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INDEX Publisher / Yay›nc›: TurkofAmerica, Inc. General Manager / Genel Müdür: Ömer Günefl – omer@turkofamerica.com Editor-in-Chief / Genel Yay›n Yönetmeni: Cemil Ozyurt – cemil@turkofamerica.com Creative Director / Kreatif Direktör: Serdar fiahin Page Design / Sayfa Tasar›m: Sinem Ertafl Editor: Patricia Russo, Nancy Öztürk. Editor of Photography / Foto¤raf Editörü: Ada Köseda¤ News Center / Haber Merkezi: Ayfle Önal Zambo¤lu, Müge Mengü, Ali Ç›nar, Hande Sarantopoulos, Ilknur Gurdal Fieldhouse, Jennifer Eaton Gökmen, Melda Akasel, Elif Özmenek, Ayhan Kay. Support Team / Katk›da Bulunanlar: Halim Özyurt, Demet Cabbar. Advising Committee / Yay›n Dan›flma Kurulu: Ali Günertem, Egemen Ba¤›fl, Ferhan Geylan, Güney Adak, G. Lincoln McCurdy, Mahmut Topal, Mehmet Ali Özkan, Mehmet Çelebi.
12 THE ICOC INTRODUCES ITS MEMBERS TO THE AMERICAN MARKET. Already known for starting numerous projects meant to promote foreign trade among its members, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has recently initiated a project with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
26 A WORLD LEADER IN STEEL PRODUCTION
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Turkey is a major player in world steel production and
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exportation. The country has a proven track record of producing quality products to meet market needs, of investing in and expanding production capacity, and developing new technologies.
32 CHINA: MAKING OF A CONSUMER NATION
Main Office / Merkez Ofis Turk of America, Inc. 730 Fifth Avenue, The Crown Building Suite 916 New York, NY 10019 Tel: +1 (212) 659 7758 Fax: +1 (212) 659 7805 info@turkofamerica.com Representatives in the U.S.A / ABD Temsilcileri: California (Los Angeles): Barbaros Tapan btapan@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (213) 924 8027 Connecticut: Ali Ç›nar – acinar@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (203) 722 4339 Massachusetts: Mustafa Aykaç – maykac@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (857) 205 8318 Rochester, NY: Ersoy Y›ld›z – eyildiz@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (585) 266 1356 San Fransisco, CA: Ayfle Önal Zambo¤lu – aozamboglu@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (650) 938 1764 Texas: Neriman Yüce – nyuce@turkofamerica.com Tel: +1 (817) 283 0179 Netherlands: Yasin Ya¤c› – yyagci@turkofamerica.com Tel: +31 (624) 66 92 23 Australia: Süheyl Yekenkurul – syekenkurul@turkofamerica.com TURKEY / TÜRK‹YE General Coordinator / Genel Koordinatör: Nuri Özyurt – nozyurt@turkofamerica.com Marketing & Sales Director / Pazarlama ve Sat›fl Direktörü: Ayla Toker – turkiye@turkofamerica.com Abonelik ve Da¤›t›m için / Subscription and Distribution: Nispetiye Caddesi Peker Sokak Aky›ld›z Apt. No:26/5 1.Levent Istanbul, Tel:+ 90 212 282 37 11 BASKI VE GRAF‹K: Promat Bas›m Yay›n San. ve Tic. A.fi. Adile Naflit Bulvar› 122. Sokak No:8 34513 Esenyurt - ‹stanbul Telefon: + 90 (212) 456 63 63-pbx Fax: + 90 (212) 456 63 73 E-Mail: info@promat.com.tr
China is taking measures to import more goods and is placing greater emphasis on developing a consumer-demand driven economy that Turkish companies can take advantage of.
38 A STRONG VOICE IN TEXAS
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Congresswoman Johnson is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in Congress and she is credited with authoring and co-authoring more than 120 bills.
42 NO IMMEDIATE END IN SIGHT TO THE WAR ON POVERTY The first time a Turk was chosen to head up United Nations Development Program. The position that Kemal Dervifl will hold until 15 August 2009 is the third most powerful in the UN.
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48 VAKIFBANK EARMARKS $1 BILLION OF CREDIT FOR ENTREPRENEURS Vak›fbank’s branch in New York has been active since 1991 and in the past 2.5 years has extended its customers with one billion dollars of credit.
54 A TURKISH-AMERICAN TRANSMISSION Ali Murat Pekcan had come to the US with the intention of staying for a relaxing 6-month extended vacation but eventually joined the tiny three-person DFH staff in September 1998
58 ASKEW MAKES MANUFACTURING COMPANIES MORE EFFICIENT In 1999 Turan Kahraman took over the management of
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Askew Industrial. He currently serves as President and CEO of Askew Industrial Corp., an industrial production hardware distributor.
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62 THE APEX OF TURKISH CARPETS IN NEW YORK And thus Turkish weaving moved from Central Asia to Anatolia, and from Anatolia to the West, where now Asia
All articles in the magazine are translated by Citlembik Ltd. / TurkofAmerica’daki tüm yaz›lar›n çevirisi Çitlembik Ltd. taraf›ndan yap›lm›flt›r. Çitlembik Ltd. Tel: +90 (212) 292 3032 www.citlembik.com.tr Cover Photo: www.istockphoto.com Turk of America is a member of Independent Press Association. Turk of America, Independent Press Association üyesidir.
Minor Carpets represents them in the US.
78 PERA: A TREND-SETTER IN THE TURKISH RESTAURANT WORLD? When Pera Mediterranean Brasserie opened in late March
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2007, New Yorkers were presented with a Turkish restaurant different than the others spread out throughout the city.
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FROM EDITOR Cemil Özyurt cemil@turkofamerica.com
SHOPPING CRAZE! T
hanksgiving Day is one of the most important celebrations in the USA. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday in November, and was first celebrated in 1621. The Plymouth Colony, which was made up of some of the first settlers of the present day USA, celebrated the bounty of their harvest following a hard winter, and later turned this into an occasion to thank God for all that He gave them. As for the day after Thanksgiving Day, in the USA it is considered the beginning of the holiday season and it is also known as “Black Friday”. Why black? In the years when accounting was done by hand, losses would be indicated in red ink, while profits were written in black. An eventual increase in sales on that day would be seen by shopkeepers as a turning point from losses to profits. Nowadays, in American society, there is a tradition of stores opening in the early hours of “Black Friday” (around 3:00 am-5:00 am), and millions of people line up to buy discounted products. This year, for the first time in my life, I wanted to witness the “Black Friday” craze. I set out towards Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, which with 220 stores is the most popular shopping center of New York and the surrounding area. Contrary to other shopping centers, this year the outlet was going to open its doors to customers at 12:00 am for the first time. My intention was to set out at 11:00 pm, reach Central Valley where the shopping center is located in an hour, and after having bought a few things, go back. Would that it had been so easy! There was intense traffic starting as far as twenty-five kilometers (15.6 miles) from the shopping center, with sleepy looking people creeping towards their target. This
was the first time in my life that I had seen, in the USA, so many drivers driving in the security lane. People were driving on the grass and in the security lanes to pass each other. My trip ended at around 3:00 am when I reached the shopping center. However, the fact that there were also long lines in front of the stores made me realize that the experience was not worth this much hassle so I made a U-turn near the shopping center and went back home. In the newspaper the next day, I saw that some people had managed to get back home at 11:00 am. How much money do you think these people spent after having suffered so much? According to data provided by the National Retail Federation, on 23rd November 2007, Americans bought goods worth 10.3 billion dollars. 150 million people flowed into various kinds of shopping outlets and the average expenditure was 347 dollars per person. While last year Americans spent 456 billion dollars on shopping during the period of 23rd November – 1st January, which is known as the holiday season, this year they are expected to spend 474 billion dollars, which corresponds to a 4 percent increase. “Black Friday” ends, but shopping does not. These last few years, “Cyber Monday” has been introduced to attract those who do not go to shopping centers. By means of the Internet, people order goods from their work places, and in this way they greet the holiday season. It is expected that online sales will reach 20 billion dollars in this holiday season. People continue to shop more and more each year, but I can personally say that I will never again shop on a “Black Friday”. Or not at least until the black ink turns into red!!!
ALIfiVER‹fi ÇILGINLI⁄I! fi
ükran Günü ABD’de en önemli kutlamalar›ndan biri. Kas›m ay›n›n son Perflembe gününe denk gelen Thanksgiving ilk kez 1621 y›l›nda kutland›. ABD’ye gelen ilk göçmenlerden oluflan Plymouth Kolonisi, zorlu geçen k›fl›n ard›ndan hasat mevsiminin bereketini kutlayarak, verdikleri karfl›l›¤›nda Allah’a flükretmeyi gelenek haline getirdi. fiükran Günü ertesi günü ise ABD’de tatil sezonunun bafllad›¤› gün ya da bilinen ad›yla “Kara Cuma” (Black Friday).” Niçin kara? Muhasebe kay›tlar› elle tutuldu¤u y›llarda, zararlar k›rm›z›, karlar siyah mürekkeple yaz›l›rm›fl. Sat›fllar›n bugünde artmas› ise ma¤azalar için zarardan kara dönüflün iflareti kabul edilmifl. Bugün Amerikan toplumunda, “Black Friday” günü sabah›n erken saatlerinde (3.00am-5.00am gibi) aç›lan ma¤azalar›n, indirimli mal almak isteyen milyonlarca kiflinin ak›n›na u¤ramas› bir gelenek halini alm›fl durumda. Bu y›l ilk kez, bir “Black Friday” ç›lg›nl›¤›na tan›k olmak istedim. 220 ma¤aza ile New York ve çevresinin en gözde al›flverifl merkezi Woodbury Common Premium Outlets’in yolunu tuttum. Di¤er al›flverifl merkezlerinin aksine outlet bu y›l ilk kez gece 12.00am’de müflterilere kap›lar›n› aç›yordu. Gece 11.00pm’de yola koyulup bir saatte al›flverifl merkezinin bulundu¤u Central Valley’e ulafl›p bir kaç parça bir fleyler al›p geri dönmekti niyetim. Ama ne mümkün? Al›flverifl merkezine 25 km kala trafik bafllam›fl, insanlar uykulu gözler ile hedefe ilerliyorlard›. ‹lk kez ABD’de bu kadar
çok floförün emniyet fleridini ihlal etti¤ini gördüm. ‹nsanlar çimlerin üzerinden, refüjlerden afl›p birbirlerinin önüne geçmeye çal›fl›yordu. Yolculuk gece yar›s› 3.00am gibi al›flverifl merkezine ulaflmayla bitti. Ancak ma¤azalar›n da önünde uzun kuyruklar olmas›, bu kadar iflkence çekmeye de¤meyece¤i kaanatini uyand›rd›. Ve al›flverifl merkezinin yan›ndan U dönüflü yap›p eve geri döndüm. Ertesi günkü gazetelerde gördüm ki, o gün insanlar sabah 11.00am’de eve dönebilmifl. ‹nsanlar bu kadar eziyet çekip ne kadar para harc›yorlar dersiniz? National Retail Federation verilerine göre Amerikal›lar 23 Kas›m 2007 günü 10.3 milyar dolarl›k al›flverifl yapt›. 150 milyon insan al›flverifl merkezlerine ak›n etti. Kifli bafl› 347 dolar harcama yapt›. Tatil sezonu olarak bilinen 23 Kas›m – 1 Ocak tarihleri aras›nda geçen y›l 456 milyar dolarl›k al›flverifl yapan Amerikal›lar’›n, bu y›l yüzde 4 art›flla 474 milyar dolar harcamas› bekleniyor. “Black Friday” bitiyor ama al›flverifl bitmiyor. Al›flverifl merkezlerine gitmeyenleri cezbetmek için de son y›llarda “Cyber Monday” yayg›nlafl›yor. Internet bafl›nda insanlar ifl yerlerinden sipariflle tatil sezonuna merhaba diyor. Online sat›fllar›n tatil sezonunda 20 milyar dolara ulaflmas› bekleniyor. ‹nsanlar her geçen y›l artan bir ivmeyle al›flverifle devam ediyor ama ben kendi ad›ma bir daha hiçbir “Black Friday”de al›flverifl yapmay› düflünmüyorum. En az›ndan mürekkepler siyahtan k›rm›z›ya dönene kadar!!! TurkofAmerica • 09
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ICOC INTRODUCES ITS MEMBERS TO THE AMERICAN MARKET The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce introduce its members that had never exported to the American market.
Murat Yalç›ntafl, ‹stanbul Chairman of the Istanbul Ticaret Odas› Baflkan› Chamber of Commerce Murat Yalç›ntafl.
‹TO ‹LE ABD PAZARINA MERHABA ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas› “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi” ile hiç ihracatla tan›flmam›fl üyelerini ABD pazar›na tafl›yor. 12 • TurkofAmerica
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n the 1880s, when economic stagnation held a tight stranglehold on the Ottoman Empire, a new development in trade became apparent. The collapse of the merchant guild, which had previously pioneered relations between small business owners, shifted the economy towards a new direction. The Dersaadet Chamber of Commerce became active in Istanbul in 1882. In 1910 the name was changed to the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which remains to this day. There are presently more than 350,000 members and the Chamber is responsible for more than 50 percent of Turkey's importing and exporting. Already known for starting numerous projects meant to promote foreign trade among its members, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has recently initiated a project with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce entitled the “Expand Your Export to the USA,” meant to introduce its members to the American market. According to the agreement, the project should have been concluded in the autumn of 2007. However, due to the desire on the part of both parties, the content of the project was expanded. The Chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, Murat Yalç›ntafl, discussed the “Expand Your Export to the USA” with TURKOFAMERICA: What type of goals were in mind when your chamber and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce came up with the “Expand Your Export to the USA”? Have you been able to attain the goals of the project? TThe “Start Exporting Program” was formulated based on the know-how that we gained from our previous partnership with the Madrid Chamber of Commerce. We attempted to help many of our small- and medium-sized businesses that had never exported in any structured way to enter foreign markets. Our figures sho-
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wed that we were not active enough in the US market, which is the biggest in the world. Our trade relations were not as strong as our political relations. This is partly as a result of the geographical distance between the two, the lack of knowledge on the part of the two business worlds of one another, and the ignorance about one another's markets and peoples. Keeping these issues in mind, we wanted to educate our businesses on the potentially desirable sectors of the US market, the legal issues, opportunities, and risks. Consequently, we wanted to ensure the right opportunities for trade with this market. By the same token, we also wanted to educate American businesspeople on the opportunities in Turkey, thereby increasing the trade volume between the two nations. We inaugurated this project by signing an agreement of understanding with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest professional federations in the world. What kind of activities were done within the scope of the project? We can say that the project, which is still ongoing, has been very successful. Under the banner of “training,” American experts gave seminars at our Chamber from March 20th to the 22nd, 2007. These seminars were geared towards the food, marble, natural stone, and furniture sectors. These sectors, according to research conducted by experts, were found to be strong in Turkey, i.e. sectors that could compete with the US. These dynamic and interactive series of seminars drew thirty firms each and the American experts introduced these business owners to the rules for entering the US market, the general market trends, marketing and packaging, legal procedures, tax and customs topics, logistics and distribution channels, and fairs. More importantly, they witnessed the success stories of Turkish entrepreneurs that did business with the US...
O
smanl› ‹mparatorlu¤u’nun ekonomik s›k›nt›larla bo¤ufltu¤u 1880’li y›llar, ticarette yeni bir olufluma tan›kl›k etti. Esnaflar aras› dayan›flmaya öncülük eden lonca teflkilat›n›n çöküflü, ticaret hayat›na yeni bir yön verdi. O zamanki ad›yla Dersaadet Ticaret Odas› 1882 y›l›nda faaliyete geçti. 1910 y›l›nda ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas› ad›n› alan kurum halen 350 bini aflk›n üyesi ile Türkiye’nin ithalat ve ihracat›n›n yüzde 50’sinden fazlas›n› gerçeklefltiriyor. Üyelerini yurt d›fl›na açmak için bir dizi projeye imza atan ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas›, son olarak Amerikan Ticaret Odas› ile yapt›¤› “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi” ile üyelerini ABD pazar›na tafl›yor. Yap›lan anlaflma gere¤i 2007 sonbahar›nda sonlanmas› gereken proje, taraflar›n iste¤i ile uzat›larak içeri¤i geniflletildi. “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi”ni ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas› Baflkan› Murat Yalç›ntafl, TURKOFAMERICA’ya anlatt›: Amerikan Ticaret Odas› ile yapm›fl oldu¤unuz, “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk ad›m” hangi hedefler düflünülerek oluflturuldu? Proje düflündü¤ünüz hedeflere ulaflt› m›? Proje odam›z›n daha önce Madrid Ticaret Odas›’ndan know-how alarak yürüttü¤ü ve hiç düzenli ihracat yapmam›fl KOB‹’lerimizi ihracat yapar hale getirmeyi amaçlayan “‹hracata ‹lk Ad›m Projesi”nden esinlenerek tasarland›. Rakamlar gösteriyordu ki, dünyan›n en büyük pazar› olan ABD pazar›nda yeterince yer alm›yorduk. ABD ile ticari iliflkilerimiz, siyasi iliflkilerimiz kadar güçlü de¤ildi. Bunun sebebi co¤rafi uzakl›l›¤›n do¤urdu¤u, iki ülke ifl adamlar›n›n, ifl dünyalar›n›n birbirlerini yeterince tan›mamalar›,
birbirlerinin ticari pazarlar› ve imkanlar› hakk›nda yeterince bilgi sahibi olmamalar›yd›. Biz bu gerçekten yola ç›karak, KOB‹’lerimizi ABD’nin potansiyel arz eden sektörleri, hukuki düzenlemeleri, f›rsatlar ve riskleri hakk›nda bilgilendirmek istedik. Böylece bu pazara ihracat yapmalar› için gereken imkan› sa¤lamay› arzulad›k. Ayn› flekilde ABD’li ifl adamlar›na da Türkiye’deki f›rsatlar› anlatarak iki ülke aras›ndaki ticaret hacmini istenen düzeye ç›karmay› planlad›k. Bu amaçla da dünyan›n en büyük meslek federasyonlar›ndan biri olan ABD Ticaret Odas› ile ortaklafla imzalanan mutabakat zapt› çerçevesinde bu projeyi bafllatt›k. Proje kapsam›nda ne gibi çal›flmalar yap›ld›? Devam etmekte olan projenin oldukça baflar›l› geçti¤ini söyleyebiliriz. Projenin “e¤itim” bafll›¤› kapsam›nda 20-21-22 Mart 2007 tarihlerinde ABD’li uzmanlar taraf›ndan odam›zda seminerler verildi. Bu seminerler, ‹fllenmifl G›da, Mermer ve Do¤al Tafl ve Mobilya sektörlerine yönelikti. Bu sektörler daha önce uzmanlar taraf›ndan yap›lan pazar araflt›rmalar› sonucu Türkiye’nin güçlü oldu¤u ve ABD’de rekabet edebilece¤imiz sektörlerdi. Her birine yaklafl›k 30’ar firman›n kat›ld›¤› ve interaktif bir flekilde geçen bu seminerlerde kat›l›mc›lar ABD’li uzmanlar taraf›ndan ABD pazar›na girifl kurallar›, standartlar, genel pazar trendleri, pazarlama ve paketleme, hukuki ifllemler, vergiler ve gümrük konular›, lojistik ve da¤›t›m kanallar› ve fuarlar hakk›nda bilgilendirildi. Daha da önemlisi, ABD’de faaliyet gösteren Türk giriflimcilerden kendi baflar› hikayelerini dinlediler… TurkofAmerica • 13
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
In the month of May our Chamber representatives presented a training session entitled “How to Do Business in Turkey,” in which they detailed their success stories and presented trade opportunities in our country in Chicago and Dallas. These introductory seminars will continue in Atlanta, Mobile, and Los Angeles in November. This project was supposed to end in the autumn of 2007. What kind of plans do you have for activities in the future? How has the recent Armenian Genocide allegations affected your work? Yes, according to the project calendar, we were supposed to be finishing up right about now. However, together with our American partners, we decided to expand the project and prepare a website that will fill in the gap of information between the two countries' business worlds. This portal will not only be a guide for Turkish firms wanting to do business in the US but will also provide American businesspeople with practical knowledge about Turkey and contact information for Turkish firms. We believe that strengthening trade relations between countries is the healthiest way to heal political rifts. As the great philosopher Kant once said, “Free trade creates perpetual peace.” In other words, instead of following the lead of the political world, where disagreement is often the norm, we choose to bind the two countries together in a way that contributes to peace and stability. Can you tell us a bit about the ICOC's efforts and projects meant to familiarize the investment opportunities in Turkey to the outside world? We can safely say that the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, with its responsibility for more than 50 percent of the importing and exporting that goes on in Turkey and its 350,000 members, is not only the representative of the bu14 • TurkofAmerica
siness world in Istanbul, but of Turkey as a whole. On account of that, the activities and projects that we conduct abroad necessarily serve as a type of promotion for the country. We are thereby trying to attract investors to the various regions of Turkey. The “How to Do Business In Turkey” seminars presented within the framework of the “Expand Your Export to the USA” is the best example of this. In these seminars, we present American businesspeople with a vision of Turkey and the perspective of businesspeople investing in Turkey. We can already see that this is much more effective. The US market is the biggest buyer in the world. China is a huge exporter and its presence is being felt throughout all sectors of the US economy. How can Turkish producers distinguish themselves
May›s ay›nda ise odam›z temsilcileri, Türkiye pazar› hakk›nda bir uzman ve bu pazardaki baflar› hikayesini Amerikal›larla paylaflacak bir ifl dünyas› temsilcisinden oluflan bir heyetle Dallas ve Chicago’ya giderek oradaki ifl adamlar›na “How To Do Business in Turkey” bafll›¤› alt›nda ülkemizdeki ticaret olanaklar› tan›tt›. Bu tan›t›m seminerlerine Kas›m ay›nda Atlanta, Mobile ve Los Angeles ile devam ettik.
partnerlerimizle projeyi gelifltirerek devam etme karar› ald›k ve Türkiye – ABD ifl dünyalar› aras›nda eksikli¤i hissedilen bilgi ak›fl›n› gerçeklefltirmesi planlanan bir web sayfas› haz›rlamaya karar verdik. Bu portal, hem ABD’de ifl yapmak isteyen Türk firmalar› için bir rehber niteli¤inde olacak, hem de ABD’li ifladamlar›n›n Türkiye hakk›nda pratik bilgilere ve Türk firmalar›na ulaflmalar›na katk›da bulunacak.
Proje 2007 sonbahar aylar›nda tamamlanacakt›. Bundan sonra yeni dönemde ne gibi çal›flmalar yap›lacak? Son Ermeni Soyk›r›m› iddialar› ile ilgili al›nan karar, sizin bu çal›flmalar›n›z› ne yönde etkiler? Evet, proje takvimimize göre bu aylarda tamamlamay› öngörüyorduk. Fakat Amerikal›
Ülkeler aras›nda yaflanan siyasi sorunlara karfl› en sa¤l›kl› yaklafl›m›n ifl iliflkilerini daha da güçlendirmek oldu¤una inan›yoruz. Büyük filozof Kant’›n dedi¤i gibi: “Soylu bar›fla giden biricik yol, ticaretten geçer.” Yani biz ifl adamlar›na düflen, siyasi iliflkilerde anlaflmazl›klar yafland›¤›nda ifl iliflkilerini de keserek gerilimi daha da t›rmand›rmak yerine iki ülkeyi ticaretle birbirine ba¤layarak bar›fl›n ve istikrar›n tesisine katk›da bulunmakt›r.
Yalç›ntafl, born 1965, is the youngest 1965 ‹stanbul do¤umlu olan chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Yalç›ntafl, ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas›'n›n Commerce since its established. en genç baflkan›.
‹TO’nun özellikle Türkiye’deki yat›r›m imkanlar›n› yurt d›fl›nda tan›tmaya yönelik çal›flmalardan ve projelerinizden bahsedebilir misiniz? ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas›’n›n, ülkemizin ithalat ve ihracat›n›n yüzde 50’sinden fazlas›n› gerçeklefltiren 350 bin üyesiyle, sadece ‹stanbul’un de¤il tüm Türk ifl dünyas›n›n temsilcisi oldu¤unu söyleyebiliriz. Dolay›s›yla yurtd›fl›nda gerçeklefltirdi¤imiz etkinlik ve projelerde ülkemizin bütün olarak promosyonunu yap›yor, yat›r›mc›lar› Türkiye’nin çeflitli bölgelerine çekmeye çal›fl›yoruz. “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi” kapsam›ndaki “How To Do Business In Turkey” seminerleri bunun en güzel örne¤idir. Bu seminerlerde ABD’li ifl adamlar›na Türkiye’yi, Türkiye’de faaliyet gösteren ifl adamlar› gözünden
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from Chinese firms? What are some reasons that American companies might choose Turkish producers over others? Whether we're talking about an important trading partner such as the EU or a market with which we are trying to increase trade relations such as the American one, it is true to state that China is a genuine threat due to its extremely low prices. However, there is one point that should not be forgotten. In terms of quality, our country is way ahead of China. What we need to do, therefore, is to better explain our difference to foreign markets. Considering the endless technological possibilities created by the Internet, geographical distance should not be a barrier to trade. The quality of some of our brands have been proven in new markets successfully through effective advertising campaigns and the correct usage of communication channels. Another difficulty in our trade relationship with the US is technical- it relates to regulatory differences. Legal agreements, standards that must be followed, customs, and banking regulations are some of the more important aspects. The amount of volume of smalland medium-sized business in the US and Turkey are very different. At the same time, both countries have a different understanding of
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professionalism and business practices. Besides production, what type of professional support is being provided to companies? How do you provide for the continuation of this process? Like all the countries of the world, small- and medium-sized companies collectively form the backbone of our economy. However, when it comes to institutionalization, we are sorely lacking. While planning for the “Start Exporting Program,” we realized that Turkish businesses must get to know their own businesses and develop them properly before getting involved in the process of exporting. To this end, we provided professional consultants to work an average of thirty hours with our businesses over a period of four months on the topics of export marketing and planning. So we first caught the attention of the firms and then we taught them about exporting. In this way, we are providing consulting services to businesses that want to export by strengthening the informational infrastructure and helping them to assess and overcome physical and structural barriers. In addition, we are trying to be supportive of our small- and mediumsized businesses by providing the services of the Research and Development Branch of our Chamber.
anlat›yoruz ve bunun çok daha etkili oldu¤unu görüyoruz. Dünyan›n en büyük al›c›s› durumunda olan ABD pazar›nda, Çin gibi büyük bir ihracatç›n›n varl›¤› her alanda hissedilmekte. Türk üreticiler Çinli firmalardan nas›l farkl›l›k yaratabilir? ABD’li firmalar›n Türk üreticileri seçme nedenleri neler olabilir? Çin’in gerek ticaretimizin çok büyük bir k›sm›n› gerçeklefltirdi¤imiz AB pazar›nda gerekse ticari iliflkilerimizi artt›rmaya çal›flt›¤›m›z ABD pazar›nda, düflük fiyat nedeniyle büyük bir tehdit oldu¤u do¤ru. Fakat, unutulmamas› gereken bir baflka nokta daha var. Bizim ülkemiz ürün kalitesi bak›m›nda Çin’den çok çok öndedir. Bizim yapmam›z gereken yabanc› pazarlara bu fark›m›z› anlatmakt›r. Amerikal› ifl çevreleri Türkiye’deki pazar f›rsatlar›n› ve Türk ürünlerini yeterince tan›mamaktad›r. Oysa internetin sonsuz teknolojik imkanlar yaratt›¤› günümüzde co¤rafi uzakl›k, ticarete engel olmamal›d›r. Baz› markalar›m›z, baflar›l› reklam kampanyalar› ve iletiflim kanallar›n› do¤ru kullanarak uzak pazarlarda Türk ürünlerinin kalitesini kan›tlam›fl, isimlerini çok baflar›l› bir fle-
TURKEY – THE U.S. TRADE ($ Million) / TÜRK‹YE- ABD T‹CARET VER‹LER‹ (Million Dolar) Year Y›l
Import ‹thalat
Export ‹hracat
Trade Volume Tic. Hacmi
Deficit Tic. Dengesi
2000
3.911
3.135
7.046
-0,776
2001
3.261
3.125
6.386
-0,136
2002
3.099
3.356
6.455
0,257
2003
3.495
3.751
7.246
0,356
2004
4.745
4.860
9.600
0,115
2005
5.375
4.910
10.285
-0,465
2006
6.260
5.060
11.320
-1.200
2007 (Jan –Sep)
5.916
3.125
9.041
-2.791
Kaynak: “Turkey; Your Business Partner” Istanbul Ch. of Com.
kilde duyurmufllard›r. ABD ile ticaretimizde baflka bir zorluk, mevzuat farkl›l›klar›ndan kaynaklanan teknik engellerdir. Hukuki sözleflmeler, uyulmas› gereken standartlar, gümrük ve bankac›l›k mevzuatlar› bunlardan en önemlileridir. ABD ve Türkiye’deki küçük ve orta büyüklükteki iflletmelerin hacimsel büyüklükleri çok farkl›. Ayn› zamanda profesyonellik ve ifl prensipleri de farkl› özelliklere sahip. Üretimin yan› s›ra flirketlere profesyonel hizmet noktas›nda ne gibi destekler sa¤lanmakta? Bunun devaml›l›¤› nas›l sa¤lan›yor? KOB‹’ler tüm dünyada oldu¤u gibi ülkemizde de ekonominin belkemi¤idirler. Fakat kurumsallaflma anlam›nda çok büyük eksiklikleri var. “ABD Pazar›na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi”nin ön çal›flmalar› s›ras›nda fark ettik ki KOB‹’lerimizin yapmas› gereken, ihracata bafllamadan önce kendi kurumlar›n› tan›mak ve gelifltirmek. Bu amaçla profesyonel dan›flmanlar taraf›ndan programa kat›lan KOB‹’lerimize ihracat pazarlamas› ve planlamas› konusunda 4 ay boyunca toplam 30 saatlik bire bir dan›flmanl›k hizmeti verdik. Yani önce firmalar›n› fark ettirdik, sonra ihracat› ö¤rettik. Böylece ihracat›n nas›l yap›laca¤› noktas›nda firmalar›n bilgi altyap›s›n› güçlendirme ve onlar›n ihracat yapmas›na engel teflkil eden fiziksel altyap› eksikliklerinin de tespit edilip giderilmesi konusunda firmalara rehberlik hizmeti vermekteyiz. Ayr›ca Odam›z bünyesindeki KOB‹ ve Araflt›rma-Gelifltirme fiubesi taraf›ndan yürütülen çeflitli çal›flmalarla KOB‹’ lerimizin kendilerini gelifltirmelerine de destek olmaya çal›fl›yoruz. TurkofAmerica • 15
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
REASONS TO INVEST IN TURKEY! W
ith a population of 72 million and estimated GDP of US$ 403 billion in 2006, Turkey is ranked the 20th largest economy in the world by the World Bank and one of the most dynamic emerging markets. Spanning continents, at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Mediterranean, Aegean Sea and Black Seas, its geographic location has made it a strategic country over the centuries. A candidate for entry in the European Union since 1999, Turkey aspires to membership with the 25 states. Turkey has committed to a long process of reform involving 35 goals, in conformity with the Copenhagen criteria, pre-conditions to entry in the EU. Greater domestic and international confidence since the opening of adhesion negotiations with the European Union will stimulate strong GNI growth, projected at an average of 6 percent for 2006-2007. The government offers many incentives for capital investment and encourages regional development. Globally, there are no restrictions on the ratio of foreign holdings and the requirement for minimum capital of US$ 50,000 to form a company has been removed. Turkey has the support of the international community thanks to its exceptional geographic location. * Turkey also has strong relations with economic organizations, such as a customs union with the European Union. Turkey is a Member of the World Trade Organization, Founding Member of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Founding Member of the Economic Cooperation Organiza16 • TurkofAmerica
tion (ECO), and has established a Free Trade Area with the European Free Trade Association & Central and Eastern Europe countries.
