization Administration (ÖİB) has conducted privatizations worth $43.1 billion since such processes began in 1986, netting a total revenues of $32.4 billion as of Dec. 31, 2011, according to new figures. The difference is due to deferred payments. A total of 200 institutions have been privatized via share or asset sales since 1986, according to the activity report of the administration. No public share is left in 189 of those institutions.

The privatization revenue in 2011 was a mere $1.4 billion, but the administration has set an ambitious goal of 12.5 billion Turkish Liras for this year. The government plans to decrease the public share in port, highway, bridge management, electricity production, telecommunications, and withdraw totally from electricity

distribution and sugar production. Lately, Turkey’s Supreme Board o f Privatization (ÖY K ) approved t h e privatization of 10.32 percent of the Petkim, Turkey’s leading petrochemical company, to Socar. Socar Turkey Enerji Corporation and Socar International had offered $168.5 million for 10.32 percent of Petkim shares.a

Turkish Airlines to purchases 36 new planes in 2012

HY Executive Board Chairman Hamdi Topcu said that in the scope of purchasing 91 crafts, 36 new ones would be added to the airline’s fleet in 2012. He said that this year the construction, having 380 thousand sq meters closed area, would be completed, from September aircraft maintenance to be operable. By the end of the year, the maintenance capacity of THY will be fourfold. About pilot school, Topcu said, “Related with this issue a tender was made. We won the tender. Now we are making investment of the projects. This school will educate pilots for the countries in the Mideast and Europe. The project will begin activity in September 2012.” Page 11

Verhagen: Turkey tells a lesson

here are lessons to be learned from Turkey, Dutch deputy prime minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Maxime Verhagen has said while visiting Istanbul along with representatives from 60 companies. The group of businesspeople accompanying Verhagen represents various sectors such as fashion, architecture, design and theater technologies, maritime and defense. “It is not just debt management. We have lessons to learn from Turkey in developing a business climate and making reforms in the financial sector,” Verhagen told Anatolia news agency. The fast pace of development of the Turkish economy, Turkey’s young and educated population, and Turkey’s assuming a central position in Asia and the Middle East all make Turkey attractive, Verhagen said. Thanks to the Turkish government’s restructuring of the financial sector, Turkey’s financial institutions survived the global economic crisis, he said. “In the past 10 years, the Turkish economy has demonstrated a successful growth trend,” Verhagen said.

“Istanbul to be a finance center”

stanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) Chairman Ibrahim Turhan said it is reality that Istanbul will be a finance center, but there is a gap to be filled. Stating that tough monetary policies have been increasingly adopted, Turhan said, “Now people have understood this, if the state gives something, this money would exit from your pockets.