Industry Musk terms Tesla’s Saudi factory talks ‘utterly false’ Billionaire Elon Musk has termed a media report about Tesla Inc. being in talks with Saudi Arabia to set up a production facility in the kingdom as “utterly false”. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, citing informed sources, that the kingdom is in early talks with US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla. “Yet […] September 19, 2023
Industry Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, Anadolu Agency posted on social media platform X – formerly Twitter – on Sunday. Erdoğan asked Musk during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the United Nations in New York, the Turkish state-owned news agency said. […] September 18, 2023
Renewable Energy Solar energy shines in global survey beating fossil fuels More than two-thirds of the world’s population favours solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries […] September 17, 2023
Energy Iraq and Turkey oil pipeline to resume operations soon Iraq’s northern oil export route through Turkey will soon be ready to resume operation after checks on pipeline maintenance and repairs to flood damage, the Turkish energy minister said. A survey of the oil pipeline is complete and it will soon be “technically” ready for operation, Alparslan Bayraktar said. Turkey halted flows on Iraq’s northern […] September 17, 2023
Finance Erdogan says Turkey could ‘part ways’ with EU Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the European Union (EU) if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey. The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey’s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU […] September 17, 2023
Finance World Bank says Turkey’s economy on the right path The World Bank’s Turkey director said on Thursday that the economy was heading in the right direction but there was more to do, a week after the bank said it would double its exposure to Turkey to $35 billion over three years. In an interview with Reuters, Humberto Lopez said that of the additional $18 […] September 15, 2023
Economy Goldman Sachs ups Turkey’s deficit forecast to $43bn Goldman Sachs raised its forecast on Tuesday for Turkey’s 2023 current account deficit to $43 billion from a previous $38 billion, after it said it “deteriorated sharply” in July. “(I)ncorporating higher oil prices, we now expect Turkey’s current account deficit to reach $43 billion (previously $38 billion) for 2023 as a whole,” the Wall Street […] September 13, 2023
Finance Fitch upgrades Turkey’s outlook to ‘stable’ Global ratings agency Fitch on Friday upgraded Turkey’s foreign currency outlook to “stable” and affirmed its rating at “B,” saying its change in economic policy could reduce financial instability in the near term. Turkey has been struggling with inflation for a while and is now at the heels of a policy U-turn after President Tayyip […] September 10, 2023
Finance Turkish minister plans to meet Middle East investors Turkey’s finance minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday that he planned investor meetings in Germany, financial hubs New York and London, and cities in Asia and the Middle East. Turkey’s economic programme had President Tayyip Erdogan’s full support, a day after the government hiked its forecasts for inflation and cut its economic growth outlook, he […] September 8, 2023
Finance Turkey’s shift policies ‘clearly’ positive for credit rating Moody’s has signalled that Turkey’s re-embrace of conventional economic policymaking since Tayyip Erdoğan’s May election win could soon start paying dividends in terms of a stronger credit rating, as long as it sticks with it. Ankara’s credit score, which affects how much the government pays to borrow on capital markets, has been in decline for […] September 8, 2023
Finance Turkey plans big interest rate hikes as inflation to hit 65% Turkey jacked up its inflation forecasts and cut those of economic growth on Wednesday, as President Tayyip Erdoğan appeared to endorse the big interest rate hikes that are driving a turnaround toward more orthodox policies. Since the policy U-turn began in June, analysts have applauded what they said was a more realistic effort to address […] September 7, 2023
Energy Iraq’s oil flow to Turkey may resume after October Iraqi oil flows to Turkey are not expected to resume before October, when Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will likely visit Baghdad, sources said, after the trip originally scheduled for August was postponed. Turkey halted Iraqi northern oil export flows on March 25 after an arbitration ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara […] September 6, 2023
Finance Erdoğan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said after talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal that the United Nations says helped to ease a food crisis by getting Ukrainian grain to market. Russia quit the deal in July – a year after it was brokered by the UN […] September 5, 2023
Finance Turkey depositors convert lira deposits to dollars Turkish depositors mostly converted funds back to dollars last month when they withdrew from state depreciation-protected accounts, according to initial data and senior bankers, as Ankara begins winding down the scheme in a broad policy U-turn. Since President Tayyip Erdogan won re-election in May, authorities have raised interest rates sharply under the U-turn and set […] September 5, 2023
Economy Turkish factory activity slows as new order growth weakens Turkish factory activity contracted for a second month in August due to a slowdown in new orders as firms faced challenges securing business, a survey showed on Friday. The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing fell to 49.0 in August from 49.9 in July, according to the survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and […] September 4, 2023
Industry Turkey and Russia seek to revive grain export deal Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan on Monday in the Black Sea resort of Sochi as Ankara and the United Nations seek to revive a Ukraine grain export deal that helped ease a global food crisis. Russia quit the deal in July – a year after it was brokered by […] September 3, 2023
Finance Turkey’s economy grow 3.8% on strong household spend Turkey’s economy grew by a more-than-expected 3.8 percent in the second quarter due to strong household spending, data showed on Thursday, but activity should slow through year-end as election-related stimulus fades and big rate hikes weigh. On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 3.5 percent on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, also outstripping […] September 1, 2023
Trade Turkish deals help UAE hit non-oil foreign trade record Bilateral trade between the UAE and Turkey recorded one of the highest growth rates in the first half of 2023, rising 87.4 percent annually. The massive growth helped the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reach a record high of AED1.239 trillion ($337.33 billion) in H1 2023, an increase of 14.4 percent year on year, the Ministry […] August 31, 2023
Transport DP World signs partnership with Turkish port operator Global port operator DP World has signed a partnership deal to strengthen its position in Turkey. The equity agreement between DP World Yarimca Port and Turkey’s Evyap Group will secure supply chain services in the critical Marmara gateway market. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals. Once complete, DP World will own 58 percent of […] August 29, 2023
Finance Isbank to free up subsidiaries for future listings Turkish lender Isbank is demerging to free up its subsidiaries to be listed in the future – the plan allows the bank to use its equity more effectively, chief financial official Gamze Yalcin said on Monday. The bank’s shares soared more than 8 percent to a record high after it earlier announced it would transfer […] August 29, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Foreign tourist arrivals in Turkey surge 16% to 27m Foreign arrivals in Turkey surged 16.22 percent year on year in the first seven months of 2023, the culture and tourism ministry data showed. The country received 26.76 million foreign tourists between January and July, compared to 23.03 million a year ago. In July, 7.14 million visitors arrived in Turkey, up of 7.25 percent year […] August 27, 2023
Economy Turkish minister to meet US investors next month Turkish finance minister Mehmet Simsek, who is leading the country’s economic U-turn toward orthodox policies, will hold his first meeting abroad with foreign investors on September 19 in New York, according to an invitation to the event. Simsek will give a speech and answer investors’ questions at Goldman Sachs headquarters, marking the first such overseas […] August 27, 2023