INDUSTRIES IN TURKEY IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE - Agriculture is one of the main industries in Turkey. - It possesses 27 million hectares of irrigable land. - There are a total of 42.9 million head of livestock in the country. Annual production is as follows: * 686,000 tons beef and sheep meat * 958,000 tons poultry meat * 10.5 million tons milk * 830,000 tons eggs - Average of 900,000 tons annual cotton production TURKEY IS AMONG THE WORLD’S LARGEST PRODUCERS & EXPORTERS OF: Hazelnuts, dried figs, dried apricots, and cherries. It is the
world’s second largest producer and exporter of: lentils, raisins, chickpeas, tomatoes, and tomato paste. It is Europe’s largest producer and export of: cotton, tea, and tobacco. The country is among the world’s 4-10th largest producers of olives, sunflowers, beans, sesame, wheat, and sugar cane. TEXTILES (INCLUDING GARMENTS) - Textiles used to be the strongest industry in the Turkish economy with $19.6 billion in exports in 2006; its share is about 22.8% of total exports and 31.8% of industrial exports. - The textile industry employs 11% of the total workforce. - It accounts for 8% of the GNP - The Turkish garment sector ranks number 1 in Turkey, second in Europe, and fourth in the world.
- Textile exports are expected to reach $35 billion by 2010. AUTOMOTIVE - The Turkish automotive industry is one of the leading sectors in Europe. - As a consequence of the transformation of the Turkish economy after the 2001 crisis, the sector can be said to have been boosted in the following years. - Exports compensated for the contracted domestic market in 2006; The Turkish automotive sector did really perform well in terms of both production & sales and exports. - Turkey is the 16th biggest producer in the world; when compared with EU countries (27) Turkey is: 6th in overall automotive production 1st in bus production 3rd in commercial vehicle production 6th in truck production 9th in passenger car production IRON & STEEL - 3 integrated iron and steel
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works with a total capacity of 6.3 million tons. - 16 EAF’s, the capacities of which range from 60,000 to 2,000,000 tons per year. - Total capacity of 27.7 million tons. - The Turkish steel industry was the World’s 11th and Europe’s 3rd largest with its annual production of 23.3 million tons. - Total exports of $9.6 billion in 2006. MACHINERY Among the largest 10 markets of machinery in Europe; • $28 billion in machinery sales, • $20 billion production volume, • An estimated 11,000 companies, • Around 200,000 jobs • $6.5 billion in exports in 2006. CHEMICALS Modern technology, deep knowledge, and a diversified product range - $27 billion in domestic production, - $13 billion in domestic production, Problem here – two domestic productions?? - An estimated 4,300 companies, - Around 80,000 jobs. CONSTRUCTION As for resources, Turkey is: - The 3rd largest cement manufacturer in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. - The 4th largest steel-manufacturer in Europe and 12th largest in the world.
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- The 5th largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles in the world and 3rd largest in Europe. - Meets 9% of the total world production of natural stone and is the 4th largest producer in the world. - The 6th largest construction paints manufacturer in Europe. - Meets 1.8% of the world’s total flat glass production, and is the 5th largest flat glass manufacturer in Europe. - The Construction sector has a 5.3% share of the GNP as of 2006. - The value of the construction projects handled abroad by Turkish companies was $6.5 billion in 2004 and jumped to $9.8 billion in 2005 and $16 billion in 2006. TELECOMMUNICATIONS - With 19 million fixed line subscribers, Turk Telekom is among the largest in Europe. - The number of cellular phone owners reached 60 million. - With 2 satellites, Turkey broadcasts to the world. ELECTRONICS - Turkey became the number 1 producer & exporter in Europe for TV’s. The number of TV’s exported in 2006 was as high as 15.7 million units. - Number of produced units (TH): Color TV’s 18,284 Refrigerators, 6,224 Washing Machines 5,410 Dishwashersq 1,192 Ovens 6,788 TOURISM - According to the revenues, Turkey’s tourism share in the world is 2.6% and 4.8% in Europe. - In 2005, 21 million visitors came to Turkey, of which 58% came from OECD and 16% from CIS Nations. - Tourism revenues reached more than $18 billion in 2005 but declined to $17 billion in 2006. - Turkey is number 8 in tourism revenues and number 9 in incoming tourists.
FOREIGN TRADE - 44,200 firms export 17,000 various goods to 196 different countries. - Consumer goods take a 44.2% share of exports and 11.6% of imports. - Intermediate goods’ share of exports is 44.4% and 71.7% of imports. - Capital goods’ share of export is 10.9% and 16% of imports. WHY TO INVEST IN TURKEY 1- Unique geographical location. 2- Fast developing economy.
3- Huge domestic market and increasing purchasing power. 4- Highly-skilled, competitive labor. 5- Gateway of energy resources. 6- Developed telecommunications network. 7- Strong ties with the Caucasus and Central Asia. 8- Equal treatment & legislative protection. 9- 100% repatriation of profits and dividends. 10- The EU accession process has started.
TOP 20 COUNTRIES (Population)
TOP 20 COUNTRIES GDP
COUNTRY China India USA Indonesia Brazil Pakistan Bangladesh Russia Nigeria Japan Mexico Philippines Vietnam Germany Egypt Ethiopia TURKEY Iran Thailand France
Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
MILLION 1,314 1,095 298 245 188 166 147 143 132 127 108 90 84 82 79 75 73 69 65 63
TOP 20 COUNTRIES Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Country USA China Japan India Germany UK France Italy Russia Brazil S. Korea Canada Mexico Spain Indonesia TURKEY Taiwan Australia Iran Argentina
$ Billion 12,980 10,000 4,200 4,042 2,585 1,903 1,871 1,727 1,723 1,616 1,180 1,165 1,134 1,070 935 700 668 666 610 599
Country USA Japan Germany China UK France Italy Canada Spain Brazil S. Korea India Mexico Russia Australia Netherlands TURKEY Switzerland Sweden Belgium
$ Billion 13,220 4,883 2,872 2,518 2,346 2,149 1,785 1,088 1,084 967 897 804 744 734 645 613 400 386 373 358
TOP IMPORTERS Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 22
Country USA Germany China UK France Japan Italy Netherlands Canada Belgium Hong Kong Spain S. Korea Mexico Singapore Taiwan India Russia Switzerland TURKEY
$ Billion 1,869 916 974 603 529 524 446 374 353 334 330 324 300 253 246 205 188 171 162 137
Source: “Turkey; Your Business Partner” Istanbul Ch. of Com.
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
TOP EXPORTERS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Germany USA China Hong Kong Japan France UK Italy Netherlands Canada
1,133 1,024 796 612 590 490 469 450 414 405
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 34
Belgium S. Korea Russia Singapore Mexico Spain Taiwan S. Arabia Sweden TURKEY
335 328 318 284 249 222 215 205 174 85
KEY MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS 2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
201.5
148.2
180.9
239.2
299.5
360.9
400
6.3
-9.5
7.9
5.9
9.9
7.6
6.0
GNP Per Capita (US$)
2.965
2.123
2.598
3.383
4.172
5.008
5447
Inflation Rate (CPI) (Annual Average - %)
54.9
54.0
41.3
25.3
8.6
8.2
9.6
Budget Deficit/GNP - %
10.2
16.2
14.2
11.2
7.1
2.0
0.7
Exports (Billion US$)
27.8
31.3
36.1
47.3
63.2
73.5
85.3
Imports (Billion US$)
54.5
41.4
51.6
69.3
97.5
116.8
137.3
International Reserves (Billion US$)
34.2
30.2
38.1
44.9
53.8
68.7
90.7
Investment Telsim Finansbank Denizbank Turk Telekom POAfi TAV Mey ‹çki D›flbank Bankpozitif Kent G›da Adabank 3165
MN $ 4690 2774 3220 1500 1054 395 333 201 95 93 29
GNP (Billion US$) Real Growth %
SECTORAL BREAKDOWN OF TOP 500 COMPANIES
MAIN FOREIGN INVESTMENTS Investor Vodafone National Bank of Greece Dexia Oger OMV Goldman Sachs TPG Partners Fortis Tarshish Hapoalim Cadbury Schweppes Int. Investor Others
GNP BY SECTORS 2006-% Agriculture Industry Trade Transport-Telecom Financial Inst. Construction Public Services Others
9.2 25.6 20.4 14.1 4.8 5.3 9.5 11.1
* ANIMA Investment Network, animaweb.org. Source: “Turkey; Your Business Partner” Istanbul Ch. of Com.
18 • TurkofAmerica
- Foodstuffs - Chemistry - Textiles & Clothing - Metals - Automotive - Metal Goods, Machinery - Clay Goods - Paper - Forestry, Furniture - Electricity - Mining - Others
94 78 74 63 47 47 43 17 13 10 10 4
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RANKING OF TOP 10 IMPORT SOURCES Years 2002 Russia 3 Germany 1 China 10 Italy 2 France 5 USA 4 UK 6 Switzerland 8 Spain 9 Iran 16
2003 3 1 8 2 4 6 5 7 9 16
2004 2 1 6 3 4 5 7 8 9 16
2005 2 1 4 3 5 6 7 8 9 11
2006 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2006-6m 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 7
2007 – 6m 1 2 3 4 6 5 8 9 11 7
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Page 9
By Kürflad Devecio¤lu
T
urkish firms are very visible in the US marble and natural stone markets. Home to almost half of the world's natural stone reserves, Turkey is an active player in the US market. In addition to the Turkish firms already established in the US, every year new Turkish firms attempt to find success in the market. Some attain great success quickly, while many others have to accept defeat just as quickly. Let's examine the problems facing firms that wish to enter the market and offer some potential solutions. What sort of preparation should marble firms from Turkey wishing to enter the US market take? Besides the US's large geography, it is also a country of vastly different consumer tastes. Market research should precede any decision regarding which region or state in America to enter. Many Turkish firms are disappointed when they come to the US expecting huge returns on their investments and come up empty-handed because they didn't conduct the proper market research. Market research, however, can be a two-edged sword. If you don't collect information or analyze data properly, you can be led in the wrong direction. What's the least risky method for entering the US market? It's very probable that the most effective and least risky way of entering this market is to supply marble to well-established wholesalers and importers. In the past couple of years, many Turkish marble firms, whether directly or by forming partnerships, have opened warehouses in various American states. Just as this situation has increased competition, so have prices fallen for Turkish products. However, opening a warehouse, dealing with operational issues, and taking high risks can all be avoided simply by
THE SECRETS TO MAKING YOUR WAY IN THE MARBLE MARKET Competing on the basis of prices is unnecessary. It harms not only the companies but also the Turkish marble sector as a whole.
MERMER PAZARINDA YER ED‹NMEN‹N SIRLARI Fiyata odakl› rekabet gereksiz. Bu hem firmalara hem de Türk mermer sektörüne zarar veriyor.
A
BD’de Türkler taraf›ndan yo¤un olarak faaliyet gösterilen sektörlerinde bafl›nda mermer ve do¤altafl geliyor. Dünya do¤altafl rezervlerinin neredeyse yar›s›na yak›nan sahip olan Türkiye, ABD pazar›n›n da aktif oyuncular›ndan. ABD’de faaliyet gösteren Türk firmalar›n yan› s›ra her y›l yenileri pazarda yer edinmek için flans›n› deniyor. Kimi baflar›p h›zl› yol katediyor, kimi de çabuk pes etmek zorunda kal›yor. Pazara girmek isteyen firmalar›n s›kl›kla karfl›laflt›¤› sorunlara bir göz atal›m ve cevaplar›n› birlikte bulmaya çal›flal›m.
ABD pazar›na girmek isteyen mermer firmalar›n›n Türkiye'de yapmas› gereken haz›rl›klar nelerdir? ABD büyük co¤rafyas›n›n yan›s›ra her bölgede farkl› tüketici tercihlerine sahip olan bir ülke. ABD’nin hangi bölgesine ve eyaletine girilece¤i yap›lacak bir pazar araflt›mas›ndan sonra karar verilmeli. ABD’ye gelip hüsrana u¤rayan pekçok Türk mermer firmas› pazar araflt›rmas› safhas›n› atlayarak, adeta tafl›n› kap›p ABD’ye gelerek, hemen sat›fl yapmak istiyor. Pazar araflt›rmas› da iki taraf› keskin k›l›ca benzer. Hakk›n› vererek yapmazsan›z ya da toplad›¤›n›z bilgileri etkili flekilde analiz edemezseniz sizi yanl›fl yöne yönlendirebilir. En az riskli bir flekilde ABD pazar›na nas›l girilebilir? Amerikan pazar›na en etkili ve en az riskli girifl ABD’de yerleflmifl toptanc› ve ithalatç›lara do¤rudan mermer tedarik etmek ile mümkün olabilir. Son y›llarda çok say›da Türk mermer firmas› do¤rudan ya da ortakl›klar kurarak ABD’nin çeflitli eyaletlerinde depolar açt›lar. Bu durum rekabeti artt›rd›¤› gibi Türk ürünlerinin fiyatlar›n›n da düflmesine sebep oldu. Oysaki depo açmak, operasyonel yüküne katlanmak ve riskine girmek yerine yerel toptanc› TurkofAmerica • 19
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
dealing with domestic wholesalers and importers. What are the difficulties in the market and what needs to be done to overcome them? Some of the main difficulties in the market include competition, the ability to collect revenue, imitation, and prejudice. Competition is quite fierce in the American market. Wherever there is competition, there is naturally a drop in product prices also. It is clear that a price war-style competition would not ensure success for either side. Differentiation is what needs to be done in this situation. This could be through product differentiation, unique packaging, increasing the quality of customer service, or establishing yourself as different in comparison to your competitors. Unfortunately, we often see Turkish marble production firms established in the US competing on the basis of prices. This unnecessary competition harms not only the companies but also the Turkish marble sector as a whole. What sort of challenges are faced in collection of revenues? In the US it's possible to research the credit histories of both persons and firms. Turkish companies must take advantage of this opportunity. In addition to getting a credit history, researching the other companies your customer firm works with and discussing the customer firm with them can be very helpful. What sort of difficulties are you talking about with “imitation” and “prejudice”? If rival firms all of a sudden start importing products that you intended to be unique to the market, than your product will quickly become just one of many. There are two ways to prevent this. First, make a deal with the factory that produces your product. Ask that they gi20 • TurkofAmerica
ve you sole sales rights to a particular region or state. Second, try your hardest to get your new marble products onto the target market quickly. Prejudice is another difficulty in this market. Today Turkish marble is known in the American market. However, not everyone in this market has a positive view of Turkish marble. It's only natural that American marble importers or wholesalers who have dealt with Turkish marble companies would be hesitant to try again, since many of these producers did not match their talk with the promised quality of marble. The mistake that one Turkish marble producer makes simply contributes to the generalizati-
ons leveled at others in the Turkish marble sector. But it is an issue that may come up. What are some issues that American firms buying marble consider? They generally pay attention to which firms you are working with, the quality of the products, product consistency, and customer service. It's also important for a long-term trade partner that your products are high-quality and that they are consistently highquality. Most American companies also place a lot of importance on good customer service. It's also really important that the quality of the delivered product match what the producer
ve ithalatç›lara do¤rudan ihraç son derece pratik ve etkili bir pazar girifl yöntemi. Pazardaki zorluklar ve bunlar› aflmak için yap›lmas› gerekenler nelerdir? Pazarda karfl›lafl›lan bafll›ca zorluklar rekabet, tahsilat güçlükleri, taklit ve önyarg›. Rekabet Amerikan mermer piyasas›nda oldukça sert geçiyor. Rekabetin oldu¤u yerde de ürünün fiyat› düflmekte. Oysa ki fiyat savafl›na dayal› bir rekabetin iki tarafa da bir fley sa¤lamayaca¤› ortada. Yap›lmas› gereken farkl›laflmaya gitmek. Bu da ürün farkl›laflmas›, farkl› paketleme, müflteri hizmetinin kalitesini artt›rma ya da tarz›n› rakipten farkl› k›lma yoluyla
olabilir. ABD’de yerleflik Türk mermer ithalatç›s› firmalar aras›nda ne yaz›k ki s›k s›k fiyata odakl› rekabetle karfl›lafl›yoruz. Bu gereksiz rekabet hem firmalara hem de Türk mermer sektörüne zarar vermekte. Tahsilatta nas›l bir güçlük yaflan›yor? ABD’de hem flah›slar›n hem de firmalar›n kredi itibar›n› araflt›mak mümkün. Türk mermercilerinin bu imkandan mutlaka yararlanmalar› gerekiyor. Kredi itibar›n›n araflt›r›lmas›n›n yan›s›ra müflteri firman›n hangi firmalarla çal›flt›¤›n›n belirlenmesi ve bu firmalar ile haberleflilerek kredi itibar›n›n sorgulanmas› çok faydal› olacakt›r.
Taklit ve önyarg› derken nas›l bir zorluktan bahsediyorsunuz? Size özgün bir mermer ürünü bir anda pazardaki di¤er rakip mermer firmalar taraf›ndan ithal edilen s›radan bir ürün haline gelebiliyor. Bunun önünde geçmenin iki yolu mevcut: Birincisi ürünü üreten fabrika ve ocak ile özel bir anlaflma yap›larak bulundu¤unuz bölge ya da eyalet içinde size özel sat›fl hakk› tan›nmas›. ‹kincisi ise yeni mermer ürününü hedef pazara çok h›zl› ve tüm a¤›rl›¤›n›z› vererek da¤›tmak. Önyarg› bir baflka pazar zorlu¤u. Bugün Türk mermeri Amerikan pazar›nda tan›nmakta. Ancak tan›yan her firman›n Türk mermeri hakk›nda iyi bir imaja sahip oldu¤unu söylemek mümkün de¤il. Daha önce söz verilen kalitede Türk mermeri gönderilmeyen ve s›k›nt›ya giren bir Amerikal› mermer ithalatç›s› ya da toptanc›s› do¤al olarak Türk mermer ürünlerine karfl› negatif bir yaklafl›ma sahip olabilir. Yap›lan bir mermer üreticisinin yapt›¤› hatay› tüm Türk mermer sektörüne genellemekten baflka bir birfley de¤il. Ancak bu durum ile karfl›lafl›labilir. Mal alan ABD'li firmalar›n dikkat ettikleri konular nelerdir? Genellikle dikkat edilen konular halen ne tür firmalarla çal›flt›¤›n›z, ürün kaliteniz, ürün devaml›l›¤› ve müflteri hizmeti fleklinde kendini gösteriyor. Ürün kaliteniz ve bunun devaml›l›¤›da ticari iliflkinin devam› için büyük önem tafl›yor. Her müflteri olmasa da pekçok Amerikal› firmada müflteri hizmetine de¤er verir. Ürün kalitesinin söz verildi¤i flekilde teslim edilmesi ticari iliflkinin devaml›l›¤› aç›s›ndan büyük öneme sahip. Bir baflka üretim kalitesi göstergesi ise üretim s›ras›nda mermerlerin kalitesini kontrol etmeniz. Sözgelimi ABD’de faaliyet gösteren bir ithalatç› firman›n Türkiye’deki üretimi
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promises. Another indication of production quality comes by checking up on the marble while it is being produced. If you have a team of quality experts assessing the quality of the marble being produced, that could be a real bonus for marble buying firms in the US. Can you talk a bit about the methods used by firms that have found success in the market? Marble firms that have found success in the market are distinguished by two elements: their knowledge of what their customers want and the ability to deliver high-quality marble. This is also true of well-established marble importers in the US who work with large retailers such as Home Dept and Lowe's. The marble and natural stones used in the US are mostly imported from other countries. Because of this, the marble producers of these countries must be on good terms with the importers in order to attain the quality desired. On the other hand, if you don't import goods that meet the expectations or demands of the customers, then you can't properly sell your products. Basically, the marketing and customer service aspect of the operation must support the product buying and importing side, and vice-versa. This is what successful marble firms have done and continue to do. What can Turkish firms offer to set themselves apart from Italian companies? Turkey is undoubtedly the leader in travertine importing in the US. In terms of marble, Italy is Turkey's biggest competitor although Turkey's raw material sources are richer than Italy's. When it comes to workmanship and machinery, Turkey is not lagging behind anyone. In fact, there are Italian firms that buy marble from Turkey, stamp “Made in Italy” on it, and
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sell it for high prices to the US. The most obvious example of this is the marble that we know as “Elaz›¤ Viflne” (Elaz›¤ Sour Cherry). Italian firms marketed this marble as “Rosa Levanto El Turko” to the US for years before Turks were even competitive in the US market. The US naturally sees this stone as an Italian product. Then creating a brand is unavoidable? Italian marble products are built upon the notion of “luxury,” meaning for American consumers and importers that Italian marble is synonymous with an idea of luxury. This is the place of Italian marble products in the minds of Americans. Changing this is almost impossible. For this reason, Turkish marble must market itself differently in the American market. Today Turkey is seen as an exotic and mysterious country to Americans. If we position ourselves as “Mysterious, Exotic Turkish Marble” through marketing and advertising, we can not only introduce Turkish marble to the market but can also distinguish ourselves from Italian rivals through our own unique brand positioning. Of course, Turkish marble firms in the US and in Turkey must take these steps together. How important is technology in selling products? It's difficult to sell marble products without showing samples. However, the Internet provides great opportunities for marketing and publicizing activities. A website, complete with a catalog of your products and digital photographs, will actually save you a lot of money and energy and will allow you to reach more potential customers. Moreover, it is possible to conduct customer surveys over the Internet and then analyze the results in order to improve your business.
kontrol edecek bir ekibinin olmas› Amerika mermer al›c›s› firmalar için tercih sebebi olabilir. Pazarda tutunmay› baflaran ve çok mal satan firmalar›n kulland›klar› yöntemlerden bahsedebilir misiniz? Pazarda tutunmay› baflaran mermer firmalar›n›n iki önemli özelli¤i müflterilerinin ne istedi¤ini bilmeleri ve bu isteklerine göre sipariflini verdikleri mermerlerin al›m›nda kaliteyi yakalam›fl olmalar›. Bu durum Home Depot, Lowe’s gibi perakende sat›fl yapan firmalar için de, ABD’de yerleflik mermer ithalatç›lar› için de geçerli. ABD’de kullan›lan mermer ve di¤er do¤al tafllar›n büyük ço¤unlu¤u di¤er ülkelerden ithal edildi¤i için sözkonusu ülkelerdeki mermer üreticileri ile iyi iliflkileriniz olmazsa arzu etti¤iniz kalitede ürünü ABD’ye ithal edemezsiniz. Öte yandan ürünleri müflterilerinizin talep ve beklentisine göre ithal etmezseniz sat›fl›n›z› yapamazs›n›z. K›sacas› operasyonun hem pazarlama ve müflteri aya¤› hem de mal al›m ve ithalat aya¤› birbirini destekleyecek flekilde gerçekleflmeli. Pazarda tutunan mermer firmalar›n›n yapt›klar› ana hatlar› ile böyle. Türk firmalar›n›n rakibi ‹talya’dan farkl› olarak sunmas› gerekenler nelerdir? Travertende ithal edilen ürün miktar› baz›nda Türkiye ABD’nin tart›flmas›z lider ülkesi. ‹talya ise Türkiye ile en çok mermer ile rekabet etmekte. Türkiye mermer hammaddesi aç›s›ndan ‹talya’dan çok daha zengin bir ülke. ‹flçilik ve makinalar aç›s›ndan da Türkiye’nin herhangi bir ülkeden geri kal›r yan› yok. ‹talyan firmalar›n›n mermer bloklar›n› Türkiye’den al›p iflleyip “Made in Italy” damgas› ile yüksek fiyatlarla ABD’de satt›klar› mermerlerimiz var. Bunlar›n en bariz örne¤i “Elaz›¤ Viflne” olarak bildi¤imiz mermer. ‹talyan firma-
lar› bu mermerimizi “Rosa Levanto El Turko” ismi ile y›llarca biz Türkler’den önce ABD’de pazarlamaya bafllad›lar. Do¤al olarak bu tafl› ABD’de hep ‹talyan ürünü olarak görürler. Marka yaratmak kaç›n›lmaz oluyor o zaman? ‹talyan mermer ürünlerinin imaj› “lüks” kavram› üzerine kuruludur. Yani Amerikal› tüketiciler ve ithalatç› firmalar› için bugün ‹talyan mermeri lüks kavram› ile bütünleflmifltir. Bu ‹talyan mermer ürünlerinin Amerikal›lar’›n zihnindeki konumudur. Bunu de¤ifltirmek hemen hemen imkans›z. Bu durumda Türk mermerini farkl› bir pazarlama pozisyonu ile Amerikan pazar›na tan›tmak gerekir. Böylece kendimizi farkl›laflt›rm›fl oluruz. Bugün Amerikal›lar’›n zihninde Türkiye egzotik ve gizemli bir ülke olarak görülür. Bunu mermer ürünlerine uygularsak “Gizemli, Egzotik Türk Mermeri” fleklinde bir pozisyon ile pazarlama ve reklam faaliyetlerini hayata geçirerek hem Türk mermerinin tan›t›m›na katk›da bulunmak hem de ‹talyan mermer ürünlerine karfl› farkl›laflt›r›lm›fl bir pazarlama ve marka pozisyonu almak mümkün olabilir. Bunun için tabi gerek ABD içindeki gerekse Türkiye’deki mermer firmalar›n›n birlikte hareket etmesi gerekiyor. Mal satmak için teknoloji kullan›m› ne kadar önemli? Mermer ürünlerini fiziksel numuneyi göstermeden satmak oldukça zor. Ancak pazarlama ve tan›t›m faaliyetleri aç›s›ndan internet büyük katk›lar sa¤lamakta. Kuraca¤›n›z bir internet sitesi ile ürün hatt›n›zdaki ürünlerin katalo¤unu dijital foto¤raflar ile potansiyel müflterilerinize sunman›z zaman, para ve enerji aç›s›ndan önemli tasarruflar sa¤lamakta. Ayr›ca yine internet üzerinden müflteri anketleri yapmak ve sonuçlar›n› analiz etmek mümkün. TurkofAmerica • 21
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SPECIAL SECTION – AN INSTITUTION DEDICATED TO TURKEY’S DEVELOPMENT, THE ISTANBUL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
THE U.S. FURNITURE INDUSTRY:
AMER‹KAN MOB‹LYA SEKTÖRÜ’NÜN DÜNÜ, BUGÜNÜ ...
U.S. furniture industry usually grows about 7% to 8% a year; this year it's expected to jump only 3%, from $84.6 billion in revenue last year to $87.1 billion this year.
