Agriculture Turkey’s agricultural sector gets $50m boost from Opec Fund The Opec Fund for International Development (Opec Fund) has extended a $50 million loan to Turkey to support its agricultural and food production sectors in 11 cities severely impacted by earthquakes in February 2023. The Development and Investment Bank of Turkey (TKYB) will lend the funds to small and medium-sized enterprises to promote a more […] March 25, 2024
Opinion Economy Egypt and Turkey turn a corner but Lebanon flounders The phrase 'two out of three ain't bad' offers no solace for a struggling nation March 22, 2024
Trade Turkey and GCC to create $2.4trn free trade area Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), to create one of the world’s largest free trade areas worth $2.4 trillion. GCC secretary general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi and Turkish trade minister Omer Bolat signed a pact to proceed with the talks. The GCC comprises the UAE, Saudi […] March 22, 2024
Economy Turkey raises interest rate to 50% amid soaring inflation Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate by 500 basis points to 50 percent from 45 percent following a deteriorating inflation outlook. The move comes after monthly inflation was higher than expected in February, driven by services inflation, the monetary policy committee (MPC) said in a statement. “Stickiness in services inflation, inflation expectations, […] March 22, 2024
Trade Turkey imposes dumping duties on solar panel imports Turkey plans to implement anti-dumping measures on solar panel imports from five countries to combat unfair competition, according to a local media report. The countries are Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Croatia and Jordan, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing the government’s official gazette. The solar panel imports will be subject to a fee of $25 per sq m, […] March 20, 2024
Tech Meta faces legal action in Turkey over data sharing Turkey’s competition authority on Monday imposed an interim measure on Meta Platforms meant to hinder data sharing between the Instagram and Threads platforms as it investigates possible abuse of the company’s dominant market position. In December the authority launched an investigation into Facebook parent Meta over a possible violation of competition law by linking its social media […] March 19, 2024
Tourism Turkey hopes sunken wartime wrecks can refloat tourism sector 'Each of these wrecks has a story' – and there are hopes wealthy visitors will want to hear them 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
