Tourism Turkey hopes sunken wartime wrecks can refloat tourism sector Looming out of the shadows, unseen but by a few, is the flagship of Turkey’s latest high-end tourism initiative, seeking to parlay past battles into future revenue. Lying in 18 metres of water off Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula, the sunken battleship HMS Majestic is the cornerstone of a new policy to attract foreign and domestic dive […] March 18, 2024
Trade UK and Turkey open fresh trade negotiations The UK and Turkey have launched fresh trade talks targeting the services sector as part of any new deal. The two countries are planning to enhance their current trade deal, which was negotiated back in the 1990s and has remained despite the UK leaving the European Union in 2020. Bilateral trade stood at £26 billion […] March 15, 2024
Energy Turkey to conduct new oil explorations in Black Sea Turkey will undertake three hydrocarbon explorations in the Black Sea this year, the country’s energy and natural resources minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, has confirmed. “One of the goals in the vision of 2053 is to end Turkey’s energy dependency. This is such a great goal that it will affect the face of Turkey and the future […] March 15, 2024
Finance Turkey’s rating upgraded on tighter monetary policies Ratings agency Fitch upgraded Turkey’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating to “B+” from “B”, driven by greater-than-expected monetary policy tightening aimed at controlling inflation. “Upgrade reflects increased confidence in the durability and effectiveness of policies implemented since the pivot in June 2023,” Fitch said, revising the country’s outlook to “positive” from “stable.” Inflation expectations […] March 11, 2024
Manufacturing Turkish manufacturers buoyed by rise in PMI Turkish producers are cautiously optimistic after the Turkey Production Managers Index (PMI), which measures the outlook of the country’s manufacturing sector, returned to positive territory in February. According to the latest report issued by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Standard and Poor’s, this is the first increase after seven straight months of contraction. The […] March 1, 2024
Sustainability Turkey and Europe join up to promote carbon trading The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and Turkish energy bourse Enerji Piyasalari Isletme A.S (Epias) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop carbon emissions trading in Turkey. “We look forward to working with Epias in creating a robust emissions trading system (ETS) in Turkey by providing our expertise in carbon markets,” said EEX chief executive […] February 29, 2024
Tech Ericsson and Turkcell to lead 6G research in Turkey Swedish telecom company Ericsson and Turkish operator Turkcell will begin advancements on research and development of 6G in Turkey. The sixth-generation wireless network will use higher frequencies than its predecessor 5G and provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency. The advent of 6G networks holds promise of faster connectivity in various sectors including wireless […] February 28, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance GCC banks look to US and Europe GCC banks may be forced to look overseas to fulfil growth ambitions as home markets become increasingly saturated, experts say. While some banks have already ventured abroad – mainly into Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan, which constitute nearly a half of their presence outside the Gulf – more developed markets such as the US and Europe […] February 28, 2024
Banking & Finance Turkey close to removal from FATF ‘grey list’ says minister Turkey has successfully concluded technical studies aimed at removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list, treasury and finance minister Mehmet Şimşek has said. The final step involves an on-site assessment scheduled for June, Hurriyet Daily News, a Turkish English daily, reported, citing the minister’s post on social messaging site X. “We are […] February 26, 2024
Analysis Economy Turkey stockpiles gold as it combats current account deficit Turkey’s central bank has raised its gold bullion reserves to record levels while limiting sales to the public, as the government attempts to rein in the nation’s current account deficit. The central bank, the Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası, based in Altındağ, Ankara, had more than 550 tonnes of gold in its vaults as of February […] February 26, 2024
Industry ArcelorMittal cuts stake in Turkey’s largest steel maker Global steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA has lowered its stake in Turkey’s largest steel producer, Erdemir, to two percent, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The Luxembourg-headquartered company executed a sale of about half of the shares held in Eregli Demir ve Celik Fabrikalari TAS, commonly known as Erdemir — through two local brokerages. […] February 25, 2024