Amerikan mobilya sektörü y›lda genellikle yüzde 78 oran›nda büyürken, toplam cironun 84.6 milyar dolardan 87.1 milyar dolara ç›karak bu y›l sadece yüzde 3 büyüyece¤i tahmin ediliyor.
I
A
BD’de mobilya sektörü üretimi a¤›rl›kl› olarak üç co¤rafi bölgede yo¤unlaflm›fl durumda. Orta Bat›’da Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois; Güney’de North Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia; Güneybat›’da California, New Mexico, Texas.
de 22, döflemeli mobilya yüzde 27 artarken, “wood furniture” olarak adland›r›lan mobilya türünde sat›fllar yüzde 7 oran›nda düfltü. Bu farkl›l›¤a neden olan ana faktör ise ucuz ithal ürünlerin ev mobilyas› sektörüne, özellikle de ahflap ev mobilyas›na, olan etkisi.
Bugün bu 12 eyalet ABD’nin mobilya ve mutfak tezgah› tüketiminin üçte ikisini karfl›l›yor. Ancak sektör büyüyen bir bölünme ile karfl› karfl›ya. Mobilya sektöründe, mutfak tezgah sektörü hariç tutuldu¤unda, 19972005 y›llar› aras›nda 108 bin kifli iflini kaybetti. Bu da nerdeyse toplam iflgücünün yüzde 21’ne karfl›l›k gelmekte. Sadece mutfak tezgahlar› ve ofis mobilyalar› sektörleri iflçi istihdam›, siparifl ve ücretlerde büyüme göstermeyi baflard›.
Esasen Kanada’dan ve Çin’den ithal edilen ahflap mobilyalar, geçen 7 y›lda mobilya sektöründeki büyümeden aslan pay›n› ald›. Özellikle ayn› dönemde yaflanan ev inflaat›ndaki h›zl› büyüme mobilya sektöründe arz› art›r›rken, yerli üreticiler büyüyen pazardan gerekli pay› alamad›. Bugün Amerikal› tüketiciler a¤›rl›kl› olarak fl›k görünümlü ve çok de¤erli intibas› uyand›ran mobilyalara ilgi gösterirken, mobilyay› uzun vadeli yat›r›m olarak görme, çocuklar›na miras olarak b›rakma ya da antika eflya olarak saklama al›flkanl›klar› ile ilgilenmiyor. Bunun sonucunda da tüketiciler her geçen
YESTERDAY AND TODAY ... WILL THERE BE A TOMORROW? YARINI OLACAK MI?
n the United States, furniture and related manufacturing (including kitchen cabinets) is currently concentrated in three geographic locations: the Midwest (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois), the South (North Carolina, Mississippi, Virginia) and the Southwest (California, New Mexico, Texas). Today, the top 12 producing states manufacture about twothirds of the furniture and kitchen cabinets produced in the United States. There is a growing dichotomy in the "furniture industry." The furniture industry, excluding the kitchen cabinet sector, lost 108,000 jobs or 21 percent of its workforce between 1997 and 2005. Only two sectors within the U.S. furniture industry - kitchen cabinets and office furniture - have shown growth in terms of employees, payroll and value of shipments. For example, between 1997 22 • TurkofAmerica
and 2005*, the value of shipments for kitchen cabinets more than doubled (up 111 percent), office furniture shipments increased 22 percent, upholstered furniture shipments increased a modest 27 percent; institutional furniture shipments increased a meager 9 percent while shipments of nonupholstered furniture (i.e., wood furniture) actually fell 7 percent. The reason for this disparity is competition from cheaper imports has impacted the household furniture sector, particularly wood household furniture. In essence, imported wood furniture from Canada and offshore sources, particularly China, captured most of the growth in the wood furniture market during the past seven years. Demand was driven in large part by the phenomenal growth in residential construction over this period, but do-
Örne¤in 1997-2005 y›llar› aras›nda mutfak kabineleri sat›fl› yüzde 111, ofis mobilyalar› yüz-
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By Al Schuler & Steve Lawser
mestic manufacturers did not share in the "good times." LESS SPENDING ON FURNITURE Consumers are mainly interested in furniture that looks good and appears to be a good value. No longer do they look at furniture as a long-term investment as something to pass on to their children or keep as an antique. As a result, the consumer is spending less and less on furniture. There is also more competition for the consumer's dollar from electronic gadgets, home entertainment, travel and leisure products. Because of this emphasis on price, profit margins for U.S. furniture manufacturers are extremely low, while the costs of manufacturing continue to rise. This has created a severe profit squeeze that has led to a significant decline in plant and equipment investments. As a result, many U.S. furniture plants are not up-to-date with the latest technology and equipment. Many U.S. furniture manufacturers are choosing to have their furniture made in China and other low-cost countries rather than produce their own products. This has allowed offshore furniture competitors to increase their penetration into United States and world markets. If this does not change, most U.S. household furniture will be made offshore as U.S. furniture manufacturers continue to close their domestic manufacturing operations and become wholesalers and/or retailers. As offshore manufacturers gain more experience from supplying U.S. furniture manufacturers, they will learn enough to go around them and sell direct to retailers, or through their own retail distribution outlets. This is already happening as most of the larger Chinese furniture manufacturers sell direct to retailers and some are offering retail franchises in
the United States. THE IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION Globalization impacted trade in the furniture subsector has taken a distinct turn for the worse for U.S. manufacturers, with the kitchen cabinet industry group more recently experiencing the beginning of a downturn in growth as well. Between 1992 and 2005, imports of all furniture products (including household, institutional and office furniture, but excluding kitchen cabinets) increased from $4.1 billion to $23.65 billion in 2005, an increase of almost $20 billion or 477 percent. During this period, imports from China increased from $208 million to $10.8 billion, an increase of almost $11 billion - a fifty-fold increase in 13 years. Imports now comprise 28 percent of all furniture consumption (excluding kitchen cabinets), up from 9 percent 13 years ago. In sectors where wood is the predominant material input, the loss of market share is
gün mobilyaya daha az para harcar hale geliyor. Tüketicilerin mobilyadan ziyade para harcamalar›n› art›rmak için özellikle elektronik aletlerde, ev e¤lencesine yönelik sistemlerde ve seyahat endüstrisinde büyük rekabet yaflan›yor. Fiyat üzerindeki rekabet göz önüne al›nd›¤›nda, Amerikal› mobilya üreticilerinin üretim maliyetleri artarken kar marjlar› da oldukça düflüyor. Çok minumum düzeyde kar elde etme ortam›, sektörde fabrika ve ekipman yat›r›mlar›n›n da düflüflüne neden oluyor. Bu sebeplerden dolay› pek çok Amerikan mobilya fabrikas› son teknoloji ve ekipmana sahip olmaks›z›n üretim yapmaya devam ediyor. Pek çok Amerikal› mobilya üreticisi kendi mobilyalar›n› Çin ve di¤er düflük maliyetli ülkelerde ürettirmeyi tercih ediyor. Bu da ülke d›fl›ndaki mobilya üreticilerinin ABD içindeki ve dünya genelindeki pazar paylar›n› art›rmas›n› sa¤l›yor. E¤er bu yap› de¤iflmezse, pekçok Amerikan ev mobilyas› ülke d›fl›nda üretilecek ve Amerikal› mobilya üreti-
cileri fabrikalar›n› kapat›p daha çok toptan sat›c› veya perakendeci olarak yollar›na devam edecek. ABD’ye mal gönderen ihracatç› firmalar ABD’li üreticilere mal tedarik ederken daha fazla tecrübeye sahip olurken, zamanla üreticileri devre d›fl› b›rak›p direkt olarak perakendecilere mal satma veya kendi sat›fl zincirlerini kurmalar› da olas› bir yol. Bu yöntem hali haz›rda büyük Çinli mobilya üreticileri taraf›ndan uygulanmakta ve Çinli firmalar perakende zincirlere direkt sat›fl›n yan› s›ra franchising yöntemi ile ABD’de kendi ma¤aza zincirlerini kurmakta. GLOBAL‹ZASYONUN ETK‹S‹ Amerikal› üreticiler için bir baflka kötü geliflmede globalleflmenin alt sektörlerde yaratt›¤› büyük dönüflüm. Mutfak kabinesi üreticileri son dönemlerde büyüme h›zlar›nda düflüfl yaflamaya bafllad›lar bile. 1997-2005 y›llar› aras›nda, mutfak kabineleri hariç tüm mobilya ürünleri 4.1 milyar dolardan yüzde 477 art›flla 23.65 milyar dolarl›k pazara ulaflt›. 13 y›ll›k bu periyotta Çin’den ithalat 50 misli art›flla
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equal, or in some cases, more substantial. Fifty-five percent of the wood household furniture, 11 percent of kitchen cabinets; 19 percent of the upholstered market; and 21 percent of the wood office furniture market consumed in the United States in 2005 consisted of imports. Since the wood household furniture sector has been the most ravaged by imports, the major sources of imports is China. Chinese imports have increased 525 percent since 1998 - that's more than a six-fold increase in just eight years. A major reason for this rapid increase is that the Taiwanese furniture industry, with its management expertise, capital, knowledge of the U.S. market, and other pertinent expertise, relocated to mainland China beginning in the early 1990s. IMPORT TRENDS Taiwan was a major manufacturer and exporter of wood furniture to the United States; however, as their standard of living increased, their furniture manufacturing costs, particularly the labor component, increased significantly and they were no longer as competitive as they once were. Thus, a "manufacturing capacity migration" is occurring in East and
Southeast Asia from Taiwan (and to some extent mainland China) to Vietnam. Wood furniture exports to the United States from Vietnam have increased from $1 million to $753 million in just five years. In fact, Vietnam is now the third largest exporter of wood household furniture to the United States, behind China and Canada predictions point to it surpassing Canada within five years. The common denominator for most of these industries is too much focus on production and not enough attention paid to the customer - i.e., a commodity mentality. Not a good strategy unless you are the "lowcost producer" or have some other competitive advantages that serve to balance the scales for companies that have a higher cost structure. Some examples include: superior service; customization at competitive prices; faster delivery; better credit terms; lean and flexible manufacturing; expert marketing and knowledge of your key customers; and superior quality. * Al Schuler is a research economist with the USDA Forest Service. / * Steve Lawser serves as the executive director of the Wood Components Manufacturers Association (WCMA). Source: Wood Digest. 6:2007. 20-22.
ORGANIZATIONS WOOD COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATIONS Address: 741 Butlers Gate, Suite 100 Marietta, Georgia 30068 Telephone: +1 (770) 565-6660 Fax: +1 (770) 565-6663 E-mail address: wcma@woodcomponents.org Web: www.woodcomponents.org
208 milyon dolardan 10.8 milyar dolara yükseldi. Bugün ABD’de ithal mallar mutfak kabineleri hariç – 13 y›l öncesine göre yüzde 9 art›flla tüm mobilya tüketiminin yüzde 28’ini kapsamakta. Sektörün ana girdi maddesi olan kerestede, pazar pay› kayb› eflit oranda. 2005 y›l›nda ev mobilyas›nda yüzde 55, mutfak kabinesinde yüzde 11, döfleme mobilyada yüzde 19 ve ofis mobilyas›nda yüzde 21 oran›ndaki tüketim ithalata dayal› olarak gerçekleflti. Ev kullan›m›na yönelik ahflap mobilya sektörü ithalatla hasara u¤rad›¤›ndan beri, ana ithalat kayna¤› Çin oldu. Çin mobilyas› son sekiz y›lda ABD’de pazar›nda yüzde 525 art›flla 60 misli büyüdü. Bu h›zl› büyümede ana etken ise Tayvan mobilya endüstrisi oldu. 1990’lardan itibaren Amerikan pazar› hakk›ndaki yönetim deneyimi, sermaye ve engin bilgi birikimine sahip olan Tayvanl› üreticiler, Çin’e yeniden yerleflerek Amerikan pazar›n›n ihtiyac›n› karfl›lamaya bafllad›. ‹THALAT TREND‹ Tayvan bir zamanlar dünyan›n önde gelen üreticilerden biriydi ve ABD’ye en çok mobilya ihraç eden ülkeydi. Bu ihracatla birlikte ülkede artan yaflam standard›, mobilya üretim maliyetleri, iflçi maliyetlerindeki art›fl Tayvan’›n eskiden oldu¤u
kadar tercih edilen bir ülke olmaktan ç›karm›fl durumda. Üretimde çal›flan iflçi kapasitesi Bat› ve Güneydo¤u Asya’dan ya da bir baflka deyiflle Tayvan’dan Vietnam’a kaymakta. Vietnem’dan ABD’ye yap›lan mobilya ihracat› son befl y›lda 1 milyon dolardan 753 milyon dolara yükselmifl durumda. Vietnam halen Çin ve Kanada’n›n ard›ndan flu anda ABD’ye en çok mobilya ihraç eden üçüncü ülke konumunda. Befl y›l içinde de Kanada’y› geçece¤i tahmin ediliyor. Mobilya ve ba¤l› endüstrilerde ortak payda, fazlaca ürüne fokus olurken müflteriye fazla dikkat edilmemesi. E¤er düflük maliyetli bir üretici de¤ilseniz veya daha yüksek maliyet yap›s›na sahip flirketlerden daha fazla rekabetçi avantajlara sahip de¤ilseniz, sadece ürüne yo¤unlaflmak iyi bir strateji de¤il. Ürünle birlikte daha iyi bir servis, iste¤e göre oluflturulmufl rekabetçi fiyat, h›zl› teslimat, daha fazla kredi imkan›, fleksible üretim, uzman pazarlama, ana müflterilerinizin bilgi birikiminden yararlanma ve daha iyi kalite hedefiniz olmal›. * Al Schuler, ABD Tar›m Bakanl›¤›, Orman Bölümü’nde araflt›rmac› ekonomist. * Steve Lawser, Ahflap Bileflenleri Üreticileri Derne¤i’nde yönetici direktörü. Kaynak: Wood Digest. 6:2007. 20-22.
WESTERN HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATIONS Address: 500 Giuseppe Court, Suite 6 Roseville, CA 95678 Tel: +1 (916) 784-7677 Fax: +1 (916) 784-7697 E-Mail: kcrawford@WHFA.org Web: www.whfa.org
NATIONAL HOME FURNISHINGS ASSOCIATION HOME FURNISHINGS INDEPENDENTS ASSOCIATION Address: P.O Box 420807, Dallas, TX 75342 Tel: +1 (214) 741 7632 Fax: +1 (214) 742 9103 E-mail: info@hfia.com
24 • TurkofAmerica
Address: 3910 Tinsley Drive, Suite 101 High Point, NC 27265 Tel: +1 (800) 888-9590 Fax: +1 (336) 801-6102 E-mail: info@nhfa.org Web: www.nhfa.org
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“LET US MAKE MONEY TOGETHER” W
ithin the framework of an agreement signed with the US Chamber of Commerce in September 2006, The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce has accelerated its activities aiming for the opening of new markets in the USA for Turkish companies. Within the context of the “Expand Your Export to the USA” program run by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, a delegation headed by Murat Yalç›ntafl, Chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, have had official contacts in the American states of Georgia, Alabama and California. Among the members of the delegation there were, in addition to Dr. Cengiz Ersun, General Secretary of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and Senem Çeflmecio¤lu, Director of its EU and International Cooperation Department, also Funda Güngör, Koç Holding’s Coordinator for Strategic Planning, and Jeremy Keller, former Principal Commercial Officer of the US Department of Commerce. Murat Yalç›ntafl, who as part of his meetings in the USA met American businessmen at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, explained the invest-
Senem Çeflmecio¤lu, Funda Güngör, Murat Yalç›ntafl, Dr. Cengiz Ersun and Jeremy Keller are together in Mobile, Alabama.
ment possibilities in Turkey. During his stay in Atlanta, Yalç›ntafl was a guest at a live show at the Fox Business Network, which is one of America’s most important business channels, and he provided information about Turkey’s tourism sector. Yalç›ntafl said that according to United States International Trade Commission (USITC) data, total trade between the two countries had reached the level of 11 billion dollars in 2006, and added, “as statesman Solon, who was fed by the culture that grew out of Anatolian soil, said, ‘money earns you friendship.’ Come, let our friendship earn us money. Let us strengthen our alliance by means of lively commercial relations.” Following their stay at Atlanta, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce delegation went to Mobile, Alabama for meetings with American businessmen. In the last stop of the trip, Yalç›ntafl took part in a meeting titled “Business Partnership Program Between the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and the USA: Doing Business with Turkey”, at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, where he made a speech.
Senem Çeflmecio¤lu, Funda Güngör, Murat Yalç›ntafl, Dr. Cengiz Ersun ve Jeremy Keller’den oluflan ‹TO delegasyonu Alabama’n›n Mobile flehrinde birlikte.
Yalç›ntafl is giving a speech at Metro Yalç›ntafl Metro Atlanta Chamber of Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Commerce toplant›s›nda konuflma yaparken.
“GEL‹N B‹RL‹KTE KAZANALIM” A
BD Ticaret Odas› ile Eylül 2006’da imzalanan anlaflma çerçevesinde, ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas› (‹TO), Türk firmalar›na ABD’de pazar yaratma çal›flmalar›na h›z verdi. ‹stanbul Ticaret Odas›’n›n (‹TO) yürüttü¤ü “ABD Pazar›’na ‹lk Ad›m Projesi” Program› çerçevesinde ‹TO Baflkan› Murat Yalç›ntafl baflkanl›¤›ndaki bir heyet ABD’nin Georgia, Alabama ve California eyaletlerinde temaslarda bulundu. Heyette ‹TO Genel Sekreteri Dr. Cengiz Ersun, AB ve Uluslararas› ‹flbirli¤i fiubesi Müdürü Senem Çeflmecio¤lu’nun yan› s›ra Koç Holding Stratejik Planlama Koordinatörü Funda Güngör ile ABD eski Ticaret Müflaviri Jeremy Keller de yer ald›. ABD’deki temaslar› çerçevesinde Atlanta’da Metro Atlanta Ticaret Odas›’nda ABD’li ifladamlar› ile bir araya gelen Murat Yalç›ntafl, Türkiye’deki yat›r›m imkanlar›n› anlatt›. Atlanta’daki temaslar s›ras›nda
Yalç›ntafl, ülkenin en önemli ekonomi kanallar›ndan Fox Business Network`e de canl› yay›n konu¤u oldu ve Türkiye’de turizm sektörü ile ilgili bilgiler verdi. ‹ki ülke aras›ndaki ticaret hacminin ABD Uluslararas› Ticaret Komisyonu (USITC) verilerine göre, 2006’da 11 milyar dolar olarak gerçekleflti¤ini belirten Yalç›ntafl, “Anadolu topraklar›nda yefleren kültürün besledi¤i siyasetçi Solon’un dedi¤i gibi ‘para, dostluk kazand›r›r.’ Gelin, dostlu¤umuz bize para kazand›rs›n. Gelin ittifak›m›z› canl› ticari iliflkilerle güçlendirelim,” diye konufltu. Atlanta’n›n ard›ndan Alabama’n›n Mobile kentine geçen ‹TO heyeti burada da ABD’li ifladamlar› ile bulufltu. Yalç›ntafl, son olarak Los Angeles Bölgesi Ticaret Odas›’nda, “‹stanbul Ticaret Odas› ve ABD ‹fl Ortakl›¤› Program›: Türkiye ile ‹fl Yapmak“ bafll›kl› organizasyonda ifladamlar›na hitap etti. TurkofAmerica • 25
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TURKISH STEEL – THE U.S.’s SUPPLIER CHOICE
Photo: Kaptan Demir Çelik
A WORLD LEADER IN STEEL PRODUCTION
Today, Turkey is Europe’s third largest producer of steel and eleventh in the world ranking of steel-producing countries.
T
urkey is a major player in world steel production and exportation. The country has a proven track record of producing quality products to meet market needs, of investing in and expanding production capacity, and developing new technologies. The Turkish steel industry has seen considerable innovations over the past two decades, reflecting a commitment to respond to evolutions in world steel markets. The steel industry in Turkey has witnessed consistent growth over this period, expanding exponentially over the past five years in response to strong world demand for quality steel products.
26 • TurkofAmerica
The 1980s inaugurated a period of great progress for the Turkish iron and steel industry, which began with the establishment of electric arc furnace mills. Progress has continued apace, and today Turkey counts 18 electrical arc furnaces whose capacity range from 500,000 to 2.5 million tonnes, and its integrated plants, Erdemir, Isdemir and Kardemir, have capacities ranging from 1.1 to 3 million tonnes. Today all steel production companies in Turkey are privately held, and Turkish steel makers continue to pursue technological developments in order to increase long-term viability of the in-
dustry in the global marketplace. The Iron & Steel industry has become one of the most developed sectors in Turkey and today counts as the third largest contributor to the Turkish economy. A GROWING INDUSTRY The growth rate of the Turkish steel industry surpasses even Turkey’s impressive national GDP growth figures. Steel production in Turkey has increased by an average 10% year after year since 2001, growing from 14.9 million tonnes (mt) in 2001 to 23.3 million tonnes in 2006. Similar growth has been projected for all of 2007 as well, and the first half of 2007 suggests
that this figure will be maintained: growth in steel production in Turkey was up 12% in H1-07 compared to an average 8.4% in the rest of the world. In fact, Turkey is the third fastest growing steel producer in the world, following only China and Brazil. The growth of the industry in Turkey has been driven in part by strong domestic consumption. In the five years from 2001 to 2006, per capita crude steel consumption in Turkey has increased by 119%, and is set to continue to grow with the continued strong performance of the Turkish economy and the forecasts for growth. But domestic
demand is not enough to tell the full story behind the exceptional growth of the Turkish steel industry, which must also be read in the light of strong international demand for steel witnessed in recent years. Turkey is well placed to meet future increases in international demand for steel, as the country’s crude steel production capacity is projected to expand to over 40mt by 2010, representing a further 50% increase on 2006 capacity figures. Today all steel production companies in Turkey are privately held, and Turkish steel makers continue to pursue technological developments in order to increase long-term viability of the industry in the global marketplace. The Iron & Steel industry has become one of the most developed sectors in Turkey and today counts as the third largest contributor to the Turkish economy. INVESTING IN PRODUCTION To meet the rising demands for steel, many new investment projects have been announced recently that will significantly expand Turkey’s steel-production capacity. Some recent highlights include: Major Russian steel company Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel announced that it would invest 50% in a joint venture with Atakas Group worth $1.1 billion US to build a new steel complex. The new company, MMK Atakas Metalurji Sanayi, will produce 2.6 million tonnes per year of hot rolled and cold rolled steel in Istanbul and Iskenderun. The project is scheduled to start within three years and will also produce galvanized steel sheets. Kibar Holding, one of the biggest steel and aluminum producers in Turkey, announced it would establish a steel plant in Sakarya/Karasu, valued at $1 billion US. The plant, which will employ some 1,500 people, will produce flat steel products
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and will have a capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum. Ekinciler Iron and Steel Ind. Co plans to increase its capacity by a value of some $250 million US.
ArcellorMittal and Borusan announced they would establish a steel plant with an annual 4.8mt hot rolled coil capacity. The value of the project is some $500 million US. Photo: Kaptan Demir Çelik
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Photo: Kaptan Demir Çelik
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CONTUNUED INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY Turkey’s growing eminence in the steel world is due not just to the considerable expansion of production, but also to the significant investments made in innovative and state-of-the-art production methods and technologies. For example, Çolakoglu Metalurji has invested in what is the world’s largest and most productive electric arc furnace producing steel from scrap metal. This allows the company to implement an economical minimill concept for the production of flat steel products. Similarly, Borcelik Celik Sanayii Ticaret is increasing the rolling and processing capacity of its cold-rolling mill complex at Gemlik, which includes the supply of a new reversing mill and galvanizing line as well as upgrading of the existing pickle line. Inauguration of the new and modernized facilities is scheduled for September and October 2008 and will allow the company to increase its output of processed products from 900,000 to 1.5 million tonnes per annum. STEEL EXPORTS The Iron and Steel Industry is the third largest exporting sector in the Turkish economy and becoming one of the major driving forces among Turkish total exports. Turkey is the world’s leading exporter of Rebar (reinforced bars), and international demand for Turkish steel products is high and growing. In 2006 the country exported $8.65bn worth of steel products, such as semi products, long-flat, pipe, construction products and appliances, etc. making a total of 15.11 million tonnes, an increase of 29.21% and 14.87% respectively on 2005 figures. As these figures show, the growth in the value of steel exports has been considerably in excess of the growth in volume of steel products, demonstrating the increaTurkofAmerica • 27
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TURKISH STEEL – THE U.S.’s SUPPLIER CHOICE
TURKISH STEEL INDUSTRY – 10 KEY FACTS AND FIGURES 123456789-
3rd largest producer of steel in Europe. 11th most important steel-producing country globally. 10% year-by-year growth in steel production. 3rd fastest-growing steel producer globally. Steel Production capacity to expand a further 50% by 2010. World’s leading exporter of reinforced bars. The U.S. is Turkey’s fourth largest export market for rebar. 71% of Turkish steel products are manufactured from scrap metal. Second biggest market for U.S. scrap, Second biggest consumer of scrap in Europe (16.5 million tonnes), expected to become Europe's largest by 2010. 10- World’s largest importer of scrap metal. sing importance in international markets of Turkey’s high valueadded steel products. In the first nine months of 2007, compared to the same period in 2006, total steel exports rose by 14.8% in terms of volume, but by 38.4% in terms of value, reflecting the continued trend in exporting higher-value steel products. In 2006 Turkey began exporting steel to Russia and the CIS countries, thanks to strong demand for steel from the construction industry in those markets. TURKISH STEEL IN THE U.S. When considering individual countries, the U.S. represents Turkey’s one of the most important export market globally. In the first three quarters of 2007, the U.S. was Turkey’s fourth biggest export market for rebar steel products, and one of the country’s top three importers of rebar, wire rod and cold rolled coils. Some 80% of Turkish steel is used in construction projects globally. The construction industry has been a key driver of economic activity and growth in the U.S. over the past decade. TURKISH STEEL AROUND THE WORLD Turkish steel is employed in a range of industries across the globe, from construction to heavy engineering and high-profile projects such as high-speed train lines. Projects and products that have employed Turkish steel include: -The Al Burj building in Dubai – at 1050 meters, it will be the 28 • TurkofAmerica
world’s tallest building when completed in 2010. Half of the 60k tonnes of steel used in Burj Dubai was supplied by Ekinciler Iron and Steel Ind Co., which also supplied steel to the Dubai Underground Project. - The Heathrow Airport terminal extension. - The Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline. - The Israel natural gas pipeline. - The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline. - Car manufacturing: Toyota Corolla and Verso, Honda Civic & City, Hyundai Accent & Matrix, Renault Megane & Clio, Fiat Albea, Palio Doblo & Linea. - Household electronics and white goods – Turkish manufac-
turers of white goods such as BEKO consume an average of 240,000 tonnes of domestic steel per annum. TAKING ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE In 2006, USA exported iron and steel scrap to Turkey reaching 566 million dolars. Actually, Turkey is the second biggest market of U.S. scrap exporters, imported around 700 million dollar worth of scrap from U.S.A. during the first three quarters of 2007 with a 93 percent increase compared to the same period of 2006. In 2006 Turkey was the second largest consumer of ferrous scrap, after Italy (19.78mt) with consumption of around 16.5 million tonnes, and it is expected that Turkey will be the biggest consumer of scrap in Europe by 2010. Scrap consumption as a proportion of total Turkish crude steel production is extremely high by international standards: in 2006 the share of Turkey’s total crude steel production from scrap was 71%, compared to just 13% in China, 26% in Japan, 46% in South
Korea and 57% in the USA. The issues of environmental change and global warming are challenges that impact all the world’s citizens and countries, and require a response from all nations, particularly from those involved in production of industrial goods. The Turkish Steel industry is rising to the challenge in a number of ways, striving to reduce the environmental impact of its production methods while blazing a trail as a champion recycler of steel in its production processes. It is estimated that Turkey will produce 40 million tonnes of crude steel by 2010, of which 71% will use scrap as raw material. This means that Turkish steel production will consume 25.2 million tonnes of scrap by 2010, and will then surpass Italy and Germany as Europe’s largest producer from scrap. MEETING THE MOST STRINGENT ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS The main environmental issues facing the steel sector are reduction of solid, liquid and gaseous wastes as well as noise pollution,
IRON AND STEEL EXPORT OF TURKEY TO USA 2005 Products
2006
Quantity (mton)
Value (USD)
Quantity (mton)
Value (USD)
Iron and Steel Pipes
280.000
184.600.000
188.000
114.000.000
Bars
630.500
264.200.000
1.091.000
488.850.000
Wire Rods
290.000
129.000.000
123.000
54.700.000
Steel Billet
12.000
4.700.000
33.800
13.200.000
Sections
62.000
30.000.000
49.400
25.700.000
Plated-Coated Flat Products
20.000
13.000.000
19.500
14.500.000
Hot Rolled Flat
115.000
53.000.000
278.500
127.200.000
Cold Rolled Flat
24.000
12.400.000
112.000
60.400.000
Others
16.000
25.500.000
18.200
28.700.000
TOTAL
1.449.500
716.400.000
1.913.400
927.250.000
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Photo: Kaptan Demir Çelik
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the emphasis in any given case depending on the manufacturing process. It is both cost effective and environmentally sound to implement pollution prevention methods at the outset of production processes, and priority has been given to recycling the valu-
able substances present in wastes, thereby reducing their environmental impact to the minimum. The Turkish steel industry is committed to the elimination of those wastes which cannot be recycled. Moreover, Turkey is committed
to meeting EU environmental standards in industrial production without recourse to state or other subsidies. Turkey is currently implementing stringent EU environmental legislative norms, which includes proactively integrating the EU Directive on Integrated Pollution Protection Control, which enters into force within the Community in 2007. Integrated Pollution Protection Control is a regulatory system whereby enterprises that desire to operate at full production are obliged to prove they apply Best Available Techniques systematically and fulfill other requirements. Best Available Techniques cover measures to prevent pollution and aim at reducing emissions in cases where it is not possible to prevent pollution absolutely. TOP TEN REASONS WHY TURKEY IS THE STEEL SUPPLIER OF CHOICE TO THE U.S. AND THE E.U. 1- Proven Production Capacity to meet current sustained levels of demand – Turkey is the 3rd largest producer in Europe and 11th in the world by volume. 2- Proven capacity to meet future growth in world demand –
IRON AND STEEL EXPORT OF TURKEY TO USA 2006(Jan.-Oct.) Products
2007(Jan.-Oct.)
Quantity (mton)
Value (USD)
Quantity (mton)
Value (USD)
Iron and Steel Pipes
169.500
100.065.000
38.590
28.470.000
Bars
988.000
437.070.000
359.700
198.180.000
Wire Rods
120.300
53.860.000
10.500
5.430.000
Steel Billet
33.800
13.190.000
5.060
2.800.000
Sections
39.500
19.975.000
7.750
4.990.000
Plated-Coated Flat Products
19.500
14.630.000
10
10.350
Hot Rolled Flat
278.450
127.200.000
2.370
1.364.000
Cold Rolled Flat
112.000
60.445.000
0
0
Others
12.950
20.020.000
13.200
24.800.000
TOTAL
1.774.000
846.455.000
437.180
266.044.350
production capacity expected to grow by 50% by 2010. 3- Proximity to markets – Turkey’s position on the Aegean Sea and proximity to U.S. and major European industrial markets means it can respond to demand quickly and on time. 4- Modern infrastructure – consolidated investments have provided Turkey with a world-class infrastructure, meaning it can get its steel products faster to market. 5- Quality products – all members of the Turkish Iron and Steel Producers Association enjoy International Standards Organization certification ISO9001 and Turkish steel products enjoy certification from individual EU states such as DIN (Germany), BS (UK), AFNOR (France) and ASTM (USA) 6- Competitive pricing – Investments in technology provide state-of-the-art production facilities and new production technologies mean that Turkey can offer quality products at consistently competitive prices. 7- Experienced & skilled workforce – excellent standards of training and education ensure an expert workforce for highest production standards. 8- Latest technologies – Production techniques integrate worldstandard technological practices, such as the world’s most productive electric arc furnace for scrap. 9- Continued Investments – Turkey continues to invest in upgrading, enhancing and improving production methods and in innovative products. 10- Greener steel – Turkey produces 71% of its steel products from recycled materials. The industry has committed to meeting all EU environmental standards, and without recourse to state subsidies. All integrated plants like Edemir, Kardemir and Isdermir enjoy ISO 14001 environmental standards certification. Turkey’s proximity to key European markets helps reduce TurkofAmerica • 29
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TURKISH STEEL – THE U.S.’s SUPPLIER CHOICE
the carbon footprint of EU countries’ steel imports. STRONG INDUSTRIAL BASE Turkey has a mixed economy, where primary, secondary and tertiary economic activity all play important roles. The country began industrializing considerably in the post-war period, particularly in the 1950s, and the last two decades have seen a significant shift in economic activity from industry to the services sector. Nevertheless, manufacturing industry still represents some 17.5% of the country’s economic output, and industrial goods 90% of the country’s exports. Turkey is Europe’s largest producer of televisions, its third largest producer of iron and steel and the continent’s sixth largest producer of cars. Turkey enjoys a strong tradition as a producer of white goods. For example, Vestel, a leading producer of dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, TVs, laptops and other domestic and electronic goods, runs the biggest industrial complex in Europe and the second largest in the world, at Vestel City. SIGNIFICANT STRIDES Turkey has been hugely successful over the past five years in stabilizing its economy and enhancing the social groundwork of its civil society. Indeed, the opening of formal accession negotiations with the EU in 2005 has been made possible by the significant strides that Turkey has made in meeting the so-called Copenhagen criteria. The opening of formal accession negotiations in fact means that the EU officially recognizes Turkey as a functioning market economy with stable political institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Turkey has gone beyond that, and today is imple30 • TurkofAmerica
menting reforms on both social and economic fronts that are placing it on an equal footing with many EU Member States. For example, Turkey’s budget deficit was only 0.7% of GDP in 2006 and this is projected to rise to no more than 2% of GDP by 2011, still well within the Eurozone criteria of no more than 3%, a fiscal rule that several Eurozone members have flouted. A STRONGER ECONOMY In the five years between 20012006, the government of Turkey has overseen sustained economic growth far in excess of anything witnessed in Europe, averaging over the period a yearly increase in GDP of 7.2% and consistently achieving growth in excess of 5.5%. During the same period, consumer price inflation has been slashed, from a crippling 45% in 2002 to single figures by 2004, and has averaged 8.7% in the three years since then (2004-2006). The total value of exported goods has risen almost 136%, from US$36bn in 2002 to US$85bn in 2006, while foreign-exchange reserves grew by 225% in the same period, from US$27bn to US$61bn. Domestic demand has grown an average 9.4% in 2002-2006, in part encouraged by the reformed tax burden. The basic corporate tax rate has been lowered from 30% to 20%, while personal income tax rates range between 15% and a top rate of 35% (cut from 40% in 2006).
continue to grow at rates exceeding 5% per annum between now and 2011. At the same time, inflation is expected to continue its downward trend, from 9.5% in 2006 to just 4% by 2010, where it is expected to remain into 2011. ABOUT IMMIB Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters’ Association (IMMIB) is a professional body which deals with all of the export activities in the export density regions and it is affiliated with the Under Secretariat for Foreign Trade of the office of the Prime Minister of Turkey. As of 2006, IMMIB’s 26,000 members represented one third (33.2%) of Turkey’s total exports. IMMIB is made up of six subsidiary associations, namely: Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association Istanbul Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals Exporters’ Association Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters’ Association Istanbul Electrical, Electronics and Machinery Products Exporters’ Association Istanbul Precious Minerals and Jewelry Exporters’ Association Istanbul Iron and Steel Exporters’ Association The function and objectives of IMMIB are to: - Maximize Turkey’s export
potential by undertaking studies on harmonization of types, qualities and quantities of exportable products with importing countries’ needs; - Resolve problems faced by members arising from legal transactions; - Register and record exportation in relevant sectors and to produce statistics based on these records; - Prepare reports and to make in-depth analysis of relevant sectors, prepare market reports for selected markets and carry out R&D activities; - Examine foreign trade regulations and laws of importer countries and keep member firms informed about international rules of arbitration; - Organize seminars, fairs and exhibitions to introduce Turkish export products to world markets, produce documents concerning export operations and foster cooperation with other organizations; - Consider key partners in achieving the Association’s objectives, and organize trade missions to potential export markets and bring buyer missions to Turkey in cooperation with the Undersecretary for Foreign Trade.
IMMIB CONTAC INFORMATION: Phone: + 90 454 00 00 Fax: + 90 454 00 01 www.immib.org.tr e-mail:immib@immib.org.tr
TOP EXPORT MARKETS (REGION BY VALUE) 2006 According to the five-year forecast issued by the Economist Intelligence Unit for Turkey, gross domestic product will
Middle East EU North America
$2.87bn (2006 volume of exports +4% on 2005) $2.59bn (2006 volume of exports +48% on 2005) $1.04bn (2006 volume of exports +59% on 2005)
KEY INDICATORS 2006-2011 Real GDP growth (%) Consumer price inflation (%) Budget balance (% of GDP)
2006 6.1 9.5 -0.7
2007 6.0 9.0 -2.9
2008 5.4 5.8 -2.8
2009 5.3 5.4 -2.6
2010 5.3 5.3 -2.3
2011 5.5 5.3 -2.0
Average 5.5 5.5 -2.0
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURKISH BUSINESSES
006 was another milestone in China’s unstoppable economic journey to becoming a global powerhouse. China’s economic growth and industrial output had an effect on almost all the economies of the world. In 2006, China celebrated the 5th year of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the start of its eleventh “National 5-Year” program. China, at the same time, had surpassed the United States in export volume during the 2nd half of 2006. Although the United States was able to finish 2006 as the world’s second-largest exporter after Germany, China is projected to overtake the U.S. in 2007 and Germany in 2008 to be the world’s largest exporter. In order to address global trade imbalances, China is taking measures to import more goods and is placing greater emphasis on developing a consumer-demand driven economy that Turkish companies can take advantage of. China’s industrial output will continue to sustain a strong growth in the upcoming decade and China will continue to be a reliable supplier offering a wide range of goods at lower costs. But China, given its vast market and rapidly developing consumer nation, has more to offer to world’s other economies than only being a supplier. The potential of the Chinese market has attracted the attention of many foreign investors for more than two decades. More than 482 of the world’s largest 500 corporations are present in this market whether it is for production, outsourcing or just for trade. Up until now, the majority of Turkish companies have been focusing more on importing goods from China and marketing these products at the Turkish domestic market, enjoying high profit margins. The Chinese government currently 32 • TurkofAmerica
CHINA: MAKING OF A CONSUMER NATION Photo Courtesy of http://photoeverywhere.co.uk
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China is projected to overtake the U.S. in 2007 and Germany in 2008 to be the world’s largest exporter.
More than 482 of the world’s largest 500 corporations are present in this market whether it is for production, outsourcing or just for trade.
spends a substantial amount of its GDP to keep its currency, the Yuan, undervalued in order to help boost its exports. In the long term, as the Yuan appreciates in value, the cost of these Chinese goods will increase accordingly. It will no more be as easy and feasible as it was to find a Chinese manufacturer and make huge profits selling their merchandise in the domestic market unless the imported good is an innovative product. This is a major reason for Turkish companies with long-term plans to focus their efforts more on selling to China instead of accepting it only as a supplier. SELL PRODUCT, DO NOT SOURCE Turkey, as is the case with many other world economies, is experiencing a huge trade deficit with China, which reflects negatively on its economy. The Turkish government, in order to protect its domestic manufacturers, is adopting tradeprotective measures such as tariff escalation and filing antidumping investigations at WTO against China. For Turkish companies that want to guarantee long-term sustainable profits, it will be a wiser choice to focus their efforts on selling their products to China instead of sourcing from it. During the last two decades, many foreign brands lost no time entering the Chinese market and jumpstarting their attempts to build brand recognition, which they believe is paramount to success in order to survive in China’s growing consumer market. Chinese consumers in larger cities started to have better knowledge of brands and they are now more discriminating in exercising their right to choose than ever before. China is a big country with wide disparity between the upper and lower class and strong regional, cultural and linguistic differences. Each
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By Hakan Ozcan*
perty service provider and law firm that has offices in over 6 cities in mainland China. “Because the trademark registration process takes 1 to 2 years depending on whether there are any disputes on the chosen trademark, any company planning to enter the Chinese market should register its trademarks both in Latin letters and Chinese characters as soon as they know this is likely to happen.” Cindy Kang, a trademark attorney at Lehman, Lee & Xu.
company has to choose its target consumer or region carefully and should not think of the country as a market of 1.3 billion people. Although it could be argued that the market is about to get saturated, there is still room in many sectors for Turkish brands to enter the market with high quality products and start building their brand names in order to achieve a consistent demand in the years to come. QUALITY ASSURANCE Chinese markets have had exposure to American-style brands and way of conducting business for over two decades. China is a promising and less saturated market for Turkish American companies that want to improve their global presence. China is projected to have a medium to upper class of 300 million people with enough purchasing power in international standards. Although China is a more preferred market to build brands in comparison to many Western countries due to its immaturity and great potential, it presents many unique barriers to entry. “I believe that a well-planned and pro-active intellectual property and trademark registration is crucial to any China business plan,” said Cindy Kang, a trademark attorney at Lehman, Lee & Xu, a top Intellectual Pro-
BUSINESS CULTURE Many little details like numbers used on a price quote or dates of meetings can affect a Chinese businessperson’s decisions. Constant trips to China are also critical in developing business relationships with Chinese companies. Today, by running an internet search, anyone can find out the contact information of almost every supplier of a product. But all these suppliers look similar with a boosted number of employees listed and manipulated financial data of exports published on global B2B websites. Also, there can never be a substitution to doing business face-to-face with Chinese businesspeople and building trust while sitting across from them at the time of a contract signing. Although the Chinese government has taken strict measures to fight corruption in the last decade, it is still a problem that is more often faced in smaller to medium sized companies. Turkish companies willing to do business in China will benefit a lot if they have offices in China that can follow-up on the customs process, shipping and QA problems. Quality of the shipped goods may not always be up to expected standards and these issues better be resolved while the products are still in China. Private companies are by far the riskiest type of companies with an annual growth rate of 36% and lack of corporate governance. Estab-
lishing long-term relations is crucial in doing business in China and this can only be done by starting with the right company. Depending on whom they work with, for Turkish importers with no presence in China, language can arise as a barrier but this can be overcome by hiring more sinology major graduates from local universities. Chinese companies appreciate using Chinese language at business meetings and transactions. In China, the majority of the businesses are structured as Limited Liability Companies. “Although some local governments had passed laws that permit foreign investors to form companies in as few as 2 weeks in their jurisdictions, it takes as long as 3 to 4 months to register a company in larger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai due to the volume the local governments need to handle,” said Robin Toew, a Foreign Counselor in Beijing. According to Chinese law, a company can be totally foreign-owned and joint ventures with Chinese individuals or companies are not a requirement. An opportunity missed by companies that have yet to start their investments in China is the tax-incentives that were offered to foreign investors. The tax bracket for local companies used to be 33% where foreign investors were taxed only for 15% of their profits. A recently passed tax law has unified this at 25% for both local and foreign companies. Only a few industries such as those involved in importing advanced technology still enjoy lower tax brackets. In comparison to other countries, Turkish businesses have been very late in investing in China and there are only a few Turkish brands that already started their attempts to build recognition. “We are showing considerable progress lately as a country with
TUSIAD opening an office in the Euro Center of Beijing and several business development organizations continuing in improving their relationships with the Chinese government and various organizations” said Zulfikar Kilic, the first Counselor for Commercial Affairs at the Beijing Embassy of the Republic of Turkey. “However, we are still about to miss the boat as companies from many other countries have already started to dominate the market and make a strong name for themselves domestically.” There are still only a few Turkish companies that have invested in China. Of the 69 companies registered in the database of the Turkish Chamber of Commerce, most of them only have local representative offices and they are not allowed to perform commercial transactions legally. INVESTMENT LOCATION: THE UYGUR AUTONOMOUS There are still vast opportunities in the western and northern provinces of China for Turkish investors that are willing to open factories and provide additional job opportunities in the region. A prime market or investment location for Turkish companies is Xinjiang; Uyghur Autonomous Region, where the dominantly Muslim population of 20 million have a Turkic background and the region is included as a priority in the most recent 5-year National Develop-
Robin Toew, a Foreign Counselor in Beijing.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR TURKISH BUSINESSES
It is time for Turkish companies to strongly consider entering the Chinese market and forming long-term business relationships with their counterparts.
ment Program. The Uyghur Autonomous Region houses multiple economic development zones such as Urumchi Economic & Technological Development Zone and ShiHezi Economic Cooperation Area. Local governments in these underdeveloped regions provide land and infrastructure at very low prices and also help with all the legal issues that can arise. Additional incentives are provided if these goods are exported. The legal formalities in these regions are processed a lot faster than larger cities and an enterprise can be formed in as few as 2 to 4 weeks. Turkish companies can sell China value-added products, high quality branded goods, leather products, marbles, natural stones, optics and medical equipment, technologically innovative products and commodities that are not easy to find in China. 34 • TurkofAmerica
SAFE SECTORS According to historic data provided by American Chamber of Commerce (“AMCHAM”) in Beijing, the safer sectors in China in terms of credit worthiness include electronic components, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, paper product manufacturers and steel suppliers. The riskier sectors include textiles, clothing, automobile part manufacturers and information technology providers. As the world economy is becoming more global, it is time for Turkish companies to strongly consider entering the Chinese market and forming long-term business relationships with their counterparts. Consecutive increases in consumer consumption will make China an ideal market and a more valuable trading partner. Turkish companies should look for op-
portunities to form joint ventures with Chinese companies in Turkey, focus more on marketing their brand names or value-added products in China and build long-term alliances with Chinese companies.
* Hakan is an Associate Consultant at Creativity, Innovation & Design Labs in Beijing, China. He is focused on international trade development and supply chain management. Hakan graduated with a B.S. Degree in Management and Political Science from Bryant University. Hakan speaks English, French, Turkish and Mandarin Chinese.
CONTACS Zulfikar Kilic (First Counselor for Commercial Affairs Beijing Embassy of the Republic of Turkey) Tel: 86-10-6532-3846 / e-mail: dtpek@turkey.org.cn Cindy Kang (Trademark Attorney) (ckang@lehmanlaw.com) Robin Toew (Foreign Counselor) (rteow@lehmanlaw.com) Additional Consultation: Adnan Akfirat (President – Turkish Chinese Business Development and Friendship Organization) (adnanakfirat@cinisder.org.tr) AMCHAM Beijing (American Chamber of Commerce) Tel: 86-10-8519-1920 / e-mail: amcham@amcham-china.org.cn
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EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON
A STRONG VOICE IN TEXAS
Congresswoman Johnson is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in Congress and she is credited with originally authoring and co-authoring more than 120 bills. to the 43 members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Congresswoman Johnson is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in Congress and she is credited with authoring and co-authoring more than 120 bills that were passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the President. She is currently a Senior Democratic deputy whip, chairwoman for the Texas Democratic Delegation, chair for the House Metro Congestion Coalition, co-chair for the North America’s Supercorridor Caucus and co-chair for the TEX-21 Congressional Caucus. In addition, Congresswoman Johnson served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the 107th Congress. She answered TurkofAmerica’s questions.
Cogresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX).
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ongresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson represents Texas's 30th Congressional District, which is entirely within Dallas County. Turkish-Americans who live in Dallas, TX generally are residents of her district and she is one of the members of the Caucus on U.S.Turkish Relations. Her first visit to Turkey was one and half years ago and she said she learned a lot of things and
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really enjoyed her stay. She makes an effort to keep in touch with Turkish-Americans in the Dallas & Houston areas and her Chief of Staff & Legislative Director is a Turkish- American, Murat Gökçi¤dem. Graduated from West Virginia University, Gökçi¤dem is responsible for issues related to international law and trade, intellectual property law, and domestic and international monetary policy.
In the past months, the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), an educational charitable organization based in Washington, D.C., worked with Representatives Johnson (D-TX), to distribute copies of the documentary film, Atlantic Records--The House that Ahmet Built, a film that was made by PBS/Public Broadcasting Service on the successful life of music producer/composer Ahmet Ertegün,
You were the leading voice against the Iraq invasion four years ago. At that time, there were not too many people against it. How do you see the current situation after all of that? There might be some people who, close to the President, believed what he said. But now I have a feeling that not more than 4-5 percent of the people really believe it. I think there is a loyalty there that desires not to embarrass the President. You were against the invasion because you did not believe what the President said or was it a just a political decision?
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Syria. I feel strongly and am sure the American people want to have good relations in the entire region. It will be observed and it will have to be sorted out. We have to attempt to establish trust, and the relationships will follow from that.
This country has always standards. The decision to invade Iraq, I just felt that it was a mistake from the beginning. Even now, the majority of American people think that we have to pull out the troops as soon as possible. I think coming out needs a strategic plan as well because we can’t pull out in one day, certainly. We need to establish diplomatic relations in the entire region. We have to show some sincerity that we don’t believe there are weapons of mass destruction. We have to allow them to run their country by themselves. You were a member of first delegation that visited Iraq. Did you have a chance to talk to Iraqi people and see what they were thinking? I worked with some Iraqi women’s organizations. What their continual conversation was, many of them wanted Saddam Hussein out but they did not want to have to pay the price of contributing to accomplish that. They want us out. They realized that they need some security and we could train people to defend themselves. Not as many people as literally got training. We have to work in that region in order to make sure that there is no additional chance to give them to rebuild everything back in place. But there are very strong feelings about the U.S. being over there. Nothing will change until the U.S. is able to say “we are really here on your behalf.” I am not sure at this point that the Iraqi people know why we are there. I am not sure why we are there. The Iraq invasion gave the U.S. a very negative image. What should the U.S. do to fix that? We have to put a great deal of effort into building more diplomatic relationships there. We should hear and help them for rehabilitation. We have done a few things in Baghdad, but the-
Congresswoman Johnson with Cemil Özyurt, Editor-in-Chief of TurkofAmerica Magazine, at her Capitol Hill Office.
re are not enough visible things accomplished there. Many of us feel that the U.S. should have never been in Iraq. We thought it was legitimate to go into Afghanistan but not Iraq. The majority of the countries in the world do not consider the U.S. on the right side right now. That will relatively quickly change when the President’s term expires, but I believe sincerely that the relationship has not been too much damaged. Whatever it takes, we will with diplomacy gain back. Have you ever been to Turkey? Yes. One and a half years ago. Time really goes fast. I was in Cyprus first then went to Turkey. I was with the delegation. I learned a lot things and really enjoyed it. I have a lot of Turkish-Americans in the Dallas area. They are doing great things. I think Turkey is very important. Right now we are quite aware that the U.S. doesn’t have the best image as she once did and we have a lot of
work to do to close those gaps. The relationship is very important to most people, and most people in the Congress. Turkey is located in a very strategic region. The neighbors of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, have some problems with the U.S. and this affects Turkey very much. What do you predict the U.S.’s relations with those countries will be in the future? The U.S. doesn’t want to make the same mistakes in Iran and
You are recognized as one of the most effective legislators in the Congress. What is the most important achievement among those bills? I think that my primarily achievement is education for young people. I have done a lot of work attempting to get attention on the education issue. Trying to implement some meaningful programs for increasing the quality of education. Because the U.S. education quality is ranked very low, even though it’s the richest country in the world. In the last election you won with 80 percent of the vote and defeated the Republican candidate. You have been in public service since 1972 and your district really loves you. Are you considering retiring? Or what is your plan for next term? In Texas, most of the TurkishAmerican live in my district. I enjoy meeting people, listening to their experiences. I also know what they need. I keep in touch with my district. And I am really staying now to serve. I’m not thinking about retirement.
WHO IS EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON? Congresswoman Johnson studied nursing at St. Mary's College at the University of Notre Dame and earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from Texas Christian University in 1967. Johnson was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and became the first woman in Texas history to lead a major Texas House committee, the Labor Committee. She was recognized and appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve as regional director of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1977. In 1986, she was elected a Texas state senator, becoming the first African American female from the Dallas area to hold this office since Reconstruction. She is now in her eight term representing the citizens of the Thirtieth Congressional District of Texas.
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KEMAL DERV‹fi
NO IMMEDIATE END IN SIGHT TO THE WAR ON POVERTY
YOKSULLUKLA SAVAfi HEMEN B‹TMEZ
The position that Dervifl will hold until 15 August 2009 is the third most powerful in the UN.
15 A¤ustos 2009 tarihine kadar göreve devam edecek Dervifl, Birleflmifl Milletler içindeki en yetkili üçüncü kifli.
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li Ç›nar – After the February 2001 financial crisis hit Turkey, the government then in power made the decision to ask Kemal Dervifl, a 24year veteran of the World Bank, to head up the economic recovery, thereby awarding him sole authority over the management of the economy. At the time, Dervifl was the VicePresident of the World Bank's “Poverty Reduction and Economic Management” department. Between the dates of March 2001 and August 2002, he remained party-less but led the ministries of the Treasury and Economy. He essentially wrote the prescription for bringing Turkey out of crisis. He then joined the parliament after winning in the 2002 elections. He served as a parliamentarian for three years. Although he went to Turkey on a cold February day amidst the turmoil of a serious economic crisis, he left his native land to go the US as a direct result of his new position in the Parliament. In May 2005, the United Nations General Council approved Kemal Dervifl as the new President of the UNDP (United Nations Development Program). The appointment signaled the first time a Turk was chosen to head up this body. The position that Dervifl will hold until 15 August 2009 is the third most powerful in the UN. The yearly budget for this program, which oversees democratization and the eradi42 • TurkofAmerica
aras›nda hiçbir partiye ba¤l› olmaks›z›n ekonomi ve hazineden sorumlu bakanl›k görevini sürdürdü. Türkiye’nin krizden ç›k›fl reçetesini yazd›. 2002 seçimlerinde milletvekili olarak TBMM’ye girdi. Milletvekili olarak üç y›l parlementoda görev yapt›.
: In May 2005, the United Nations Birleflmifl Milletler Genel Kurulu, Kemal General Council approved Kemal Dervifl Dervifl'in BM Kalk›nma Program› Baflkanl›¤›'n› as the new President of the UNDP. May›s 2005 tarihinde onaylad›.
cation of poverty in developing countries and has access to an independent fund, is 3 billion dollars. It is also the largest institution of the UN, with a staff spread out in 166 different countries. Dervifl spoke with TURKOFAMERICA reporter Ali Ǜnar and discussed the fight against poverty and his future plans and programs for the UNDP.