Energy Turkey and China to build $600m energy storage facility Turkey’s Progresiva Energy Investments has struck a deal with China’s Harbin Electric International to build a $600 million electricity storage facility, according to a media report. The project will be one of Europe’s largest energy storage facilities, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing Progresiva’s vice president, Cevdet Yılmaz. He said the initial phase, which will cost […] February 22, 2024
Tech Damac and Vodafone to build $100m data centre in Turkey Edgnex, a data centre subsidiary of Dubai real estate developer Damac, has established a joint venture with Vodafone Turkey to build its first data centre in the Turkish city of Izmir at an estimated cost of $100 million. The six megawatts capacity data centre is expected to be completed next year, as cloud computing gathers […] February 21, 2024
Trade DP World Trade Finance goes global after $400m debut year DP World Trade Finance has revealed plans to expand into Turkey this year before opening in a number of other countries. Working with Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the platform, which launched last year in the UAE, India and South Africa, has already financed more than $400 million of non-oil-based trade. Giving borrowers access to finance, […] February 20, 2024
Finance Turkey says inflation will fall by second half 0f 2024 Turkey’s measures to curb inflation will prove effective and begin to decline in the second half of this year, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing treasury and finance minister Mehmet Şimşek’s speech at the Turkey-Saudi Arabia Investment and Business Forum in Istanbul. “We will not do anything extraordinary to reduce inflation; conventional monetary policies will be […] February 18, 2024
Trade Turkey targets $30bn trade with Saudi Arabia Turkey intends to increase its trade volume with Saudi Arabia to $30 billion, according to a local media report. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $6.8 billion in 2023, with investments from Saudi companies making up $2 billion of the total, Daily Sabah reported, citing Turkey’s vice president Cevdet Yılmaz. “We believe investments can […] February 16, 2024
Finance Egypt-Turkey trade hits nearly $6bn in 2023 Trade between Egypt and Turkey reached nearly $6 billion in 2023, Egypt’s trade and industry minister, Ahmed Samir, has disclosed. Egypt’s exports to Turkey rose 28 percent year on year to nearly $3 billion last year. “Turkey has become Egypt’s largest recipient of exports in 2023 and one of its key trading partners,” Egypt Today […] February 14, 2024
Analysis Trade $112bn of trade with India ‘ready to be tapped’ Untapped trade opportunities between India and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey could be worth more than $112 billion, research has found. An HSBC report, which analyses data from the UN/WTO International Trade Centre, estimates that there is a $61 billion export gap for Indian companies in the key markets of the UAE, Saudi […] February 12, 2024
Analysis Construction Turkey’s construction sector struggles to build Turkey’s construction sector is labouring under the weight of rising material and borrowing costs, fuelled by demand following last year’s devastating earthquakes, but medium-term plans for urban renewal could help to build momentum. January’s sectoral confidence index from the Turkish Statistical Institute – Turkstat – showed the industry as the only major sector to remain […] February 12, 2024
Infrastructure EU grants $431m to Turkey for post-quake recovery The European Union (EU) has signed an agreement with Turkey to provide a €400 million ($431 million) grant to support development following the devastating earthquakes in early 2023. “In the history of this post-disaster relief instrument, this is the largest sum ever awarded to a candidate country. This is also the first time that Turkey […] February 9, 2024
Finance Turkey’s lira flat ahead of quarterly inflation report The Turkish lira was flat against the dollar on Thursday, and hovered near a record low hit earlier this week, as investors kept to the sidelines ahead of a quarterly inflation report in which the central bank is expected to raise its forecast. The lira stood at 30.6050 against the greenback at 05:46 GMT, slightly […] February 8, 2024
Industry Turkey’s drone maker starts building Ukraine plant Turkish defence company Baykar has started building a factory near Kyiv that will employ around 500 people, where it will manufacture either its TB2 or TB3 drone models, the company’s chief executive told Reuters. Turkish-made Bayraktar drones have gained prominence globally after being used by Ukraine’s military to thwart Russian forces by destroying armoured vehicles […] February 7, 2024