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ürkiye’nin yaflad›¤› fiubat 2001 finansal krizinde dönemin hükümeti ald›¤› bir kararla, Dünya Bankas›’nda 24 y›ld›r görev yapan Kemal Dervifl’i tek yetkili isim olarak ekonominin bafl›na getirdi. Dervifl, Türkiye’ye dönmeden Dünya Bankas›’nda “Poverty Reduction and Economic Management” bölümünde Vice President olarak görev yap›yordu. Dervifl, Mart 2001 – A¤ustos 2002 tarihleri
So¤uk bir fiubat gününde kriz ortam›nda gitti¤i Türkiye’den ABD’ye geri dönüflü ise Birleflmifl Milletler’deki yeni görevi sebebiyle oldu. May›s 2005 tarihinde Birleflmifl Milletler Genel Kurulu, Kemal Dervifl'in BM Kalk›nma Program› Baflkanl›¤›'n› (UNDP) onaylad›. Atamayla beraber ilk kez bir Türk bu kuruluflun baflkanl›¤›na seçildi. 15 A¤ustos 2009 tarihine kadar göreve devam edecek Dervifl, Birleflmifl Milletler içindeki en yetkili üçüncü kifli. Geliflmekte olan ülkelerde demokratik yönetimi gelifltirmek ve afl›r› yoksullu¤u ortadan kald›rmak için çaba harcayan ba¤›ms›z bir fona sahip BM Kalk›nma Program›’n›n y›ll›k bütçesi 3 milyar dolar. Ayr›ca program 166 farkl› ülkedeki personeliyle BM’nin en büyük kuruluflu. TURKOFAMERICA muhabiri Ali Ç›nar’›n sorular›n› cevaplayan Dervifl, yoksullukla savafl, UNDP’nin gelece¤e yönelik plan ve programlar›n› anlatt›. Birleflmifl Milletler Kalk›nma Program›’nda Türkiye’nin yeri ve konumu nedir? Birleflmifl Milletler Kalk›nma Program› (UNDP), Birleflmifl
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Ali Ǜnar acinar@turkofamerica.com
What is the place and position of Turkey within the United Nations Development Program? The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is one part of the UN's donation and technical aid programs. It is geared towards increasing technical capacity and donations within the framework of the UN's development efforts. Of course these donations are first and foremost sent to the poorest countries of the earth. There are certain rules of our Board of Directors. Within the framework of these rules, a large number of the resources the UNDP has mobilized in the world are transferred to the poorest countries. Turkey does not fall under that category but rather qualifies under the category of a middle-income country. For that reason Turkey does not receive much from the UN's Aid program. The UN's program in Turkey reflects mainly the strength and resources of the Turkish government. It also reflects some of the contributions of the private and civil society sectors. What are some of the steps being taken to address the ongoing problem of poverty in various areas of the world? What stage are you at in in this process? The world economy has sustained a previously unseen level of growth in just the past 5-6 years. In contrast with this rapid growth, however, there are almost one billion people who live on less than one dollar a day. Millions of people are not taking part in this growing wealth. A population of 3 billion attempts to get by on roughly two dollars a day. Essentially, we are living in a world of great inequality and imbalances. In order to change this, we are implementing various projects meant to reach out a hand and support these people. The im-
portant point here, however, is that the solution to the problems related to these economic structures and social infrastructure lies in attacking them at their roots because quick fixes in the form of short-term aid programs or projects will not eradicate poverty. Solving this issue necessitates reaching a helping hand out to health, education, credit, agricultural reform, and property reform. The war on poverty therefore is a long-term one. It's not possible to win it in a couple of years or even 5-10 years. But it is actually possible to be successful in today's world. With all the technology, information, resources, and communication at everyone's fingertips, people are able to be know one another much more than before. There is no acceptable reason for this level of poverty to continue. What are the biggest difficulties facing the International Development Community? The problems are vast and we do not have enough resources. No matter how many new stages or innovations have been attained in terms of resource discovery, the number one problem is still the issue of resources. A second difficulty is that people of ample means know the conditions under which poor people live but have serious doubts about how private or public funds will reach those who really need it. As the distance grows so do the problems. An American living in New York is curious about but doesn't know, in fact can't know, how his or her own taxes are being used to fund a project in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They therefore have justified concerns about whether or not their aid is really fulfilling the goals. This needs to be solved. It's necessary to give information. At the same time, when someone contracts an infection,
Milletler’in hibe ve teknik yard›m programlar›n›n bir parças›d›r. BM’nin kalk›nmaya katk›s› teknik kapasite yaratmaya dönük ve hibe fleklindedir. Tabiki bu hibeler, en baflta en yoksul ülkelere öncelikle gönderiliyor. Yönetim kurulumuzun baz› kurallar› var. O kurallar çerçevesinde BM Kalk›nma Program›’n›n dünyada mobilize etti¤i kaynaklar›n çok önemli bir k›sm› dünyan›n en yoksul ülkelerine aktar›l›yor. Türkiye en yoksul ülke kategorisine girmiyor, orta gelirli bir ülke kategorisine giriyor. Bu nedenle Türkiye’nin, BM Hibe program›ndan alabildi¤i kaynak s›n›rl›. Türkiye’deki program, daha çok Türk hükümetinin kendi gücü ve kaynaklar›n› yans›t›yor. Bir de baz› özel sektör katk›lar› ve baz› sivil toplum katk›lar›n› yans›t›yor. Dünyan›n de¤iflik bölgelerinde devam eden fakirli¤in önüne geçilmesi için çal›flmalar nelerdir? Hangi aflamalardas›n›z? Dünya ekonomisi özellikle son 5-6 y›ld›r tarihte hiç bir zaman görmedi¤imiz ölçüde h›zla büyüyor. Ayn› zamanda h›zl› büyümenin yan› s›ra, 1 milyara yak›n insan günde 1 dolar›n alt›nda bir yaflam sa¤lamaya çal›fl›yor. Milyonlarca insan bu zenginlikten hiç pay alm›yor. 3 milyarl›k bir nüfus, günde 2 dolar civar›nda bir gelirle geçinmeye çal›fl›yor. Dolay›s›yla çok büyük eflitsizliklerin ve dengesizliklerin bulundu¤u bir dünyada yafl›yoruz. Buna karfl› mücadelede de¤iflik projelerle o insanlara el uzat›yoruz ve destekliyoruz. Ancak burda en önemlisi, dünyadaki ekonomik düzenin ve sosyal yap›n›n bunu kökten halletmesidir. Çünkü, sadece bu insanlara yard›m eden geçici yard›mlar ve geçici projeler ile yoksulluk sorununu çözemeyiz. Çözmek için asl›nda sa¤l›k, e¤itim, kredi, tar›m düzeni, mülk gibi konulara el uzatmak gerekiyor. Yoksullu¤a karfl› savafl o yüzden uzun soluklu bir savafl. Bunu birkaç y›l içinde halletmek
veya 5-10 y›l içinde bitirmek mümkün de¤il. Ama bugünkü dünyada bunda baflar›l› olmak asl›nda mümkün. Bu kadar teknoloji, bilgi, kaynak ve iletiflim varken, insanlar art›k birbirlerini çok yak›ndan tan›yabiliyor. Bu ölçüde yoksullu¤un devam etmesi hiç bir flekilde kabul edilebilir bir fley de¤il. Uluslaras› Geliflme Toplumu (International Development Community) içindeki en büyük zorluklar nelerdir? Sorunlar büyük ve yeterli ölçüde kayna¤›m›z olmuyor. Her ne kadar da kaynak yaratma konusunda son y›llarda belli aflamalar ve baflar›lar elde edebildiysek de birinci sorun kaynak. ‹kinci önemli sorun, hali vakti yerinde olan insanlar, çok güç koflullar alt›nda yaflayanlar›n varl›¤›ndan haberdar ama özel ve kamusal yard›mlar›n gerçekten amaçlar›na ulafl›p ulaflmayaca¤› konusunda tereddüt hissediyorlar. Mesafe büyüdükçe bu sorun büyüyor. New York’ta yaflayan bir Amerikal›, Bangladefl Dakka’daki bir proje konusunda, kendi vergi kesintilerinin nas›l kullan›ld›¤›n› merak ediyor, bilemiyor anlayam›yor. Dolay›s›yla yard›mlar›n gerçekten amaçlar›na ulafl›p ulaflmad›¤› konusunda hakl› tereddütleri var. Bunlar› gidermek gerekiyor. Bilgiyi sunmak gerekiyor. Ayn› zamanda, örne¤in birisi enfeksiyona kap›l›nca, bir antibiyotik verirseniz, 5 günde, bilemediniz 10 günde geçer. Yoksuklukla savafl öyle bir olay de¤il. Dolay›s›yla çok h›zl› ve çok rahat gözükebilen ve anlat›labilen araçlar›m›z yok. Kaynaklar›n› veren ülke veya insanlar› biraz sab›rl› olmaya davet etmemiz gerekiyor. Yoksulluk d›fl›nda di¤er büyük sorunlardan biri de hastal›klar. Örne¤in AIDS. fiu anda yaflanan son projeler nelerdir? UNDP’nin, araflt›rma merkezleri çal›flmas› ne düzeyde flu anda? Salg›n hastal›klar, AIDS veya kendini uzun süre içinde gösteTurkofAmerica • 43
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for example, you give them antibiotics and the infection is gone within 5 or 10 days. The fight against poverty is not like that. We don't have an easily explained or visualized, rapidly effective vehicle to eradicate poverty in the blink of an eye. We need to invite countries opening up their resources to be a bit more patient. A big problem in addition to poverty is the issue of disease. AIDS, for example. Can you tell us about any current projects in that area? What are the research centers of the UNDP working on presently? Infectious diseases, AIDS, and long-term, chronic diseases are a large part of poverty. Of course this doesn't mean that only people of a lower socio-economic level catch these illnesses. However, in a poor environment which is vulnerable to all different types of infections, disease can often be more infectious and even deadly. And then, people who are ill are often unable to obtain treatment. Today there are treatments that allow patients, even with AIDS, to manage their illnesses. These drugs are expensive, however, and are not available to everyone. The UNDP is not first and foremost a health organization. Rather, we deal more with the politics of health and try to assess and strengthen the role of health issues within general development policies . What are the UNDP's responsibilities in dealing with AIDS? There are actually vast resources available for combating AIDS. The important thing is to ensure that these resources are used correctly and that they effectively enter the national and local health care systems. Resources are also being allocated from the private sector: all examples of a large sense of responsibility. But after the donation process, we have to en44 • TurkofAmerica
sure that these resources make it to areas that have a low rate of doctors and nurses. The UNDP's health-related functions deal with this. We work on making sure health systems run systematically and efficiently and that steps taken with the help of aid are implemented correctly and with long-lasting institutional benefits. The UNDP can claim several milestones in the past ten years. How do you see the UNDP's role and future in the coming five years? There are 38 organizations under the UN umbrella. Of these, 28 deal with development projects. Our most important goal right now is to form a closer working relationship with those 28 organizations that deal with development. In other words, different organizations shouldn't be working on the same issue, there should instead be a division of labor. In the coming five years, our primary goal is to increase resources to be allocated towards development, particularly issues that have become better understood and gained importance in recent years such as droughts, climate change, and global warming. In addition to Africa's problems with droughts, there are countries and small islands that will be even more affected by rising sea levels. Some island states are even facing total destruction. In order for these states to fight climate change and promote development, we will need quite a bit of resources. The UNDP, with its important role as coordinator of the UN, has an increasingly important role to play in ensuring that when these resources are committed, they are used in projects that best serve the achievement of these goals. The second goal is to allocate these important resources in order to successfully chart progress in the developing world.
Kemal Dervifl with Ali Ǜnar Kemal Dervifl, Ali Ǜnar ile
ren hastal›klar yoksullu¤un çok önemli parças›. Tabiki sadece yoksullar bu hastal›¤› kapalabilir anlam›na gelmiyor. Ama yoksul bir ortamda, çevrenin her türlü enfeksiyona aç›k oldu¤u ortamda, tabiki hastal›klar daha bulafl›c› ve öldürücü olabiliyor. Hasta olan insan da yeterli ölçüde tedavi göremiyor. Bugün AIDS için bile, hastalar›n yaflamlar›n› sürdürmelerine müsade eden tedaviler var. Ancak bunlar pahal› ve herkesin ulaflabildi¤i tedaviler de¤il. UNDP olarak öncelikle sa¤l›kla ilgili bir kurulufl de¤iliz. Biz, daha ziyade sa¤l›k politikalar›n›n, genel kalk›nma politikas› içinde yerini saptamaya ve güçlendirmeye çal›fl›yoruz. AIDS ile mücadelede UNPD’ye düflen sorumluluklar neler? Asl›nda, AIDS için büyük kaynaklar mevcut. Bu kaynaklar›n do¤ru kullan›lmas› ve bu kaynaklar›n ulusal ve yerel sa¤l›k sistemlerine do¤ru biçimde girmesini sa¤lamak çok önemli. Özel sektörlerden de kaynaklar toplan›yor. Büyük sorumluluk örne¤i sergiliyor. Ama ondan sonra çok farkl› ortamda yoksul bir ülkede doktor ve hastabak›c›n›n say›s›n›n düflük oldu¤u ortamda bu kaynaklar›n amaçlar›na ulaflmas›n› sa¤lamak gerekiyor. UNDP sa¤l›k konusundaki görevi bununla ilgili. Sa¤l›k hizmetlerinin sistemik olarak nas›l ifllemesi gerekti¤ini ve yard›m konusunda at›lan ad›mlar›n süreklilik kazanmas› için neler ya-
p›lmas› gerekti¤ini düflünüyor ve bu konuda çal›fl›yoruz. UNDP yaklafl›k 10 y›ld›r belirli aflamalar kaydetti. Siz önümüzdeki 5 y›l içinde UNDP’nin rolünü ve gelece¤ini nas›l görüyorsunuz? BM ailesinde 38 tane örgüt var. Bunlar›n 28’i kalk›nmaya dönük çal›flmalar ile u¤rafl›yor. En önemli amac›m›z flu anda BM’in kalk›nma konusu ile u¤raflan 28 örgütünün daha iyi bir tak›m çal›flmas›n› sergilemesini sa¤lamak. Yani ayn› konuda ayr› örgütler ayn› ifli yapmamali. Bir ifl bölümü olmal›. Önümüzdeki 5 y›l için, kalk›nmaya yönelik kaynaklar›n artt›r›lmas› öncelikle hedef. Özellikle son y›llarda önem kazanan ve önemi daha iyi anlafl›lan kurakl›k, iklim de¤iflikli¤i, küresel ›s›nma ile ilgili de çok önemli çal›flmalar yapmas› gerekecek. Afrika’daki kurakl›ktan çok daha fazla etkilenecek ülkeler veya küçük adalar, deniz seviyesinin yükselmesi ile yok olma tehlikesi ile karfl› karfl›ya kalabilecek ada devletler var. ‹flte bütün bunlar›n iklim de¤iflikliklerinden korunmalar› ve kalk›nma konusundaki ek zorluklar› yenmeleri için epeyce bir kaynak gerekecek. Bu kayna¤›n yarat›lmas›nda ve bu kayna¤›n amac›na dönük projelerde kullan›lmas›nda, BM ve BM’de en önde koordinatör görevini gören UNDP’nin artan bir görevi var. ‹kinci konu bu kayna¤› yaratabilmek ve en önemli hedeflere ulaflabilmek.
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VAKIFBANK
VAKIFBANK EARMARKS $1 BILLION OF CREDIT FOR ENTREPRENEURS Vak›fbank's branch in New York has been active since 1991 and in the past 2.5 years has extended its customers with one billion dollars of credit.
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s of March 2007, Vak›fbank had risen to the ranking of Turkey's sixth largest bank. The bank has a total of 447 offices, five of them mobile, 344 independent branches and 103 subsidiary branches; it employs 8500 personnel who offer services in personal, commercial and investment banking.
ak›fbank, Mart 2007 sonu itibariyle Türkiye’nin alt›nc› büyük bankas›. Banka halen 5’i mobil olmak üzere 344 flube ve 103 ba¤l› flube olmak üzere toplam 447 flubesi, 8500 personeli ile bireysel, ticari bankac›l›k ve yat›r›m bankac›l›¤› alanlar›nda hizmet veriyor.
According to its current capital structure, 58.45% of the bank is held by the Turkish National Directorate of Foundations (Vak›flar). In 2005 the bank carried out what then ranked as Turkey's second largest initial public offering and opened up its ownership to the international community. The IPO attracted NTL9 billion, 755 million ($7 billion, 150 million) from a total of 35,119 individual investors. Ninety-three percent of this demand came from foreign corporate investment entities ($6.7 billion). The bank today has correspondent relationships with 1125 banks in 93 countries as it meets the financial needs of the constantly grow›ng number of Turkish enterprisers who are active internationally. Vak›fbank has offices in the USA and in Bahrain and is active in Austria with its three branches in Germany. Vak›fbank's branch in New
Vak›fbank General Manager Bilal Karaman.
Mevcut sermaye yap›s›nda Vak›flar Genel Müdürlü¤ü’nün %58,45 pay› olan Banka, 2005 y›l›nda o güne kadar ki Türkiye’nin en büyük ikinci halka arz›n› gerçeklefltirerek yurtiçi ve yurtd›fl› sermaye piyasalar›na aç›ld›. Halka arzda 35.119 kifliden toplam 9 milyar 755 milyon YTL’lik (7 milyar 150 milyon dolar) talep toplad›. Talebin yüzde 93’ü yurtd›fl› kurumsal yat›r›mc›lardan (6.7milyar dolar) geldi. 93 ülkede 1125 adet banka ile muhabirlik ba¤› olan banka, yurt d›fl›nda her geçen gün artan Türk müteflebbisinin finans ihtiyac›n› da karfl›l›yor. ABD ve Bahreyn’in yan› s›ra Avusturya ve Almanyada üç flubesi faaliyet gösteriyor.Vak›fbank’›n 1991’den beri faaliyet gösteren New York fiubesi son 2.5 y›lda müflterilerine 1milyar ABD dolarl›k kredi kulland›rd›. Bankac›l›¤›n her alan›nda rekabete aç›k olduklar›n› ve rekabetin gereklerini yerine getirmeye
VAKIFBANK’DAN G‹R‹fi‹MC‹LERE 1 M‹LYAR DOLAR KRED‹ Vak›fbank’›n 1991’den beri faaliyet gösteren New York fiubesi son 2.5 y›lda müflterilerine 1 milyar ABD dolarl›k kredi kulland›rd›. 48 • TurkofAmerica
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York has been active since 1991 and in the past 2.5 years has extended its customers with one billion dollars of credit. Vak›fbank General Manager Bilal Karaman says that the bank is open to competition in every area of banking and that it will continue to meet all the needs of competitive banking, “To this end we have employed more than 1500 commercial and personal banking managers and have designated their goals. We are also planning investments that will total 200 million dollars to be carried out in restructuring and strengthening of our technological infrastructures. “ General Manager Karaman spoke to TurkofAmerica about Vak›fbank's activies, both within Turkey and without, and of their plans for the future: During the past ten years the banking sector in Turkey has been growing at mind boggling speeds. Can you provide us with some information about Vak›fbank as it is today? During recent years out bank has continually ranked as one of the country's most profitable financial institutions. In addition to this, the bank has also begun a very fast and sound process of growth. In a very short amount of time we were able to close the gap between us and the large volume banks in Turkey and to strengthen our position among the leading banks. During the past two years we have continued with our efforts towards restructuring and have also begun investments geared towards upgrading our technological equipment and infrastructure. Our aim in these efforts is to increase our performance in terms of attracting new customers and to provide products and services that meet the needs of varying customer groups and to do this both more quickly and at higher quality levels.
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Currently, how many branches do you have both in Turkey and abroad and how many more branches do you plan to open in 2007? By the end of 2007 a total of 41 new branches will have begun providing services, bringing the total number of branches up to 385. In addition to the network of branches that are spread out throughout Turkey's 81 provinces, we are also serving our customers with Internet banking and with more than 1900 ATM kiosks. We have a total of five branch offices abroad, three in Germany that are affiliated with our Austrian-based bank and one branch in both Bahrain and in New York city. What kind of role does Vak›fbank play in Turkey's import and export activities and how important is that role? Vak›fbank acts as a liason, assisting in the foreign trade procedures between domestic customers and overseasw companies. Thanks to our large correspondent banking network Vak›fbank can both finance import and export procedures or can play a liason role. It was thus that in 2006 Vak›fbank managed to achieve a 9.6% share in all of Turkey's foreign trade volume. By the end of June, 2007 Vak›fbank had issued a total of NTL13.5 billion in loans to the real sector, NTL9.7 billion in corporate and trade loans and NTL3.8 billion in loans to SME's (small and medium size enterprises). The total volume of non-cash credits equaled NTL8.3 billion. What kinds of international relationships does Vak›fbank maintain? Vak›fbank has correspondent relationships with 1125 banks in 93 countries of the world. Vak›fbank's transfer-flow backed 1,415 million dollar securitization credits, credits that were
devam edeceklerini söyleyen Vak›fbank Genel Müdürü Bilal Karaman, “Bu kapsamda flubelerimize 1500’ün üzerinde ticari ve bireysel portföy yöneticileri atad›k ve hedefler verdik. Yeniden yap›lanma ve teknolojik altyap›m›z› iyilefltirme için de 200 milyon dolar harcayaca¤›z,” diyor. Genel Müdür Karaman, Vak›fbank’›n yurtiçi ve yurt d›fl› faaliyetlerini, planlar›n› TurkofAmerica’ya anlatt›: Türkiye’de bankac›l›k sektörü son 10 y›lda bafl döndürücü bir h›zla ilerledi. Vak›fbank olarak bulundu¤unuz nokta hakk›nda bilgi verebilir misiniz? Bankam›z son y›llar›n en karl› bankalar›ndan biri olmas›n›n yan› s›ra, h›zl› ve sa¤l›kl› bir büyüme sürecine girdi. K›sa zamanda büyük ölçekli bankalarla aras›ndaki mesafeyi kapatmay› baflard› ve sektördeki lider Bankalar aras›nda yerini sa¤lamlaflt›rd›. ‹ki y›ld›r devam eden yeniden yap›lanma çal›flmas›n›n yan› s›ra teknolojik donan›m ve altyap› yenileme yat›r›mlar›m›z› da bafllatt›k. Bu çerçevede bankan›n yeni müflteri kazan›m› performans›n›n art›r›lmas› ve farkl› müflteri gruplar›n›n ihtiyaçlar›na yönelik ürün ve hizmetlerin daha h›zl› ve daha kaliteli bir flekilde sunulmas›n› hedefliyoruz. Mevcut hali ile yurtiçi ve yurtd›fl› flube say›n›z kaça ulaflt›? 2007’de kaç yeni flube eklenecek? 2007 y›l› sonuna kadar yurtiçinde 41 flubeyi daha faaliyete geçirece¤iz ve flube say›m›z 385’e ulaflacak. Bankam›z Türkiye’nin 81 iline yay›lm›fl flube a¤›na ilaveten internet flubesi ve 1900 ün üzerinde ATM’si ile müflterilerine hizmet vermektedir. Avusturya’daki Bankam›z›n Almanya’daki 3 fiubesi, Bankam›z›n Bahreyn ve New York’daki fiubeleri ile birlikte toplam 5 yurtd›fl› fiubemiz bulunmaktad›r. Vak›fBank’›n Türkiye’nin d›fl ticaretindeki yeri ve önemi nedir? Vak›fbank yurt içindeki müflte-
rilerinin yurt d›fl›ndaki firmalar ile gerçeklefltirdi¤i d›fl ticaret ifllemlerinde arac›l›k ediyor. Yayg›n muhabir a¤› sayesinde ithalat ve ihracat ifllemlerine finansör veya arac› s›fat› ile kat›l›yor. Bu sayede Vak›fbank, Türkiye’nin 2006 y›l› d›fl ticaret hacminden %9,6 oran›nda pay ald›. Vak›fbank’›n 2007 y›l› Haziran ay› sonu itibariyle, 9,7 milyar YTL kurumsal ve ticari kredileri ile 3,8 milyar YTL KOBI kredileri olmak üzere reel sektöre kulland›rd›¤› toplam nakdi kredi hacmi 13,5 milyar YTL’ye ulaflt›. Toplam gayri nakdi kredi hacmi de 8,3 milyar YTL oldu. Vak›fbank’›n yürüttü¤ü uluslararas› ne gibi çal›flmalar bulunuyor? Vak›fbank olarak 93 ülkede 1125 adet banka ile muhabirlik ba¤› içerisindeyiz. Tamam› uluslar aras› yat›r›mc›lara sat›lm›fl olan 1.415 milyon USD tutar›nda havale ak›mlar›na dayal› seküritizasyon kredisi uluslararas› sigorta kurulufllar›nca sigorta edilmifl geliflmekte olan ülkelerdeki en büyük seküritizasyon kredisi olma özelli¤ini tafl›maktad›r. Muhabir bankalar›m›z›n kat›l›m›yla 2006 y›l›nda iki sendikasyon kredisi ile 1.400 milyon USD kaynak sa¤lad›k. Bu sayede uluslararas› piyasalardan sa¤lad›¤›m›z 2.815 milyon USD tutar›ndaki kayna¤› Türk ekonomisinin hizmetine sunmaktay›z. Bu kaynaklar› sa¤layabilmemizdeki en önemli faktörler ülkemizin yakalad›¤› d›fl ticaret hacmi, bizim Vak›fbank olarak bu hacimden ald›¤›m›z pay ve muhabir bankalar›m›zla ve yat›r›mc›lar›m›zla uzun y›llara ve güvene dayanan iliflkilerimizdir. Yurt d›fl›nda özellikle müteahhitlik ve inflaat sektörlerinde faaliyet gösteren müflterilerimiz çok büyük projelere imza at›yorlar. Eski Sovyetler Birli¤i Ülkeleri, Ortado¤u ve Kuzey Afrika’da konut, altyap›, enerji, ulafl›m gibi projelerde art›k çok ra¤bet gören ve seçici davranan TurkofAmerica • 49
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VAKIFBANK
completely sold to international investors, represent the largest securitization credits to have been insured by international insurance institutions among developing countries. With the participation of our correspondent banks we were able to obtain a source of 1,400 million dollars from two syndicated loans. In this way we have been able infuse the Turkish economy with a sum of 2,815 million dollars that was sourced from international markets. Among the most important factors that helped us obtain these financial resources are the export volumes that Turkey has achieved, Vak›fbank's share in this volume, and the relationships with our correspondent banks and investors, relations that span long years and that rest on trust. Our custumers who are working abroad are primarily contractors working in construction sectors who are lending their signatures to very large projects. Among these customers are those who are undertaking very prestigious housing, infrastructure, energy and transportation projects in the countries that spun off from former Soviet Republic, in the Middle East and in North Africa, customers who can be quite selective in the projects they accept. The letters of guarantee we provide our customers who have won these competitive bids rank as some of the most important activities in which our bank engages. What about the branch offices you have opened abroad? What kinds of activities do these branches engage in? In addition to the New York office that has been active since1991, in 2005 we opened a branch office in Bahrain so as to better serve our customers. Vienna based Vak›f International AG has branches in Frankfurt, Cologne and Vienna and these activities are ongoing. In additi50 • TurkofAmerica
on to these, our bank also holds a partnership with Cyprus Vak›flar Bank, an institution that is active in the Northern Cyprus financial sector. While our priority goal at the moment is to complete the bank's restructuring process, we also continue to closely track the events that are happening in the sector and in global markets. We are also continuing with our investments into upgrading our technological infrastructure and equipment. We are also evaluating all kinds of opportunities, including the opening or purchasing of new branches that we feel will be profitable. The economies of the Turkish Republics and that of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are in a process of continual development. The historic ties we hold with these countries, their growth potentials and the advantages we can bring to our customers who are active in these countries all make these countries very attractive to our bank. Thanks to its sector reliability, the technology systems it utilizes, and the variety of its products, the Turkish banking sector is quite developed. We know that we will contribute to the banking sectors of any country in which we are active. What are your views about the perspectives of the foreign partners of Turkish banks?
müflterilerimiz var. Bu müflterilerimiz lehine ihaleyi açan kurumlara verdi¤imiz teminat mektuplar› da Bankam›z›n önemli faaliyetleri aras›ndad›r. Yurtd›fl›na aç›lma konusunda ve yurtd›fl›nda halihaz›rda bulunan flubeler konusunda ne gibi çal›flmalar yürütülüyor? 1991 y›l›ndan bu yana hizmet veren New York flubemizin yan› s›ra, 2005 y›l›nda müflterilerimize daha da iyi hizmet verebilmek amac›yla Bahreyn’de bir flube açt›k. Frankfurt, Köln ve Viyana’da flubeleri bulunan Vak›f International AG ise Viyana merkezli olarak faaliyetine devam etmektedir. Ayr›ca K›br›s finans sektöründe faaliyet gösteren bir K›br›s Vak›flar Bankas›’nda ortakl›¤›m›z mevcut. Vak›fbank olarak öncelikli hedefimiz yeniden yap›land›rma çal›flmalar›n› tamamlamak olsa da sektörü ve global piyasalar› yak›ndan takip ediyoruz. Teknolojik altyap› ve donan›m yat›r›mlar›na devam ederek, karl› olaca¤›n› düflünece¤imiz yeni flube aç›l›m› veya sat›n alma gibi her türlü f›rsatlar› de¤erlendirece¤iz. Özellikle Türki Cumhuriyetler ve Kuzey K›br›s Türk Cumhuriyeti ekonomileri sürekli bir geliflim içerisinde. Bu ülkeler ile olan tarihsel ba¤lar›m›z, bu ülkelerin büyüme potansiyelleri ve buralarda ifl yapan müflterilerimize sa¤layabilece¤imiz avan-
tajlar bizim bu ülkelere aç›lmam›z› çok cazip k›l›yor. Türkiye Bankac›l›k sektörü güvenirli¤i, kullan›lan teknolojiler ve ürün çeflitlili¤i bak›m›ndan çok ilerlemifl durumda. Faaliyette bulunaca¤›m›z her ülkenin bankac›l›k sektörüne katk›da bulunabilece¤imizi biliyoruz. Türkiye’deki bankalar›n yabanc› ortakl›klara bak›fl aç›s› hakk›nda neler düflünüyorsunuz? Türkiye’nin AB üyeli¤i sürecine girmifl olmas›, istikrarl› bir büyüme kaydeden ekonomisi ve büyüme potansiyeli yabanc› oyuncular› Türk piyasas›na çekti. Türk Bankac›l›k Sektörünün eksikli¤ini en çok hissetti¤i konu sermaye gücüdür. Bu nedenle yabanc› oyuncular›n en büyük katk›s› büyüme durumunda banka sermayesini destekleyebilecek durumda olmalar›d›r. Ülkemizdeki bankalarla stratejik ortakl›k veya iflbirli¤i yapan veya banka sat›n alan yabanc› bankalar›n hemen hepsi sermaye aç›s›ndan çok güçlü, ülkelerinin ve dünyan›n önde gelen bankalar› oldu. Bu yabanc› bankalar ülke ekonomisi ve finans sektörü gelifltikçe daha da büyümek amac›yla Türkiye’ye geldi. Faaliyet gösterdikleri ülkelerde elde ettikleri tecrübeler, ürün çeflitlilikleri gibi avantajlar›n› da kullanarak müflteri portföylerini gelifltirmek istiyorlar.
CAPITAL STRUCTURE PRE AND POST INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING HALKA ARZ ÖNCES‹ VE SONRASI SERMAYE YAPISI Shareholders Hissedar
Pre IPO (%) Halka Arz Öncesi (%)
Post IPO (%) Halka Arz Sonras› (%)
Directorate of Foundations Vak›flar Genel Müdürlü¤ü
74.76
58.45
Vak›fbank Personnel Retirement and Health Credit Union Vak›fbank Personeli Emekli ve Sa¤l›k Yard›m Sand›¤› Vakf›
24.89
16.10
Other / Di¤er
00.35
0.27
-
25.18
Publicly Owned / Halka Aç›k
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When Turkey began its EU accession process, the stable growth of its economy and its growth potentials began to attract foreign players to the Turkish market. The most deeply felt deficiency of the Turkish Banking Sector has been the subject of its capital strength; thus, the biggest contribution of foreign entities is the support of bank capital. Almost all of the foreign banks who have entered into strategic partnerships or participations with banks in Turkey or those who have purchased Turkish banks are very strong in terms of capital and are leading banks in their own countries. As the national economies and finance sectors of their own countries have grown and developed, these foreign banks have come to Turkey in order that they may grow even further. They want to develop customer portfolios by using the experience they have accrued in the countries in which they have operated and by using their advantages in terms of product varieties. The most important advantages held by domestic capital banks are the relationships they have developed with the customers and the fact that they know the customer so well. Partnerships that correctly combine the product variety, experience and capital strength of foreign banks with the domestic bank's intimate knowledge of the local market and the customer will be highly successful in the long run. Can you tell us about your goals for the future? We are open to competition in every sphere of the banking sector and we will continue to meet the needs of such competition. To this end we have employed more than 1500 commercial and personal banking managers and have designated their goals. The new restructuring
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process we have commenced is directed towards an understanding of customer focused banking. The proposed spending on investments in technological infrastructures and equipment that are part and parcel of this process has been earmarked at 200 million dollars. Our end goal is that we will be able to better meet the needs of our customers once we have completed the restructuring and transformation project with its investments in IT infrastructures along with providing faster, more efficient, and at the same time a wider range of services that are of higher quality and are innovative. What kinds of advantages do you offer businessmen in America at the New York office? Just as they are active throughout the world, Turkish origin companies are also active in the USA. They have attained high sales both within and without the USA and their numbers and their strengths are growing constantly. This kind of growth brings with it requirements for financing and other banking needs. And we don't want to turn our backs onour customers who have these kinds of needs. By evaluating our customers' holdings both within Turkey and within the USA we can meet their financing needs. Because there is no other bank that can provice this kind of service, we represent a real opportunity for our customers. Our New York branch office also provides other banking needs at world standards. During the past 2-2.5 years, assets of our New York branch have surpassed one billion dollars. The loans and other banking instruments we have provided companies that have settled in the USA have provided considerable advantages to our customers who are operating in highly competitive climates.
Yerli sermayeli bankalar›n en önemli avantaj› ise müflterileri ile kurmufl olduklar› iliflkiler ve müflterilerini çok iyi tan›malar›. Yabanc› bankalar›n ürün çeflitlili¤i, tecrübesi ve sermaye gücü ile yerli bankalar›n yerel piyasa ve müflteri bilgisini do¤ru biçimde bir araya getiren ve getirecek ortakl›klar uzun vadede sektörde çok baflar›l› olacaklard›r. Gelece¤e iliflkin hedeflerinizden bahsedebilir misiniz? Bankac›l›¤›n her alan›nda rekabete a盤›z ve rekabetin gereklerini yerine getirmeye devam edece¤iz. Bu kapsamda flubelerimize 1500’ün üzerinde ticari ve bireysel portföy yöneticileri atad›k ve hedefler verdik. Müflteri odakl› bankac›l›k anlay›fl› do¤rultusunda bafllat›lan yeniden yap›lanma projesi ve bu proje dahilinde devam edecek olan teknolojik altyap› ve donan›m yat›r›m› için öngörülen harcama tutar› 200 milyon dolar seviyesindedir. Yeniden yap›land›rma ve dönüflüm projesi ile IT alt yap› yat›r›mlar›m›z› tamamlay›p, daha h›zl› ve etkin ayn› zamanda kaliteli ve yenilikçi genifl bir hizmet anlay›fl›yla müflterilerimizin ihtiyaçlar›na cevap vermeyi hedefliyoruz.
New York’taki flubenizin ABD’deki ifladamlar›na sa¤lad›¤› avantajlar nelerdir? Dünyan›n her taraf›nda oldu¤u gibi ABD'de faaliyet gösteren Türk kökenli firmalar gerek ABD içinde gerekse ABD d›fl› sat›fllarla büyük hacimlere ulaflm›fllar ve her geçen gün de say›lar› ve güçleri artmaktad›r. Haliyle bu büyüme beraberinde müteflebbislerimizin finansman ve di¤er bankac›l›k ihtiyaçlar›n› da beraberinde getirmektedir. Biz de bu hususta müflterilerimizi yaln›z b›rakm›yoruz. Müteflebbislerimizin gerek Türkiye’deki varl›klar›, gerekse ABD’deki varl›klar› birlikte de¤erlendirilerek finansman ihtiyaçlar› karfl›lanmaktad›r. Bu hizmeti baflka hiçbir bankan›n sunma imkan› bulunmad›¤› için müflterilerimiz için bir ayr›cal›k teflkil etmektedir. Ayr›ca di¤er bankac›l›k ihtiyaçlar›n› da uluslararas› standartlara uygun olarak New York flubemiz arac›l›¤›yla karfl›l›yoruz. Son 2-2.5 y›l içerisinde New York flubemizin aktifleri 1 Milyar USD'ye ulaflm›flt›r. Özellikle ABD’de yerleflik firmalara yönelik sunulan kredi ve di¤er bankac›l›k enstrümanlar›, zorlu rekabet ortam›nda müflterilerimize büyük avantajlar sa¤lamaktad›r. TurkofAmerica • 51
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WASHINGTON BACKSTAGE Ali Günertem agunertem@turkofamerica.com
WHAT HAPPENED ACTUALLY? ASLINDA NE OLDU? J S ust like it happened in 2000 during Bill Clinton’s tenure, the Armenian genocide resolution was adopted by a sub-committee, but was taken back before being put to a vote of the full congress. I would like to answer the question of, ‘what happened for the resolution to disappear so suddenly, just when the number of members of congress, who supported it, had reached the level of 230 something, and it looked certain that it would be adopted?’ by looking at what happened behind the scenes. According to what we have read in the media, thanks to the successful activities of the Turkish lobby and of the Turkish embassy, the geographical importance of Turkey was once more understood and the resolution was suspended at least until the end of this congress. Recently, I was listening to William Saffire from the New York Times. He said that the biggest worry of the Republicans for the 2008 elections was the continuation of the Iraq War; while for the Democrats it was the intraparty competition between Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. This was a news item that most of us had not seen in the media up to that time. The first signs of this power struggle appeared when the Armenian resolution began to be debated. That there was a struggle behind the scenes was certain, but when it surfaced, this turned out to be very useful for the Republicans. Even though Clinton supported the Armenian resolution she was not talking much about it. However, House Speaker Pelosi’s insistence in her stubborn stance, because of promises to the Armenian diaspora, conflicts between her and President Bush, and her power as speaker 52 • TurkofAmerica
of congress meant that a great political momentum built up behind this resolution.
While the fact that Pelosi added the resolution to the agenda of congress, albeit with the wrong timing, was being supported by some Democrats, the Democrats, who had presidential hopes for 2008 began to pull back their support without much fanfare. All things considered, there was no chance of an ethnic lobby overriding the USA’s national interest, and there couldn’t have been. The Republicans jumped to this bait thrown by Pelosi and because of a wind created by the media, the sure votes were lost and the resolution was pulled back. This matter that is bound to become an element of the presidential campaign, left the Democrats in a situation related to national security that they had not wanted. The subject was of great importance also in the 2004 elections, but presidential hopeful John Kerry managed, thanks to his experience as an officer, to hush the matter up. At the moment, the leading Democratic candidate is Hillary Clinton, who is making the strongest run for the Presidency a woman ever has in the US. The Republican strategy of portraying Democrats as weak on national security issues with kick into high gear in the summer months of 2008, when the campaign heats up. The Democrats will have understood what kind of damage they have inflicted on their own party and thus on their election campaign. This matter, which was actually an internal political matter, has temporarily disappeared as an internal political debate. The fact that the Clinton team should be trying to have this matter disappear confirms what said by William Saffire.
özde Ermeni soyk›r›m tasar›s› yine 2000 y›l›nda Bill Clinton’un baflkanl›¤› döneminde oldu¤u gibi alt komiteden geçip Kongre’nin oylamas›na gelmeden gündemden çekildi. ‘Kogre’de tasar›y› destekleyen üyesi say›s› 230’lara dayanm›flken ve Kongre’den geçmesine kesin gözü ile bak›l›rken, ne oldu da birden bire ortadan kayboldu?’ sorusuna cevab› biraz perde arkas›ndan bakarak vermek istiyorum. Medyadan okuduklar›m›za göre Türk lobisi ve elçili¤in baflar›l› giriflimleri ile Türkiye’nin co¤rafi önemi birkez daha anlafl›ld› ve tasar› gündemden hiç olmazsa bu Kongre’nin dönemi bitene kadar rafa kald›r›ld›. Geçenlerde New York Times yazar› Willam Saffire’i dinliyordum. 2008 Genel Seçimleri için, Cumhuriyetcilerin en büyük korkusunun Irak Savafl›’n›n devam etmesi; Demokratlar için de Hillary ClintonNancy Pelosi aras›ndaki parti içi güç savafl›n›n oldu¤unu söyledi. Bu güne kadar ço¤umuzun medyada rastlamad›¤› bir haberdi bu. Bu güç savafl›n›n ilk belirtileri bizim sözde Ermeni tasar›s›n›n gündeme gelmesi ile ortaya ç›kt›. Sahne arkas›nda bir mücadele oldu¤u muhakkak ama bunun su yüzüne ç›kmas› Cumhuriyetcilere çok büyük bir f›rsat do¤urdu. Clinton sözde Ermeni tasar›s›n› desteklemekle beraber bu ifl hakk›nda fazla konuflmuyordu. Meclis Baflkan› Pelosi ise diasporaya verdi¤i sözler nedeniyle tak›nd›¤› inatç› tutumun etkisi, Baflkan Bush’la olan anlaflmazl›klar ve meclis baflkanl›¤› gücü ile bu tasar›n›n arkas›na çok büyük bir politik güç koydu. Tasar› eminimki Ermeni lobisinin istemedi¤i bir medya ilgisi
ile kongrenin alt gurubundan geçti. Pelosi’nin zamanlamas›n› yanl›fl ayarlayarak tasar›y› Kongre gündemine getirmeye çal›flmas› baz› Demokratlar taraf›ndan desteklenirken, 2008’de baflkanl›k flans› olan Demokratlar taraf›ndan da sahne arkas›nda destek kaybetmeye bafllam›flt›. Sonunda etnik bir lobinin ABD’nin ulusal ç›karlar› üzerine ç›kma flans› hiç bir zaman olmam›flt› ve olamazd›. Cumhuriyetçiler Pelosi taraf›ndan verilen bu yeme atlad›lar ve medyada yakalanan bir rüzgar ile cepte olan oylar kayboldu ve tezkere gündemden çekildi. Baflkanl›k seçimine malzeme olacak bu konu Demokratlar› ulusal güvenlikte hiç istemedikleri bir konuma soktu. 2004 seçiminde de bu konu büyük bir malzemeydi ama baflkan aday› John Kerry eski bir asker olarak bu konuyu tecrübeleri ile kapatmaya çal›fl›yordu. fiimdi ise en güçlü aday olan Hillary Clinton'›n kad›n olmas› ve ulusal güvenlikten anlamad›¤› ve parti içindeki yüksek rütbelilerinde bu ifllerde zay›f oldu¤u tart›flmas› Cumhuriyetçiler taraf›ndan seçim yar›s›n›n h›zland›¤› 2008 yaz aylar›nda yeniden ortaya ç›kar›lacak. Demokratlar partilerine ve dolay›s›yla seçim kampanyas›na böyle bir konu ile nas›l zarar verdiklerini anlam›fl olacaklar. Asl›nda bir iç politika malzemesi olan bu konu yine bir iç politika tart›flmas› olarak ortadan geçici olarak kayboldu. fiu anda Clinton ekibinin bu konuyu ortadan yok etmeye çal›flmas› da Willaim Saffire’in söyledi¤ini do¤ruluyor. Tasar›n›n rafa kald›r›l›fl sürecinde, baflar›l› lobi çal›flmalar›, diplomatik giriflimlerin d›fl›nda perde arkas›ndan böyle görünüyor.
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AL‹ MURAT PEKCAN
A TURKISH-AMERICAN TRANSMISSION
AMER‹KALI TÜRKLER‹ VATANLARINA BA⁄LIYOR
Pekcan had come to the US with the intention of staying for a relaxing 6-month extended vacation but eventually joined the tiny three-person DFH staff in
DFH kadrosuna Eylül 1998’de kat›lan ve o günkü üç kiflilik çekirdek kadronun içinde yer alan Pekcan’›n ABD hikayesi alt› ayl›¤›na gelinen bir dinlenme amaçl› geziyle bafllad›.
D
Foto: Ayhan Kay
irect-From-Home Network, Inc., or better known within the Turkish community as DFH, went on air on November 16, 1998 in California and was originally established as a partnership between the two Turkish channels, Show TV and ATV. For the first time ever, Turks living in the US were able to feel closer to their own country through their televisions.
Aradan geçen dokuz y›lda, kaydedilen mesafeyi yak›ndan yaflayanlardan biri de halen kanal› genel müdür yard›mc›l›¤› görevini yürüten Ali Murat Pekcan. DFH kadrosuna Eylül 1998’de kat›lan ve o günkü üç kiflilik çekirdek kadronun içinde yer alan Pekcan’›n ABD hikayesi alt› ayl›¤›na gelinen bir dinlenme amaçl› geziyle bafllad›.
When the Izmit earthquake of 1999 struck and an estimated 30,000 people died, American Turks learned of the news from DFH. Those who missed hearing the chatter of Turkish around them staved off that homesickness by tuning in to the TV signals bringing news and developments from Turkey. Homemakers began watching Turkish channels in the morning and soccer fans were able to watch their soccer games on the weekend. In the nine years that have passed between the inauguration of the channel until today, one employee who has been through it all is the channel's assistant general manager, Ali Murat Pekcan. Pekcan had come to the US with the intention of staying for a relaxing 6-month extended vacation but eventually joined the tiny three-person DFH staff in September 1998. His two older brothers and mother were already living in Newport Beach, California when Pekcan came for a visit. This vi54 • TurkofAmerica
rendi. Evlerinde Türkçe konuflmaya hasret kalanlar, televizyonlar sayesinde Türkiye gündemini ve geliflmeleri takip eder oldu. Ev han›mlar› art›k sabah programlar›nda Türk kanallara ba¤l› kal›yordu, beyler haftasonu maçlar›n› sab›rs›zl›kla bekliyordu.
Ali Murat Pekcan
sit quickly turned into a job and his life took a new turn. He had previously worked in Turkey in the finance sector, for instance as the Aegean Sea Region Manager of Iktisat Group's Emek Insurance, where he met one of the owners of DFH at the time through a family friend. After an interview, he became the sales and marketing manager of the organization, which was still in its infancy.
D
irect-From-Home Network, Inc., ya da Türkler aras›nda yayg›n bilinen ad›yla DFH, 26 Kas›m 1998’de California’dan Show TV ve ATV kanal› ile yay›na bafllad›¤›nda, ABD’de yaflayan Türkler kendilerini ülkelerine ilk kez bu kadar yak›n hissetti. 1999 y›l›nda yaflanan ve 30 bin kiflinin öldi¤i ‹zmit depremini, Amerikal› Türkler DFH’ten ö¤-
‹ki a¤abeyi ve annesi Newport Beach, California’da yaflayan Pekcan, hem ailesini ziyaret hem de dinlenmek üzere geldi¤i gezi, profesyonel bir ifl teklifi ile bambaflka bir hal ald›. Türkiye’de son olarak finans sektöründe ‹ktisat Grubu’na ba¤l› Emek Sigorta Ege Bölge Müdürü olarak çal›flan Pekcan, DFH’in o dönemki bir yöneticisi ile aile dostlar› vas›tas›yla tan›flt›. ‹fl görüflmesinin ard›ndan, kurulufl aflamas›nda olan televizyonun sat›fl ve pazarlama müdürü olarak göreve bafllad›. Türkiye'de caz›n geliflmesi için tüm meslek yaflam›n› adayan ünlü caz sanatç›s› Erol Pekcan’›n ye¤eni olan Ali Murat Pekcan, distribüsyon ve sat›fl a¤›n› kurmak için ekibi ile yola koyuldu. ‹lk y›l sonunda ABD
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Ali Murat Pekcan is the nephew of Erol Pekcan, the famous Turkish jazz musician that devoted his professional life to the development of jazz in Turkey. On the other side of the Atlantic, Ali Murat Pekcan has tried to popularize and spread the DFH channel throughout the US. He developed a distribution and sales network with his team so that by the end of the first two years they had amassed 700 antenna connection services and DFH dealers. At the end of 2001, they were in roughly all fifty states of the union. Thanks to developing technology and a dedicated staff, DHF were able to synchronize Turkish programming with the broadcast times of the US. According to Pekcan, “It's not just about bringing the broadcast from one place to another. There is a large infrastructure lying behind it.” Pekcan and his colleague, Technical Vice-President Mustafa Erdo¤an, both head up this infrastructure. DFH transmits 12 TV channels and two radio channels from Turkey. They reach their American viewers through six channels. The channels are geared not only for Turks but also ethnic groups of Turkish descent who speak Turkish. A MAN WALKS INTO A BAR... Pekcan started his professional life as a bartender at renowned theater and film star Güzin Özipek's bar “A¤›l” in the Turkish resort town of Bodrum. He later worked as the marina operations manager for an English yacht firm. After serving in the military in Belgium under the auspices of NATO, he continued his work at a German yacht company. He was educated at Oxford in London and studied German at the University of Vienna. He met his wife fiebnem in Bodrum and worked as the hotel manager of Su Hotel, which belonged to her family. This was followed by a move to Izmir af-
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ter receiving a job offer. Between the years of 1989 and 1996, Murat Pekcan worked as the Izmir Region Manager of Vitsan Companies' Group, where he provided services to Lloyds of London Insurance in the area of ship-related damages. After these seven years, he decided to move on to the finance sector. His first experience there was with Ege Insurance. He then worked as the Aegean region manager for Emek Insurance, which belonged to Europe America Holding. He was transferred to the Istanbul center. When ownership changed hands, he left his job and came to the US. A CONCERT SERIES In terms of his professional career in the US, Pekcan states that he is thrilled to be part of a project that so deeply affects the lives of Turks living in the US. Having already crossed into the area of online sales, TV commercials, “infomercials”, and “Ethnic Cross” promotions, Pekcan's role as manager of DHF Marketing Corporation has recently been enriched by the introduction of a new undertaking: concert organizing. As a result of a joint venture between DFH Entertainment and GNL Entertainment, Pekcan was able to organize the performances of musicians Fahir Atako¤lu and Sertab Erener in two of America's most prestigious concert halls in the month of October. Los Angeles' Kodak Theater, where the Oscars are handed out, and New York's Carnegie Hall played host to the concerts. Pekcan underscores that the concert series will continue with well-loved and widelyrespected musicians. When it comes to the future of DFH, Pekcan chooses to drop some hints regarding projects coming up. He says that in the near future there may be some chance of Turks in the US watching the European Champions' League, UEFA, and the A Group National Soccer Team matches.
genelinde anten ba¤lama servisi ve DFH sat›fl noktas› (dealer) say›s› 700’e ulaflt›. 2001 y›l›na gelindi¤inde DFH, ABD’nin hemen hemen her eyaletine ulafl›yordu. Geliflen teknolojiler sayesinde Türkiye’deki yay›nlar›n ABD saat dilimine göre ekranlara getirilmesi sistemi DFH’in uygulad›¤› farkl› tekniklerden biriydi. Pekcan, “Sadece yay›n› bir yerden al›p di¤erine iletmekle ifl bitmiyor. Bunun arkas›nda büyük bir altyap› var,” diyor. Bu altyap›n› bafl›nda ise kendisi ile ayn› yetkiye sahip olan Teknik Genel Müdür Yard›mc›s› Mustafa Erdo¤an bulunuyor. DFH halen Türkiye’den 12 televizyon, iki de radyo kanal›n› getiriyor. ABD’deki seyircilerine alt› kanal uzerinden ulaflt›r›yor. Televizyon sadece Türkler de¤il, Türkçe konuflabilen Türk kökenli di¤er etnik gruplara da hizmet veriyor. ÇALIfiMA HAYATI BARDA BAfiLADI ‹fl hayat›na gözde tatil beldesi Bodrum’da ünlü tiyatrocu ve film y›ld›z› merhum Güzin Özipek’in “A¤›l” isimli bar›nda barmen olarak bafllayan Pekcan, daha sonra bir ‹ngiliz yat firmas›n›n marina operasyon müdürü olarak çal›flt›. Belçika NATO’da yapt›¤› askerlik sonras› bir Alman yat firmas›na geçti. ‹ngiltere’de Oxford’ta lisan e¤itimi ald›. Viyana Üniversitesi’nde Almanca okudu. Bodrum’da efli Sebnem ile tan›flt› ve eflinin ailesine ait Su Otel’de otel müdürü olarak çal›flt›. ‹zmir’den bir ifl teklifi almas› üzerine de kariyerine ‹zmir’de devam etti. 1989-1996 y›llar› aras›nda Lloyds of London Sigorta ve Avarya Komiserli¤i konular›nda hizmet veren Vitsan fiirketler Grubu’nun ‹zmir Bölge Müdürü olarak çal›flan Pekcan, yedi y›l›n ard›ndan finans sektörüne ad›m att›. Bu alandaki ilk deneyimini de
Ege Sigorta’da yaflad›. Avrupa Amerika Holding’e ait Emek Sigorta’n›n önce Ege bölge müdürlü¤üne sonra ‹stanbul merkezine transfer oldu. fiirket yonetimi el de¤ifltirince de iflinden ayr›l›p ABD’ye geldi. KONSER SER‹S‹ Pekcan, ABD’deki kariyerinde Türklerin yaflamlar›n› derinden etkileyen bir projenin parças› olmaktan mutluluk duydu¤unu söylüyor. Online sat›fl, TV reklam, “infomercials” and “Ethnic Cross” promotions konular›nda faaliyet gösteren DFH Marketing Corporation da yönetimini görev alan Pekcan, konser organizasyonlar› gerçeklefltirmek amac›yla yeni bir projede de imzas› att›. DFH Entertainment ile GNL Entertainment aras›nda joint-venture gerçeklefltirilmesine öncülük eden Pekcan, ünlü sanatç›lar Fahir Atako¤lu ve Sertab Erener’i, Ekim ay› içerisinde ABD’nin en prestijli iki konser salonu Los Angelas Kodak Theather ve New York Carnegie Hall’de a¤›rlad›. Pekcan, konser serisinin ciddi ve sevilen sanatç›larla sürece¤ini söylüyor. DFH ile ilgili gelece¤e yönelik projelerle ilgili ipuçlar› veren Pekcan, yak›n bir gelecekte ABD’de yaflayan Türklerin Avrupa fiampiyonlar Ligi, UEFA ve A Milli Futbol Tak›m›’n›n maçlar›n› seyredebilmeleri için çeflitli projeler uzerinde çal›flt›klar›n› sözlerine ekliyor.
DFH CHANNELS / DFH KANALLARI Atv Fox Türk CNN Türk Show TV Star TV NTV Lig TV Kanal D Kanal D Max DreamTürk
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THE HAPPENINGS
JAALBER HOSTS TRUNK SHOWS WITH TURKISH ARTISANS N
ew York - Jaalber Jewelry Boutique hosted trunk shows with Turkish artisans Burtaçin Balkan and Salih Büyükyurt. Manhattan’s new creative enclave, Nolita, for a feast for the eyes and the very best in exclusive, hand-crafted 24k gold jewelry designed by Balkan and Büyükyurt who make rings, bracelets and necklaces the old-fashioned way, using the same tools and techniques used by Byzantine artists centruries ago. Artisan Burtaçin Balkan’s 24K Gold Byzantium Collection,
designed and produced at his workshop in Istanbul facing the Hagia Sophia Museum, is based on ancient motifs from the Treasures of Troy. While modern techniques are used in making his jewelry, Balkan also applies ancient such as granulation and sawing. Artisan Salih Büyükyurt is the man behind the unique, handcrafted, 24K gold, precios and semi-precious gem stone jewelry that make Jaalberg the hottest new artisan jewelry boutique in New York’s creative enclave of Nolita.
Rita Cinque Kriss, the owner of Jaalber artisan jewelry boutique in Manhattan, discovered the beauty of hand-crafted Byzantine- styled gold jewelry crafted by designer Salih Büyükyurt. Soon Rita was hosting her own Salih trunk shows (held in her east Village apartment) and last June took the plunge to open Jaalber artisan jewelry boutique featuring the work of her favorite Turkish artisan Büyükyurt. Jaalber Jewelry Boutique is located at 246 Mott Srteet and it’s open Tuesday-Saturday from 12-7pm and Sunday from 12-6pm.
WESTERN UNION RIFAT SIVISO⁄LU CELEBRATES CONSUMERS CANDIDATES FOR N DUPAGE COUNTY BOARD ew York - Western Union hosted its annual consumers at 1440 Broadway in New York on October 26. The Western Union flagship store in Times Square was buzzing as it celebrated with refreshments and games tables, staffed by employees in a variety of traditional dress representing nearly every continent of the world. An annual tradition, the day is specifically set to say thank you to the hundreds of thousands of consumers that walk through
the doors each year. The Western Union Times Square store originally opened for business in 1934 and is the only company-owned location out of the more than 48,000 agent locations that are spread across the U.S. “We hope we have created a welcoming atmosphere here,” said Guy DiMaggio, regional vice president for the Western Union Northeast region. “Our consumers are important to us. This celebration let’s us recognize them.”
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lmhurst, IL - Rifat Cem Siviso¤lu has been officially named as a candidate to the DuPage County Board, (District 1, Illinois) in the 2008 elections for the Democratic Party. With over 25 years of business management experience with firms like Alcatel (at the Director level), Siviso¤lu has dealt with major business and political leaders, for example structuring and negotiating a $40 million international manufacturing joint venture. His parents came to the US in the 1950's however Siviso¤lu grew up mostly in Massachusetts and were early members of the Boston Turkish-American community. Currently James serves as a graduate and undergraduate faculty member at the Elmhurst College Center for Busi-
ness and Economics. His paternal grandfather, R›fat Siviso¤lu had elected Congressman for the then newly formed Democratic Party in Turkey.
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TURAN KAHRAMAN
ASKEW MAKES MANUFACTURING COMPANIES MORE EFFICIENT
Turan Kahraman serves as President and CEO of Askew Industrial Corp.
In 1999, Turan Kahraman took over the management of Askew Industrial Corporation of which he is currently co-owner. 58 • TurkofAmerica
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ou could have the greatest product in the world, but if your company doesn’t have an effective supply solution or inventory management systems, you could be losing out. Askew Industrial Corporation (US company) is a company that designs and implements inventory management systems and point-of-use supply solutions for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Askew helps its customers reduce their total cost of ownership while improving their manufacturing efficiencies and increasing their profitability. In 1999 Turan Kahraman took over the management of Askew Industrial. He spent much of his early career as a consultant for a large international corporation as well as many middle market companies. He currently serves as President and CEO of Askew Industrial Corp., an industrial production hardware distributor. Kahraman answered TURKOFAMERICA’s questions. When did you come to the U.S. and what was the reason? In 1977, I graduated from Galatasaray Lisesi (one of the
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most renowned and influential high schools of modern Turkey.) At that time I was very much interested in studying abroad and furthering my athletic career as I had just broken the Turkish National Record for Discus the prior year. In the 1970s many world-class discus throwers were Americans. Through the assistance of American teachers from Robert College (which is the most selective independent private high school in Turkey), I was able to contact American universities and ultimately receive an athletic scholarship from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I graduated from BYU with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. When did your business career start and could you tell us about your first jobs? I began my career as the Key Liaison representing the joint venture food processing business formed between JR Simplot Co. and Besikcioglu. I traveled to Turkey extensively and worked on a variety of projects, such as
the preparation of business plans for certain sections of the operations, training American personnel prior to their assignments in Turkey, etc. In 1986 my wife, my young son and I moved to Los Angeles. I first worked at MRC Worldwide, a mergers and acquisitions firm assisting middle market companies. This experience gave me great exposure to their owners and to opportunities in management in these types of companies. In 1990 I began running companies. The businesses I have run have been middle market companies that service OEMs. Another common thread is that they have all been turnaround candidates. Initially I ran a chemical manufacturing and distribution business, followed by a large printing and bindery operation. In 1999 I took over the management of Askew Industrial. Can you tell us about the history of the company? Having been in business since 1957, Askew has a very established name in the industry. When Ken Askew formed the company, his vision was to ser-
ve manufacturing companies with their industrial fastener needs. Since my arrival in 1999, we have made a significant amount of investment in personnel and technology, which allowed us to provide our customers with better service options and additional product lines. Today our focus is to intimately understand our customers’ businesses in order to help them lower their manufacturing cost by cutting or eliminating non-value-added expenses from their procurement process. Because of this focus on our customers’ efficiency we have been growing steadily. In particular during the last four years our growth rate has reached 18 to 20 percent per year. We now have three locations: Los Angeles, San Diego and Fresno. During the same four years, we have also increased our involvement in the shipbuilding industry, which currently constitutes over 20 percent of our business. We send our products to shipyards throughout the US and as far as some of the Gulf States (in the Middle East).
Turan Kahraman with Fabian Nunez, Speaker of the California State Assembly visiting Askew Industrial’s Los Angeles facilities.
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TURAN KAHRAMAN
How many employees does Askew Industrial have? We have 62 employees. The positive working environment that we have created has been the key in retaining many of the long-term employees. Our philosophy of providing such an environment of mutual respect, fair treatment and strong work ethic translates into our employees’ providing excellent service to our customers. Over the years we have attracted many successful individuals from our industry who later joined our firm.
What types of customers do you serve and where are they located? Our customers are OEMs that are located throughout the US, though most are concentrated in California and Northern Mexico. Our customers in Mexico are American companies which manufacture in Mexico in order to take advantage of the lower labor cost. Their finished products are shipped back to the US. Many of our customers are very well-known in their respective industries. They are shipbuilders building military and commerci-
BUSINESS TIPS FROM KAHRAMAN FOR YOUNG ENTERPRENUERS 123-
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The most important thing is to enjoy what you do and also teach your teams to join you in your passion for your enterprise. The main purpose and goal of your work cannot be simply making more money. Money will come as you improve your position in the marketplace. In order to find the work that you will enjoy, you must first know your strengths and shortcomings. Some of us are better at starting companies and others are better at managing them. Still others are better at fixing underperforming assets. I believe in creating exciting, anxiety-free environments with sufficient challenges in which the employees can grow and flourish. Countless numbers of people go to work every day without ever reaching their potential. Nurturing an individual and seeing him/her grow is a very special feeling. Because of that, in every company that I have run, I have worked hard to either provide the right environment and/or worked with employees individually in order to help them reach their potential. In today’s knowledge-based businesses, we actually have no choice but to provide these types of environments. There are different types of leadership styles. No one style is better than another. I have, however, seen that the styles that are closer to coaching, advising and nurturing create the most lasting organizations. In today’s knowledge-based companies, we need team members who can think independently, regardless of the industries we are in. We only get what we put out there. Respect and goodwill beget the same. Humanity and how to treat people is the same, regardless of where we live in the world, whether it is in Turkey or in the US. Leaders need people to lead. Be careful who you hire… you don’t want a bunch of clones. You want a variey of backgrounds and personality styles in order to bring the organization richness and diversity of ideas. While it is often more difficult to manage people who are different than us, the truly effective leaders will find a way to work with different types of individuals and get the most from all of them.
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al ships; pump manufacturers making small pumps, to very large ones used in nuclear applications; manufacturers of instrumentation, appliances, electronic equipment, etc. What is Askew’s critical contribution to the industry? We pride ourselves in providing the most innovative service options in our industry. While we offer small assembly products, the bulk of which are made overseas, our ultimate goal is to help American manufacturing companies continue operating in the US. We feel that there are still a lot of inefficient companies in the US that need to adopt more costeffective management and production systems. We see ourselves as one of catalysts for implementing these changes and making the US manufacturing companies more efficient. What makes Askew different from its competitors? There are a lot of industrial production hardware distributors in the US. Many of them claim to provide the services I listed above. Our difference is that we act as a small company with our customer service but we provide a very high level of technical services, as though we were a much
larger corporation. Our staff’s knowledge, experience and professionalism are second to none. We spend a lot of time understanding our customers’ businesses in order to provide the most efficient method to deliver our products to their production lines. When we understand our customers’ internal processes and supply chain intimately, we are able to provide options and suggestions in order to eliminate expenses that do not add value to our customers’ core businesses. What is your long term plan? Even with the fast growth of our company, there are still many opportunities throughout the US where we can open in-plant facilities within customers’ manufacturing facilities. These services are performed under what we call “vendor-managed” programs, including among others, consignment systems, where the customer does not own the inventory until they take the parts from our designated “vendor-managed” locations. Our systems are such that we don’t have to have a full-scale branch in a distant location in order to serve the customers. Geographical constraints do not affect our business because of the way we can tailor our services.
WHO IS TURAN KAHRAMAN? After graduating from Galatasaray Lisesi, Istanbul, Turan Kahraman received an athletic scholarship from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He graduated from BYU with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He began his career as the Key Liaison for a large food processing company. In 1986 he moved to Los Angeles. He first worked at MRC Worldwide, a mergers and acquisitions firm. In 1990 Kahraman began running companies. In 1999 he took over the management of Askew Industrial Corporation. Since his arrival to Southern California Kahraman has served on many Turkish-American business and social organizations. Since March 2005 he has also served on the Global Management Center Advisory Board of BYU’s Marriott School of Business. He currently resides in Orange County, California with his wife Judy and their two sons Turhan and Adam.
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CARPET
THE APEX OF TURKISH CARPETS IN NEW YORK A
Though no one may know where and how the world's first carpet was woven, it is true that the Turks have been weaving carpets in Anatolia since the 11th century. The development of carpet and rug weaving in Anatolia owes its thanks to Turkish tribes that migrated from Central Asia. During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, in places like Gördes, Kula, Milas, Ladik, Mucur (Kirsehir), Band›rma, and Çanakkale, weaving grew in importance. During the Ottoman Empire, a weaving atolier set up in Hereke gained fame for its weaving of carpets solely for the Ottoman sultans. During the 18th century, the fact that weaving looms were referred to as "Turkish weaving looms" proved the widespread status of Turkish carpets throughout Europe. And thus Turkish weaving mo62 • TurkofAmerica
Foto: Ayhan Kay
round two years ago, at a carpet trade fair in the North Carolina city of Asheville, considered by many to be the heart of the carpet industry, an old Turkish carpet which was put up for open bidding was sold for exactly 279,000 dollars, despite the fact it had only been expected to go for between 5 and 10 thousand dollars. Trade fair attendees were shocked. Though the carpet had been thought to date from sometime in the 18th century, Milanese carpet salesman Moshe Tabibnia understood that it had been woven sometime in the mid-1500s, and the prices went up. With this, it was also disclosed that the carpet had been woven in the Konya village of Karap›nar.
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undan yaklafl›k 2 y›l önce hal› endüstrisinin kalbi say›lan eyaletlerden North Carolina’n›n Asheville flehrindeki hal› fuar›nda 5 ile 10 bin dolar aras›nda sat›lmas› planlanarak aç›k art›rmaya ç›kar›lan eski bir Türk hal›s› tam 297,000 dolara al›c› bulunca fuara kat›lanlar› flaflk›nl›¤a u¤ratm›flt›. 18. yüzy›la ait oldu¤u san›lan ancak Milanolu hal› tüccar› Moshe Tabibnia’n›n 1500’lü y›llar›n ortalar›nda dokundu¤unu anlayarak fiyat›n› art›rd›¤› hal›, Konya’n›n Karap›nar köyünde elle dokundu¤u belirlenmiflti. Dünyada ilk hal›n›n nerde ve nas›l dokundu¤u bilinmese de Anadolu’da Türkler 11. yüzy›ldan beri hal› dokuyor. Anadolu’ya hal› ve kilim dokumac›l›¤›n›n gelifli ise Orta Asya’dan göç eden Türk kavimleri vas›tas›yla oldu. 16., 17. ve 18. yüzy›lda Anadolu’nun Gördes, Kula, Milas, Ladik, Mucur (K›rflehir), Band›rma ve Çanakkale gibi yerleflim yerleri dokumac›l›kta önem kazand›. Osmanl› ‹mparatorlu¤u zaman›nda Hereke’de kurulan hal› dokuma atölyesi sadece Osmanl› sultanlar›na dokunan hal›larla ünlendi.
Alparslan Bafldo¤an is the third generation of Bafldo¤an famiy to deal in carpet sector.
Alparslan Bafldo¤an üç kuflaktan beri hal› ifliyle u¤raflan bir ailenin ferdi.
18. yüzy›lda Fransa’da kurulan hal› dokuma tezgahlar›na “Türk hal› tezgah›” denmesi Türk hal›s›n›n Avrupa’daki yayg›nl›¤›na delaletti. Orta Asya’dan Anadolu’ya, Anadolu’dan Bat› medeniyetlerine geçerek ünü dünyaya yay›lan Türk el dokuma hal›lar›n›n ABD’de temsilcili¤ini ise flimdilerde Asia Minor Carpets yap›yor. Zorlu pazar rekabetinde ayakta kalmay› baflaran, sahibi Türk en büyük toptan hal› sat›c›s› olan Asia Minor Carpets,
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ved from Central Asia to Anatolia, and from Anatolia to the West, where now Asia Minor Carpets represents them in the US. With its Turkish owner, Asia Minor Carpets has managed to stay on its feet despite tough competition, and is the largest wholesale seller of carpets in the US. Asia Minor Carpets was established in 1984 on New York City's Lexington Avenue by Alparslan Bafldo¤an, the third generation of Adana's Bafldo¤an famiy to deal in this sector.
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Alparslan Bafldo¤an, who studied international import-export at the University of Michigan, asserts that in order for Turkish carpets to become better known across the US, there
kilim sat›yor. Asia Minor’un ayr›ca Vermont’ta hal› sat›fl› da yap›lan bir restoran› bulunuyor. Bafldo¤an markas› ad› alt›nda ‹stanbul ve Adana’da hal› sat›fl ma¤azalar›yla hizmet veriyor. Özellikle ‹ç Anadolu Bölgesi’nin de¤iflik illeridenki atölyelerde 1600’e yak›n kiflinin el eme¤i, göz nuruyla dokunan hal›lar, son ifllemlerden geçmek üzere Adana’daki atölyede toplan›yor. Hal›lar›n yüzde 80’i ABD’ye ihraç ediliyor.
Foto: Ayhan Kay
Asia Minor Carpets has showrooms in Atlanta, GA and High Point, NC, both considered carpet centers in the US. The Turkish-owned company sells around 6,000 square meters of carpet, and 3,000 square meters of rugs annually. Asia Minor Carpets also has a restaurant in Vermont which sells carpets. And in Istanbul and Adana, there are carpet sales stores offering carpets carrying the Bafldo¤an label.
Foto: Ayhan Kay
Asia Minor carpets are woven at different atolier locations throughout the inner Anatolia region; around 1,600 carpet weavers are employed in the weaving of these carpets, and the final products go to Adana where they go through their final processes before being sent out. Around 80% of these carpets are exported to the US. Asia Minor Carpet's Fifth Avenue headquarters contains around 2,000 different carpets. There are nine people employed here, in a family atmosphere. Owner Alparslan Bafldo¤an makes the final decisions on the carpets' designs, and on the makeup of the collections. In terms of deciding the final carpet lines, his sister Hatice is in charge, while his brother Ertu¤rul guides the production, and his father Mehmet Bafldo¤an oversees the purchase of raw materials.
Adana’da üç kuflaktan beri hal› ifliyle u¤raflan Bafldo¤an Ailesi’nin ferdi Alparslan Bafldo¤an (47) taraf›ndan 1984 y›l›nda New York Lexington Avenu’de küçük bir ofiste kuruldu.
Foto: Ayhan Kay
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needs to be more people selling real Turkish carpets in the country. The 9 by 12 meter carpet that lies in the salon at Asia Minor
New York ve hal›c›l›¤›n merkezi olarak kabul edilen Atlanta, GA ve High Point, NC’de showroom’lar› bulunan flirket, ABD’de y›lda yaklafl›k 6 bin metrekare hal›, 3 bin metrekare
Yaklafl›k iki bine yak›n hal›n›n bulundu¤u Fifth Avenue’deki flirket merkezinde, dokuz kifli çal›fl›yor. Asia Minor Carpets’›n satt›¤› hal›lar tezgaha tam bir aile dayan›flmas›yla geliyor. Hal› dizaynlar›n›n seçimine, koleksiyonun oluflturulmas›na Alparslan Bafldo¤an karar veriyor. Hal›n›n çizimleri kardefli Hatice, imalat› di¤er kardefli Ertu¤rul, hammadde teminini ise baba Mehmet Bafldo¤an yap›yor. Michigan Universitesi’nde uluslararas› ihracat-ithalat bölümünü okuyan Alparslan Bafldo¤an, Türk hal›s›n› ABD’de daha da çok yayg›nlaflmas› ve tan›nmas› için kendisi gibi gerçek Türk hal›s› satan insan say›s›n›n artmas› gerekti¤ini söylüyor. Oturma salonlar›n› süsleyen 9’’ x 12’’ büyüklü¤ündeki bir hal› dört kifli taraf›ndan yaklafl›k dört ayda dokunuyor. Yüzde 100 Türk yünü kullan›larak dokunan hal›lar›n, toptan sat›fl f›yat› ise desene ve modeline göre de¤iflse de ortalama 3,500 – 4,000 dolar aras›nda. Bafldo¤an’›n flirketteli sa¤ kolu yönetici Leyla Ero¤lu, özellikle Çin hal›lar›n›n piyasada yayg›nlaflmas›yla pek çok firman›n piyasadan çekilmek zorunda kald›¤›na dikkat çekiyor. Asia Minor’un ayakta kalmas›n›n ana nedeni ise, kendine özgü ve TurkofAmerica • 63
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CARPET
AWARD WINNING CARPETS Aside from carpets, Asia Minor also sells furniture products. Some of their sitting room furniture is covered in kilim designs. Bafldo¤an's office walls are covered in awards that some of his carpets have received. Some of his carpets won two main prizes at the 1994 International Carpet Display Show in Atlanta. Another of the interesting carpets in his office is one that was woven in an Ottoman palace and then sent abroad. This is one that Bafldo¤an came across by accident at a Washington, DC carpet merchant's shop. Carpets took around four months to be woven by a team of four people. These carpets, which are woven using only 100% Turkish wool, range between $3,500 and $4,000 per carpet, depending on design and model. Bafldo¤an's closest assistant at the business is Leyla Ero¤lu, who notes that the spreading popularity of Chinese carpets on the market has forced many other firms to draw back their businesses. The reason that Asia Minor Carpets has managed to stay on its feet despite all this is that it produces original carpets which require a great deal of handiwork. She says, "The fact that we have no real competition in terms of Turkish handmade carpets makes it harder to promote Turkish carpets in general. While there are hundreds of firms vying to promote Iranian carpets, there is only a handful of firms doing the same for Turkish carpets.” The marketing of Turkish carpets is generally done by foreigners. One of these is retired American military official Stan Akins, who imports carpets from Turkey to sell in the US. Akins first encountered Turkish carpets when he was working as a air force officer; he has been selling them for the past 30 years, and for the past 10 at the Pasquotank Arts Council Gallery in Elizabeth City, NC. Bafldo¤an asserts that the beginning of the end of many Turkish 64 • TurkofAmerica
carpet firms in the US market is that they start wrestling with the idea, "How can we produce cheaper carpets than the Indian and Chinese carpets?" He asserts, "They never thought anything contrary to that. When in truth, it is the raw materials that go into these carpets and the people who weave them that make the difference. They weren't able to see this truth." According to figures from the American Statistics Bureau, Turkish exports of carpets and other floor covering products to the US market totalled 80.7 million dollars in 2006. In 2005, this figure was 75.2 million dollars. Bafldo¤an notes that in fact there is great potential in the US for this sector, but that the potential is not being tapped. He notes that some carpet merchants sell Turkish handwoven carpets in an ignorant manner, thus damaging the name of the sector. He says, "They will sell a carpet made of Turkish designs but woven cheaply in China as a Turkish carpet. Thus the sector and Turkish carpets as a whole are being damaged in terms of their image." He goes on: "There are no carpets in the world that have the design and quality of Turkish carpets. It's up to us to make sure this culture survives, and is passed on to future generations. Carpet producers need to ask themselves how they can stop competing with India and China, and focus on how they can modernize and make even better carpets."
Bafldo¤an with his Bafldo¤an’›n flirketteki manager, Leyla Eroglu at sa¤ kolu Leyla Ero¤lu the business. ile.
fazla emek gerektiren hal› üretmesine ba¤l›yor. “Türk el dokuma hal› pazar›nda rakibimizin olmamas›, Türk hal›s›n›n tan›nmas›n› da güçlefltiriyor. Bir ‹ran hal›s›n›n tan›t›p satmak için yüzlerce firma varken, Türk hal›s›nda bu say› iki, üçü geçmiyor” diyor. New York piyasas›nda Türk hal›s› satan bir di¤er iflletme ise Woven Agent. Ero¤lu, “Sahibi Türk olarak bu ifli yapan firma bir biz kald›k,” diyor. Türk hal›lar›n›n pazarlamas›n› yapanlar ise genelde yabanc›lar. Türkiye’den hal› getirip satan Amerikal› emekli asker Stan Akins bu isimlerden biri. Türkiye’de hava subay› olarak görev yapt›¤› s›rada tan›flt›¤› Türk hal›lar›n› yaklafl›k 30 y›ld›r pazarlamas›n› yapan Akins, 10 y›ld›r Elizabeth City, NC’de Pasquotank Arts Council Gallery’de hal›lar› sat›fla sunuyor. Bafldo¤an, ABD pazar›nda boy gösteren Türk hal› firmalar›n›n “Hintli ve Çinli firmalardan nas›l daha ucuza hal› üretiriz?” düflüncesine kap›lmalar›n›n sonun bafllang›c› oldu¤unu tespi-
tini yap›yor. “Tersini düflünmediler. Oysa hammade ve onu dokuyan insanlar farkl›l›¤› bafll› bafll›na yarat›yordu. Bu gerçe¤i göremediler” diyor. Amerikan ‹statistik Bürosu’nun verilerine göre Türkiye’nin ABD’ye hal› ve di¤er yer kaplama ürünleri ihracat›n toplam› 2006 sonunda 80.7 milyon dolar oldu. 2005 y›l sonu rakam› ise 75,2 milyon dolard›. Bafldo¤an, ABD’de daha büyük bir potansiyel oldu¤unu ancak de¤erlendirilemedi¤ini söylüyor. Türk el dokuma hal›lar›n›n baz› tüccarlar taraf›ndan bilinçsiz flekilde baltaland›¤›n› savunuyor. “Çin’de ucuza dokuttuklar› Türk desenli hal›lar› Türk hal›s› diye pazarlayanlar, sektöre ve Türk hal›s›n›n imaj›na büyük darbe vuruyor,” diye konufluyor. “Türk hal›s›ndaki desen ve kalite dünyan›n hiçbir hal›s›nda yok. Bize düflen bu kültürü yaflatmak ve gelecek nesiller aktarmak. ‹malatç›lar Çin ve Hindistan’la yar›flmay› b›rak›p eski hal›lar›n daha iyilerini modernize ederek nas›l yapmal›y›z sorusunun cevab›n› aramal›.”
ÖDÜLLÜ HALILAR Asia Minor’da hal›n›n d›fl›nda mobilya ürünleri de sat›l›yor. Oturma gruplar›n›n kaplamalar› ise yine kilim modelleriyle süslü. Bafldo¤an ofis duvarlar›n› süsleyen hal›lar›yla de¤iflik ödüllerin de sahibi. Atlanta Uluslararas› Hal› Sergisi’nde 1994’te düzenlenen ve 300 hal›n›n kat›ld›¤› yar›flmada iki ödül birden kazanm›fl. Ödülü, hal› ve kilim dokumas›n› birlefltirdi¤i çal›flmas›yla almaya hak kazanm›fl. Ma¤azadaki bir di¤er enteresan hal› da, Osmanl› saray›nda dokunup elçi vas›tas›yla yurt d›fl›na gönderilen hal›lardan biri. Bafldo¤an, Antika de¤erindeki hal›y› bir tesadüf eseri Washington, D.C.’deki bir hal› tüccar›ndan alm›fl.
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BRIDGES OF HOPE
SENDING HOPE TO ANADOLU’YA UMUT ANATOLIA GÖNDERENLER The Bridges of Hope Project Foundation have provided 11,000 public boarding school students with 16,000 books.
Bridges of Hope Project Vakf› yat›l› okullarda okuyan yaklafl›k 11 bin ö¤renciye kitapl›klar vas›tas›yla 16 bin kitap ulaflt›rd›.
O
General Manager of Sabanc› Holding’s New York firm Exsa Inc., Hüseyin Ünver, Acar Law Firm PLLC founder, Attorney Çi¤dem Acar, and the owner of Dynasty Gold and Silver company, Mehmet Uca, came together to form the Bridges of Hope Project and are now calling on volunteers to donate books and computers to the cause. Hüseyin Ünver states, “For many years I volunteered at different non-profit organizations. I have never been as fulfilled as I am here. Attorney Çi¤dem Acar says, “Helping these kids who want nothing more than books, is, for me, a duty.” Mehmet Uca tells us how the first letter he wrote while in elementary school in Mardin, a city in southeastern Turkey, 50 years ago was related to today's effort: He asked for a book from a relative. “We're not only providing books but also hope”, he states. The three volunteers answered our questions below: What's it like taking time off from your busy schedules to help children in Turkey? 68 • TurkofAmerica
Photo: Necdet Köseda¤
ne day a lawyer, a company manager, and a businessman sat down together and contemplated how to tackle the lack of books for students in public schools throughout Turkey. In their spare time they formed the Bridges of Hope Project Foundation in November 2005 and in the past two years have provided 11,000 public boarding school students with 16,000 books.
Acar Law Firm PLLC founder, Attorney Çi¤dem Acar, General Manager of Sabanc› Holding’s New York firm Exsa Inc., Hüseyin Ünver, and the owner of Dynasty Gold and Silver company, Mehmet Uca are together.
It allows us to feel as though we have not been cut off from them and from Turkey. There couldn't be anything nicer than this. Our country and our people are part of a very rich cultural heritage. Education can, in a way, play the role of a bridge between that cultural heritage and contemporary civilization. Being able to help out in any way we can and being able to connect people who want to help is a pleasure, a goal, a loan repaid, a duty. What has emotionally affected you the most in this experience? Last year a close friend of ours in Long Island named Tanel Demiray unexpectedly passed away and left his English wife and two grown children behind. On the strength of his infectious love for Turkey, the family asked people to donate money to the Bridges of Hope Project instead of sending flowers and other presents. The
B
ir avukat, bir profesyonel flirket yöneticisi, bir ifladam› bir gün kafa kafaya verdiler ve Türkiye’de okullar›nda kitap bulamayan ö¤renciler için ne yapabileceklerini düflündüler. Kendi zamanlar›ndan çal›p Kas›m 2005’te Bridges of Hope Project vakf›n› kurdular. Geçen iki y›lda yat›l› okullarda okuyan yaklafl›k 11 bin ö¤renciye kitapl›klar vas›tas›yla 16 bin kitap ulaflt›rd›lar. Sabanc› Holding’in New York’taki flirketi Exsa Inc.’in genel müdürü Hüseyin Ünver, Acar Law Firm PLLC’in kurucusu Avukat Çi¤dem Acar ve Dynasty Gold and Silver flirketinin sahibi Mehmet Uca taraf›ndan kurulan Bridges of Hope Project, daha çok çocu¤a kitap ve bilgisayar ulaflt›rmak için gönüllüleri aralar›na ça¤›r›yor. Hüseyin Ünver, “Uzun y›llar de¤iflik derneklerde görev yapt›m. Hiçbirinden burdaki görevimden ald›¤›m zevk kadar
tatmin olmam›flt›m” derken, Avukat Çi¤dem Acar, “Daha farkl› taleplerde bulunmak varken, bizden tek istekleri kitap olan çocuklara bu yard›m› yapmak bir görev,” diyor. 50 y›l önce Mardin’de ilkokuldayken ilk yazd›¤› mektubunda bir yak›n›ndan kitap istedi¤ini anlatan Mehmet Uca, “Çocuklara sadece kitap de¤il umut da vermifl oluyoruz,” diye konufluyor. Üç gönüllü sorular›m›z› flöyle cevapl›yor: New York'ta yo¤un ifl temposunda çal›flan yöneticilersiniz, ifllerinizden zaman ay›r›p Türkiye'deki çocuklara bir nebze olsun yard›mc› olabilmek nas›l bir duygu? Onlardan ve Türkiye’den hiç kopmam›fl›z duygusunu veriyor. Bundan daha güzel bir fley olamaz. Ülkemiz ve insanlar› çok zengin bir kültür miras›na sahip. E¤itim bir anlamda bu kültürel ba¤ ile ulafl›lan ça¤dafl medeniyet aras›nda bir köprü görevini yapacak. Buna bir nebze yard›mda bulunmak ve bu yard›m› yapmak isteyenlere arac› olmak, bizim için bir zevk, bir amaç, bir borç, bir görev gibi. Yapm›fl oldu¤unuz bu organizasyonda sizi en çok duyguland›ran olay ne oldu? Geçti¤imiz y›l Long Island’da Tanel Demiray ad›nda bir arkadafl›m›z zamans›z bir flekilde vefat etti. Arkas›nda ‹ngiliz as›ll› eflini ve iki yetiflkin k›z çocu¤unu b›rakt›. Onlara miras b›rakt›¤› Türkiye sevgisinden ötürü, ailesi cenaze için çiçek ve di¤er hediyeler vermek isteyen-
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family suitably memorialized Tanel by donating 5,400 dollars that they raised from the funeral. Thanks to Tanel, we were able to open three libraries and one toy room. In one of the libraries, photos of Tanel's youth and with his wife and children were framed and hung up. And the school sent a thank-you note, as if Tanel had never passed away... In this way Tanel became immortal. After his death, his presence will be etched into the memories of the children in the boarding school. For people like us, living away from our homeland, what could be more meaningful or moving? How many books have you provided to students so far? Until now we have collected money for 27 small libraries. Twenty-one libraries are now open and six are almost ready and will be opened very soon. There are libraries in Mufl, Samsun, Denizli, Diyarbak›r, Ad›yaman, K›rflehir, Çorum, Sinop, A¤r›, Erzurum, Tokat, Mersin, Amasya, Bingöl, Kastamonu, and Çank›r›. All the libraries are at YIBO's, or the state's Regional Boarding Schools, which provide the eight years of mandatory primary school education. The ministry has opened schools in these areas, has assigned teachers to schools, and is now encouraging people to donate books. If we assume that there are an average of 400 children in every school, then we estimate that we have provided nearly 10,800 students with books. All the libraries contain about 600 books. The combined amount of books numbers about 16,000. There are organizations like this in different cities in the US. Are you thinking about creating a type of synergy between you and them?
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We think it's healthy that assistance in Turkey is multi-faceted and diverse in terms of the organizations involved. The US is very large but Turkey's needs are also great. At this early stage, we wish to institutionalize our organization first and then consider working together with American organizations and people to form a close partnership in the future. Since our primary goal is to deliver the collected money to those who need it, our organization is very precise and functions without a staff. All the work that is done here is totally voluntary. We live our lives in the US, often unaware of all that we have. How does seeing the living conditions of the children that you help allow you to assess differences or similarities betwee the two countries? The difference between the countries is especially felt in the YIBO's built in the rural areas far from cities. However, many of us came from such regions to where we are today. We can really close the gap with good, solid education. The issue is not just educating youth but also the parents. It takes time to legitimize the idea of sending daughters to school. The first educational mobilization effort took place more than fifty years ago in Turkey. Because we were unable to properly educate the males of the first generation, we are still having trouble getting girls to school. There are huge regional differences in the US also. There are real differences between the perspectives, expectations of the future, and access to education of North Dakota and New York, for example. For Turkey, the attempt to improve education in rural regions needs to be supported and strengthened. We think that education and time will take care of everything.
lerden Bridges of Hope’a ba¤›flta bulunmalar›n› istedi. Aile de Tanel’in an›s›na yard›m etti ve bu sayede 5,400 dolar civar›nda bir para topland›. Bu flekilde Tanel Demiray ad›na üç adet kitapl›k ve bir adet oyuncak odas› aç›ld›. Aç›lan kitapl›klardan birinde Tanel’in gençlik resimleri, çocuklar› ve efli ile çektikleri resimler de çerçevelenerek as›ld›. Ve okuldan Tanel Demiray’a sanki vefat etmemifl gibi teflekkür mektubu geldi… Tanel bu sayede ölümsüzleflti. Vefat›ndan sonra yurdunun çocuklar›n›n haf›zas›na kaz›nacak bir eser b›rakt›. Yurtd›fl›nda bulunan bizler için bundan daha anlaml› ve duyguland›r›c› ne olabilir? Bugüne kadar kaç ö¤renciyi kitaplarla buluflturdunuz? Bugüne kadar 27 kitapl›k için para toplay›p transfer ettik. 21 kitapl›k aç›lm›fl durumda, 6 tanesinin aç›lmas› da programlanm›fl, kitaplar› haz›r aç›lacak günü beklemektedir. Kitapl›klar Mufl, Samsun, Denizli, Diyarbak›r, Ad›yaman, K›rflehir, Çorum, Sinop, A¤r›, Erzurum, Tokat, Mersin, Amasya, Bingöl, Kastamonu ve Çank›r›’da aç›ld›. Bütün kitapl›klar Y‹BO diye k›salt›lan ve 8 y›ll›k mecburi ilkö¤retimi veren Yat›l› Bölge Okullar›’nda aç›ld›. Bakanl›k buralara okul açmakta, ö¤retmen tayin etmekte, fakat kitapl›k açma konusunda vatandafllar›n yard›m›n› teflvik etmektedir. Her okulda ortalama 400 çocuk oldu¤unu düflünürsek yaklafl›k 10,800 ö¤renciyi kitaba kavuflturdu¤umuzu tahmin ediyoruz. Her okula aç›lan kitapl›k 600 civar›nda kitap bar›nd›rmaktad›r. Toplam kitap adedi 16 bin adet kadar. ABD'de de¤iflik flehirlerde bu tip organizasyonlar var. Aran›zda bir sinerji yaratmay› düflünüyor musunuz? Türkiye’ye yap›lacak yard›mla-
r›n birden çok koldan ve bir çok de¤iflik kurulufl taraf›ndan yap›lmas›n› sa¤l›kl› buluyoruz. Hem ABD çok büyük, hem Türkiye’nin ihtiyac› çok. ‹lk aflamada kurumsallaflmam›z› tamamlamak istiyoruz. Sonra ABD’nin de¤iflik yerlerinde bizimle yak›n iflbirli¤i içinde olacak kurulufl ve kiflilerle ifl birli¤i yapaca¤›z. Toplad›¤›m›z bütün paralar› prensip olarak ihtiyaç sahiplerine ulaflt›rmak istedi¤imiz için örgütümüzün tam zamanl› ve kadrolu eleman› yok. Yap›lan herfley tamamen gönüllü eme¤ine dayanmaktad›r. Bizler ABD'de sahip oldu¤umuz fleylerin çok da fark›nda olmadan yafl›yoruz belki. Yard›m eli uzatt›¤›n›z çocuklar›n yaflad›klar› ortamlar› görmek iki ülke aras›nda nas›l bir de¤erlendirme yapman›za neden oluyor? Özellikle Y‹BO’lar›n kuruldu¤u k›rsal ve flehirlerden uzak bölgelerde fark çok büyük. Yaln›z bizim bir k›sm›m›z da benzer koflullardan buralara geldik. Aradaki fark› iyi e¤itim sayesinde çok azaltabiliriz. Olay sadece çocuklar›n e¤itimi de¤il, anne babalar›n da e¤itilmesi laz›m. K›z çocuklar›n›n e¤itimine izin vermeleri zaman al›yor. ‹lk e¤itim seferberli¤i bafllat›lal› 50 y›ldan daha uzun bir süre geçti. ‹lk nesil erkekleri e¤itemedi¤imiz için, ilk nesil k›zlar› okula getirmekte güçlük çekiyoruz. Baba ilkö¤retimden geçmifl olsa, k›z çocu¤unu okula daha kolayl›kla gönderecek. ABD’de de büyük bölgesel farklar var. North Dakota ile New York’taki insanlar›n dünya görüflleri, gelecekten beklentileri, alabildikleri e¤itimin kaliteleri aras›nda fark var. Türkiye için, k›rsal bölgelerde bir yerden bafllanm›fl, bunun desteklenmesi ve güçlendirilmesi laz›m. E¤itim ve zaman herfleye kad›r diye düflünüyoruz. TurkofAmerica • 69
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TURKISH FINANCE NETWORK
T
he Institute for International Education recently announced that there were 11,600 Turkish students studying at American universities in the 2005-2006 school year. Although this was a decrease from the 12,500 students of the previous year, Turkey still ranks as eighth in the world in the amount of students it sends to study in the US. While it's no surprise that India and China are the leading exporters of students, Turkish students make up 2.1 percent of the country's foreign student population. Every year, many students attempt to transition from their graduation into a career in the US and sixty percent think of returning to Turkey on the condition of a good job offer. Most of these Turks first study finance or business management and then join well-resourced firms. This population is often searching for different platforms in which they can strengthen their community's relations. The Turkish Finance Network Group, formed in May 19, 2006 in New York by Serdar Kaya, Ali Fuat Eraraç, ‹skender Karagül, Gökhan
FINANCIERS DESPERATELY SEEKING SYNERGY
The Turkish Finance Network Group are together.
Türk Finans Grubu üyeleri birarada
F‹NANSÇILAR S‹NERJ‹ ‹Ç‹N BULUfiUYOR!
TURKISH FINANCE NETWORK GROUB TEAM TÜRK F‹NANS NETWORK EK‹B‹ Boston: Mehmet Yorulmaz, Harvard Business School – MBA / Chicago: Emre Çak›ro¤lu, Emory University – MBA / Maryland: Burak Tekes, Johns Hopkins University – MS / New York: Tu¤ba Temurcan, New York University - Human Resources / Gökhan Y›lmaz, New York Institute of Technology - MBA / fieref Türkmeno¤lu, Troy State University – MBA / Ça¤r› Çullu, Missouri State University – MBA / New Jersey: Serdar Kaya, Johns Hopkins University - MS / Sema Akbo¤a Kaya, University of Virginia – PhD / Philadelphia: Ali Fuat Eraraç, Dardane Business School – MBA / Washington, DC: Tulu Balk›r, Acorn State University – MBA / Altu¤ Balo¤lu, George Town University – MBA / ‹stanbul: Seda Ekincio¤lu, Bilgi Üniversitesi – MS / ‹skender Karagül, West Georgia University – MBA / Belgium: Ayflegül Kayao¤lu, Katholieke University – PhD / England: Elif Y›lmazer, / Holland: Ali Kastrat, Marmara Üniversitesi - MS
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he Institute for International Education, 2005-2006 ö¤retim y›l›nda ABD’de okuyan Türk ö¤renci say›s›n›n 11,600 oldu¤unu aç›klad›. Bir önceki y›l 12,500 olan bu say› düflüfl gösterse de, Türkiye hala ABD’ye en çok ö¤renci gönderen sekizinci ülke konumunda. Hindistan ve Çin bu konuda bafl› çekiyor. Ülkedeki yabanc› ö¤rencilerin yüzde 2.1’ini Türkler oluflturuyor. Her y›l lisans ve lisansüstü e¤itimini tamamlayan ö¤rencilerin büyük bir k›sm› kariyer gelece¤ini ABD’de sürdürmek için çaba harc›yor. Kalanlar›n yüzde 60’a
yak›n› iyi bir ifl f›rsat›nda Türkiye’ye geri dönmeyi düflünüyor. A¤›rl›kl› olarak finans & ifl yönetimi e¤itimi alan ve iyi flartlar alt›nda çal›flma imkan› sunan flirketlerde çal›flan Türkler, birbirleriyle olan ba¤lar›n› da güçlendirerek de¤iflik platformlar bulufluyor. Serdar Kaya, Ali Fuat Eraraç, ‹skender Karagül, Gökhan Yilmaz ve Burak Tekes taraf›ndan New York'ta 19 May›s 2006'da kurulan Türk Finans Network Grubu bu platformlardan biri. Finans, ekonomi, IT, mühendislik, sosyoloji, politika gibi alanlarda baflar›l› gençleri biraraya toplamak üzere yolan ç›kan Grub, New York’un yan› s›ra ABD’nin di¤er illeri ile ‹stanbul, Brüksel, Amsterdam ve Londra’daki üyelerle de temas halinde. New York’ta kuruldu¤u günden beri dokuz de¤iflik etkinli¤e imza atan Grub, yaklafl›k 300 üyeye sahip. New York’taki üye say›s› ise 150’ye yaklaflm›fl durumda. Sadece New York ve çevresinde 2,000 - 2,500 aras›nda Türkün – Türk flirketlerde çal›flanlar hariç- finans sektöründe çal›flt›¤› tahmin ediliyor. Türk Finans Network Grubu’nun kurucusu Serdar Kaya, platformun bir ihtiyaçtan do¤du¤unu söylüyor. Baltimore’da okuduktan sonra New York’ta çal›flmaya bafllayan Kaya, ilk bafllarda do¤ru insanlarla, do¤ru yerde buluflmak konusunda s›k›nt› yaflad›¤›n› vurguluyor. “Do¤ru insanlar› biraraya getirmek ve bir sinerji yaratmak üzere yola ç›kt›k. ‹lk toplant›m›zda 20 kifliydik, her geçen gün say›m›z art›yor,” diyor. Grub, halen kar amac› gütmeyen ve üyeler aras›nda bir ba¤ yaratmak amac›yla toplan›yor. Kaya, gelecekte konferanslar, seminerler arac›l›¤›yla üyelerin mesleki ve akademik bilgilerini güncellemek istediklerini kaydediyor. Grubu, kar amac› gütmeyen bir
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Y›lmaz, and Burak Tekes, is an example of one of these platforms. The Group started out as way to bring together graduates of finance, economics, IT, engineering, sociology, and political science and have now forged ties with members in other American cities, in addition to other international cities such as Istanbul, Brussels, Amsterdam, and London. The group has staged nine different events since it was founded in New York and now counts 300 people as members. Of those, nearly 150 live in New York.
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lude employees of financial giants such as UBS, Citibank, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs. The titles of many of these members include analyst, senior analyst, Vice President, and director.
organizasyon olarak flirketlefltirmek ve kurumsal bir yap›ya kavuflturmak ise di¤er hedefler. A¤›rl›kl› olarak çal›flanlar› üye olarak kabul eden Grubun kalitesini belli bir seviyede tutmak istediklerini dile getiren Kaya, üyeler aras›nda UBS, Citibank,
Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch ve Goldman Sachs gibi dünya devi finans flirketlerinde çal›flanlar oldu¤una dikkat çekiyor. Çal›flanlar›n ünvanlar›n›n genelde analist, senior analist, Vice President ve direktörler oldu¤unu sözlerine ekliyor.
It is thought that in metropolitan New York, there are between 2,000 and 2,500 Turks (besides those Turks working in Turkish firms) working in the financial sector. The founder of the Group, Serdar Kaya, tells us that the platform grew out of a need. After having worked in Baltimore, Kaya moved to New York and found it difficult to find the right people in the right places. He states, “We set out to bring the right people together and to create a type of synergy. There were twenty people at our first meeting and as time goes by, more and more people join.” The Group remains a nonprofit and aims primarily to create a bond between members. Kaya says that in the future the Group plans to hold conferences and seminars with the purpose of updating members' professional and academic knowledge. They also want to retain their nonprofit status while moving towards a more institutional and company-based model. Kaya indicates that the Group tends to accept gainfully employed people and attempts to maintain a certain level of quality. Members incTurkofAmerica • 73
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HAPPENINGS
LOVELORN COMING SOON TO AN AMERICAN TV Virtic Brown, the film's American representative, tells us that the experience of bringing six films with international awards to the US has been a great source of pride for her. Brown played a role in bringing the film “Redemption”, starring Brian White, to the US. Brown also wrote the screenplay and was the producer for “Will Unplugged”, starring Bruce Glover and Reed Frerichs. The film will be distributed by renowned on-line film distributors.
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hanks to the company All Channel Films, the cable TV channel HBO will soon be screening the Turkish film, “Gönül Yaras›” (Lovelorn), starring well-known actors fiener fien and Meltem Cumbul. All Channel Films provides HBO, Showtime, Starz Encore, and other American cable channels with a range of movies. Brian Stevenson, who is the vice-chairman in charge of purchasing at All Channel Films, is doing the distribution of “Gönul Yaras›” on behalf of his company.
Brown is currently involved in the documentary, “A Field of Blackbirds: What Happened in Kosova”, which was filmed by Switch Studios and will be released in 2008. “Gönül Yaras›”, which will be coming to the small screen in the autumn of 2007, tells the story of the relationship between a retired teacher (fiener fien) and a singer (Meltem Cumbul), who is attempting to escape from the oppression of her exhusband (Timuçin Esen).
ABFT HOSTS U.S. DIPLOMATS
US Ambassador Ross Wilson participated in the cruise, joined by ambassadors and diplomats from the region.
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he American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT) hosted cruise on the Bosphorus for 30 US diplomats last September. During the cruise ABFT officials underscored the organization’s commitment to free trade and open markets in the energy sector as a crucial driver of Turkey and the region's economic growth. "ABFT recognizes Turkey's strategic position in the region as an 'energy bridge' ", said Galip Sukaya, Chairman of the ABFT Board. “ABFT offered to host the diplomats as a way of underscoring our commitment to to strengthening the bridge between the private and public sectors working on energy policy
and the investment enviroment." US Ambassador Ross Wilson, Honorary Chairman of ABFT, participated in the cruise, joined by ambassadors and diplomats from the region. Also aboard were U.S. State Department Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs, Reuben Jeffery III; Daniel S. Sullivan, Assistant Secretary for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs; and U.S. Consul General in Istanbul Sharon Wiener. Established in January 2004, ABFT represents approximately 70 prestigious U.S. firms operating in Turkey. US Ambassador Ross C. Wilson serves as Honorary Chairman.
LEADERSHIP AWARD GIVEN TO AL‹ ÇINAR
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ased in Washington, the Turkish-American Associations Assembly recently held a leadership conference. Lead by ATAA, Turk of America writer and the President of IUMEZUSA Ali Cinar was honored as the “Leader of the Year” for his services and leadership role in the Turkish community. President of ATAA, Nurten Ural congratulated Ali Cinar for his success and thanked him for all of his work. During his short speech, Ali Cinar said that he will continue to help the Turkish community and follow in the footsteps of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He also added that 74 • TurkofAmerica
the key to success is to understand each other and to work unilaterally. Turkish Coalition of America was also recognized with a “Success Award” for their services and quick success in the community. The award was given to President Lincoln McCurdy and Executive Director Guler Koknar. Also in Washington, the Volunteer Leadership Award was given to Fatih Çulha as well as the “Thank You Award” to Marilyn Katz Pek for her services. Nurten Urala was also surprised by ATAA and given a gift for her successful work.
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WELLNESS CAFÉ
THE ORGANIC FOOD CAFE OF THE CAPITAL
Wellness Café was opened in 2000 by Uzay Türker (also known as Uzi).
Wellness Café 2000 y›l›nda Uzay Türker (ya da bilinen ad›yla Uzi) taraf›ndan aç›ld›.
BAfiKENT’‹N ORGAN‹K GIDA BÜFES‹ A
ccording to figures of the Organic Trade Organization, located in Greenfield, Massachusetts, the consumer sales figures for the organic industry at the end of 2005 reached $14.6 billion. As the largest player in the industry, the organic food market's size is $13.8 billion. Since 1997 the sector has shown a 15-21 percent increase and it comprises 2.5 percent of the whole of the US food sales market. Among the increasing numbers of organic food outfits throughout the country, Wellness Cafe is a staple among the Washington, D.C. lunchtime elite. It is found on one of D.C.'s bu76 • TurkofAmerica
siest avenues, Pennsylvania Avenue, and located in the same neighborhood as the White House, Congress, and the Library of Congress. Many congress representatives, such as John B. Larson (D CT), Mario Diaz-Balart (R FL), Walter B. Jones (R – NC), Dennis Kucinich (D – OH), David Wu (D – OR), and Senator John Warner (R – VA), choose to frequent the locale. The cafe was opened in 2000 by Uzay Türker (also known as Uzi). Two and a half years ago the Cafe shifted its focus towards organic food and was one of the first deli-style eateries in the
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erkezi Massascuses eyaletinin Greenfield flehrinde bulunan Organic Trade Organization verierine göre, organik endüstrisi tüketici sat›fl rakam› 2005 y›l› sonunda 14,6 milyar dolara ulaflt›. Endüstrinin en büyük kalemi olan organik g›dan›n pazar büyüklü¤ü ise 13,8 milyar dolar oldu. 1997 y›l›nda bugüne y›ll›k yüzde 15-21 aras›nda büyüme gösteren sektör, ABD toplam g›da sat›fl pazar›n›n yüzde ikibuçu¤una denk geliyor.
Kongre binas› ve Kongre Kütüphanesi’nin bulundu¤u mühitteki Wellness Cafe.
Say›lar› her geçen gün artan organik g›da iflletmelerinden biri de Washington, D.C.’nin ifllek caddelerinden, Pennsylvania Avenue üzerinde, Beyaz Saray,
Bundan 2,5 y›l önce konseptini organik g›daya yönelten Wellness Cafe, Washington, D.C.’de büfe tarz›nda organik yiyecek satan ilk yerlerden biri.
Kongre üyeleri John B. Larson (D - CT), Mario Diaz-Balart (R - FL), Walter B. Jones (R – NC), Dennis Kucinich (D – OH), David Wu (D – OR), Senatör John Werner (R – VA) gibi pek çok politikac›n›n da u¤rak yeri olan mekan, 2000 y›l›nda Uzay Türker (ya da bilinen ad›yla Uzi) taraf›ndan aç›ld›.
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D.C. area to sell organic food. Chosen by “The Natural Foods Merchandiser” in September 2005 as Store of the Month, the Wellness Cafe also sells vitamins and specially blended organic foods and drinks. In 2004, its sales volume reached 250,000 dollars. Currently, the cafe earns 50 percent of its money from the deli and 40 percent from vitamin sales. The remaining amount comes from refreshments. A graduate of Izmir's September 9th University, Türker did his Master's at Florida International University. When he initially started in the cafe business, he had no prior knowledge of organic food, having worked as a manager for three years at a five-star hotel in Turkey. “Either you have to know the business really well or you have to open the place in an excellent location. I did the latter,” he says. It was painfully clear from the start that the dilapidated building in which Türker wanted to house the deli was badly in need of renovation. The restorations he undertook in the
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120-year building brought the deli to a modern state and he became the fourth operator of this deli, which had started out as the “Good Health Natural Food” store in 1964. The sandwiches, toasts, and panini varieties sold at lunchtime are all made with organic ingredients. Türker indicates that the costs of the ingredients that he uses are constantly increasing, with blueberries formerly costing $48 dollars for 30 pounds (13.3 kg) and now costing a whopping $76 for the same amount. Türker sells his sandwiches for about seven dollars, while the drinks go for $3.99-4.99. He points out that 70 percent of his customer base are regulars and that “no one can beat our work ethic.” In addition to the business generated by the 790 square-feet deli area, the Cafe also does business on the Internet, at www.wellnesscafe.com. Four people are employed at the Wellness Cafe, a name given by Türker's wife, who is also his most valued resource. The couple have a son named Kaan.
“The Natural Foods Merchandiser” dergisi taraf›ndan Eylül 2005’te ay›n dükkan› seçilen Wellness Cafe, vitaminler ve özel kar›fl›ml› organik içecekler de sat›yor. 2004 y›l›nda 250 bin dolar ciro yapan mekan›n gelirinin yüzde 50’sini deli, yüzde 40’›n› vitamin sat›fllar› sa¤l›yor. Geri kalan gelir ise içeceklerden. ‹zmir 9 Eylül Üniversitesi mezunu olan Türker, Florida International University’de master yapt›. Türkiye’de turizm sektöründe bei y›ld›zl› bir otelde 3 y›l yöneticilik yapan Türker, kafe serüvenine bafllad›¤›nda, organik g›da akl›nda yoktu. “Ya bir ifli çok iyi bileceksin ya da çok iyi bir yerde mekan açacaks›n. Ben ikincisini yapt›m,” diyor. Kafenin aç›ld›¤› binan›n köhne görünümü yenili¤i kaç›n›lmaz k›ld›. 120 y›ll›k binada yapt›rd›¤› restorasyonla mekan› modern bir hale getiren genç patron, ilk olarak 1964 y›l›nda “Good Health Natural Food” ad›yla aç›lan dükkan›n dördüncü iflletmecisi. Ö¤le yemek aras›nda sat›fla su-
nulan sandviç, tost, panini gibi çeflitler tamamen organik malzemelerden haz›rlan›yor. Kullan›lan ürünlerin fiyatlar›n›n sürekli artt›¤›na iflaret eden Türker, 30 pound’una (13.3 kg) $48 ödedi¤i yaban mersinine (blueberry), flu an $76 ödedi¤ini söylüyor. Türker, sandviçleri ortalama 7.00 dolardan, içecekleri de 3.99-4.99 dolar aras›nda sat›yor. Müflterilerin yüzde 70’inin devaml› müflteri oldu¤una dikkat çeken Türker, “Bizim gibi deli olarak çal›flan baflka bir yer yok,” diyor. 790 sq feet büyüklü¤ündeki Café ayn› zamanda internet üzerinden de sat›fl yap›yor. (wellnesscafedc.com) Dört kiflinin çal›flt›¤› mekana ismini veren efli Alana, Türker’in en büyük yard›mc›s›. Çiftin Kaan isminde bir çocuklar› bulunuyor.
CONTACT Uzay Türker 325 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 (202) 543 2266
Bülent M. ‹nal Sales Representative Diplomat & European Delivery Levent ‹nal Client Advisor
Honors
VOB BMW 1396 Rockville Pike Rockvilli, MD 20852 Tel: (301) 984-8989 Fax: (301) 984-0798 Mobile Phone: (703) 969-3977 e-mail: binal@vobbmw.com linal@vobbmw.com
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PERA
PERA: A TREND-SETTER IN THE TURKISH RESTAURANT WORLD?
Photo: Ayhan Kay
Pera’s philosophy is “to remove traditional Turkish cuisine from the ethnic and cheap restaurant market into which it had fallen.”
Burak Karaçam's and Sezai Çelikbafl’s (at left) family friendship was an important factor in opening Pera.
Pera’n›n ortaklar›ndan Burak Karaçam, felsefelerinden birinin de ‘geleneksel Türk mutfa¤›n›n kendisini soktu¤u etnik ve ucuz yemek pazar›ndan ç›karmak’ oldu¤unu söylüyor.
TÜRK MUTFA⁄INA YEN‹ B‹R SOLUK N
ew York – Imagine the following setting: in one of the various 30 Turkish restaurants in New York City, a waiter hands menus to six guests sitting at a table. One of the patrons sitting at the table utters the following, “Your prices are very reasonable.” The smiling waiter replies, “The same food is twice as expensive at Pera, but our prices are low.” Another person seated at the table interrupts the waiter, stating, “If someone is selling a Turkish
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dish for 28 dollars, you really should be proud rather than irritated.” When Pera Mediterranean Brasserie opened in late March 2007, New Yorkers were presented with a Turkish restaurant different than the others spread out throughout the city. Many characteristics set Pera apart. For instance, customers have a view of the kitchen from their seats. Appetizers and kebabs are served with a more gourmet style. The-
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ew York – New York’ta say›lar› 30’a ulaflan Türk restoranlardan birinde, ayn› masada oturan alt› kifliye garson menüleri uzat›yor. Masadakilerden birisi “Fiyatlar›n›z çok uygun,” diye laf at›yor. Garson, gülümseyerek, “Ayn› yiyecekler Pera’da iki kat daha pahal›, ama bizde fiyatlar ucuz,” diyor. Masada oturan bir di¤er müflteri, garsona müdahele ediyor: “E¤er birileri bir Türk mutfa-
¤›ndan ç›km›fl bir yemek taba¤›n› 28 dolara sat›yorsa, bundan flikayetçi de¤il gurur duyman›z laz›m.” Pera Mediterranean Brasserie, Mart 2007’nin sonlar›na do¤ru Madison Avenue’de müflterilerine kap›lar›n› açt›¤›nda New Yorklular al›fl›lm›fl›n d›fl›nda bir Türk restoran› gördü. Müflteriler oturduklar› yerden mutfaktakiler neler yap›yor görebiliyor. Mezeler, kebaplar de¤iflik bir sunumla
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re is no soup on the menu. As the waiter indicated, the restaurant is more expensive than other Turkish restaurants. For dinner, appetizers and salads range from 8 to 17 dollars, while the main course can go from 21 to 36 dollars and the desserts total 8-9 dollars. A three-person group can easily dish out more than 250 dollars in one evening. According to one of Pera's partners, Burak Karaçam, part of their philosophy is “to remove traditional Turkish cuisine from the ethnic and cheap restaurant market into which it had fallen.” He also states the following, “The sales price of the product is determined by the demand for it.” In order to defeat the stereotype of unhygienic ethnic kitchens, the partners have transformed the kitchen into a theater stage for the customers, with the chefs and waiters as the main actors. Karaçam received his undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics from Duke University and went on to get his Master's Degree at Harvard University. During that period he worked on topics related to restaurant management. He says that Pera is not that different from the project he worked on at that time, for which he received a passing grade from his professor. There are four managers for the 50 people working for the restaurant, 18 of whom work in the kitchen. Burak Karaçam and Cem Erenler are in charge of managing the restaurant while Sezai Çelikbafl and Jason Avery are tasked with overseeing the kitchen. Sezai Çelikbafl is the son of Ahmet Çelikbafl, also known as Pala, the head chef in charge of Istanbul's famous kebab restaurant, Köflebafl›. FAMILY FRIENDS Karaçam's and Çelikbafl’s family friendship was an important factor in opening Pera. Burak Kara-
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çam's father is the famous banker Burhan Karaçam, who, being from kebab-rich Tarsus, found a second culinary home in Pala Ahmet Usta's restaurant in the Istanbul neighborhood of Pera during his student years. The friendship began in 1966 and soon enough a plan to open a restaurant in New York began to percolate in the minds of the two families. The 40-year friendship that started in Istanbul Pera has been transformed into their children's partnership for this restaurant on Madison Avenue. Having lived in the US since 1992 and worked in the financial firm Lehman Brothers for six years, Karaçam and his present-day partner Cem Erenler met in 2005. Erenler had previously worked as a food and drinks manager at Ian Schrager's Hudson Cafeteria and The Regent Wall Street Hotel, both in New York. He had also taught restaurant management classes at Hudson Community College for two years. SEZAI ÇELIKBAfi The 52-year old Sezai Çelikbafl arrived in New York with a 5person team from Turkey and after moving into the kitchen began training Honduran, Ecuadorian, and Dominican chefs. The 12 branches of Köflebafl› Restaurant in Turkey (not including the branches of the restaurant in Greece and Brazil) were ranked by Conde Nast Traveler in their list of 50 best restaurants in the world. Çelikbafl learned how to cook alongside his father in Köflebafl›. He states, “I've been a chef since I was five. My career is crystal clear and I am extremely self-confident in my abilities.” Karaçam emphasizes that the restaurant's future plans include expanding into a chain. They plan to open a second restaurant in the New York area and as he states, “We plan for people to be eating at Pera in Las Vegas within five years.”
masaya geliyor. Menüde çorba bulunmuyor. Garsonun da belirtti¤i gibi ortalama fiyatlar, di¤er Türk restoranlar›ndan pahal›. Akflam yeme¤i için ifltah aç›c›lar ve salatalar 8-17 dolar, ana yemekler 21-36 dolar, tatl›lar da 8-9 dolar aras›nda. Üç kifli için rahatl›kla 250 dolar üzerinde hesap ödeyebilirsiniz.
Usta’n›n ‹stanbul Pera’da açt›¤› restoranda al›rm›fl. 1966’da bafllayan dostluk, zamanla aile sohbetlerinin bitmek bilmeyen ‘New York’ta restoran açma projesi’ni dillere dolam›fl. 40 y›l önce iki arkadafl›n ‹stanbul Pera’da bafllayan dostluklar›, bugün çocuklar›n›n Madison Avenue’de açt›¤› restoranla ortakl›¤a dönüflmüfl durumda.
Pera’n›n ortaklar›ndan Burak Karaçam, felsefelerinden birinin de ‘geleneksel Türk mutfa¤›n›n kendisini soktu¤u etnik ve ucuz yemek pazar›ndan ç›karmak’ oldu¤unu söylüyor. “Ürünün sat›fl fiyat›n›, ona olan talep belirler,” diyor. ‘Etnik mutfaklar hiyjene önem vermez’ kliflesini y›kmak için de, mutfa¤› tiyatro sahnesi gibi müflterilerin karfl›s›na kurdurmufl.
1992 y›l›ndan beri ABD’de yaflayan ve alt› y›l Lehman Brothers finans flirketinde çal›flan Karaçam’›n orta¤› Cem Erenler ile yolu 2005’te kesiflti. New York’ta Ian Schrager’s Hudson Cafeteria ve The Regent Wall Street Hotel gibi ünlü otellerde yiyecek&içecek müdürü ve yönetici olarak görev yapan Erenler, Hudson Community College’de son iki y›ld›r otel restoran yönetimi ile ilgili ders verdi. ‹kilinin yolu Erenler’in restoranlarla ilgili dan›flmanl›k verdi¤i y›llara rastlad›.
Duke Universitesi’nde Ekonomi ve Matematik okuyan Karaçam, Harvard Business School’da master’›n› yapt›¤› dönemde restoran iflletmesi üzerine bir okul projesi üzerinde çal›flm›fl. Pera’n›n o dönemde okulda çal›flt›¤› proje ile çok büyük fark› olmad›¤›n› söylüyor. Projeden de geçer not alm›fl hocas›ndan. 18’i mutfakta olmak üzere 50 kiflinin çal›flt›¤› restoranda dört yönetici ifl bafl›nda. Burak Karaçam ve Cem Erenler restoran›n yönetiminden, Sezai Çelikbafl ve Jason Avery mutfa¤›ndan sorumlu. Sezai Çelikbafl, ‹stanbul’un ünlü Köflebafl› Restaurant iflleten usta ahç› Pala lakab›yla tan›nan Ahmet Çelikbafl’in o¤lu. A‹LE DOSTLARI Karaçam ve Çelikbafl’›n aile dostluklar› Pera’n›n aç›l›fl›n›n da önemli faktörlerinden. Burak Karaçam’›n babas› ünlü bankac› Burhan Karaçam, ö¤rencilik y›llar›nda memleketi Tarsus’un damak tad›n› ‹stanbul’da ararken, Pala Ahmet
SEZA‹ ÇEL‹KBAfi Türkiye’den befl kiflilik ekibiyle birlikte gelerek mutfa¤a geçen 52 yafl›ndaki Sezai Çelikbafl, flimdi Hondurasl›, Ekvadorlu ve Dominikli elemanlar› ahç› olarak yetifltiriyor. Yunanistan ve Brezilya’n›n d›fl›nda Türkiye’de 12 flubesi bulunan Köflebafl› Restaurantlar›’nda (Conde Nast Traveler taraf›ndan dünyan›n en iyi 50 restoran›ndan biri olarak gösterildi) babas›n›n yan›nda ahç›l›k ö¤renen Çelikbafl, “Befl yafl›ndan beri ahç›y›m. Kariyerim belli ve kendime güveniyorum,” diyor. Karaçam, Pera ile ilgili gelece¤e yönelik hedeflerinin restoran› bir zincir haline dönüfltürmek oldu¤unu vurguluyor. ‹kincisini yine New York civar›nda açmay› planlayan Karaçam, “Befl y›l içinde Las Vegas’ta Pera’ya gidenler olmas›n› planl›yoruz” diyor. TurkofAmerica • 79
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