Turkey is known to be one of the fastest developing countries in the world as would be verified by the increase in GDP to USD 10,000 from 3,000  in a very short period of  maximum 6-seven years. The economic - and political - stability in the country for the 7-8 years has been one of the major factors to bring such a positive result. Looking at many economic indicators, the government although slammed for m ...

Japan's Astellas, a global pharmaceutical company mainly active in urology and transplantation, is hopeful on the Turkish market despite sharp price cuts, a hot topic for the whole sector. The local branch is planning to both increase employees and offer a wider product range this year, says Piet Dury, head of Astellas Turkey. The executive also warns on a possible lack of drugs due to government’s pricing ...

Turkey's central bank defended its policy of low interest rates and higher required reserve ratios on Thursday, saying it began to show positive effects in April and record external deficits would improve later this year. Data on Wednesday showing the current account deficit rose to a record high monthly level in March sparked selling of Turkish assets and deep doubt in the market that the central bank's un ...

Not many companies in Turkey are acquainted with Financial Leasing to expand their assets, in contrary to the common business practice in the western world. In spite of this fact as well as the effects of the global crisis the world has gone through Turkish financial leasing sector has been doing well recently as confirmed by financial reports. In fact, The 1st quarter profit of leasing companies as compare ...

This weekend, Izmir will lay the foundation for its own ‘crazy project’ the Çandarlı Port. Projected to be one of the world’s largest ten ports, the port will be able to dock six mega ships at the same time. In addition, with this investment, Turkey’s container capacity will increase threefold. This Sunday, the groundwork is being laid for the first for a number of mega projects the AK Party has included in ...

Turkish Airlines has reported a net loss of 332.3 million Turkish Liras in the first quarter, exceeding estimates. The loss compared with a net income of 119.6 million liras in the same period of 2010. Turkish Airlines said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange after the market closed Thursday. The company was expected to report a loss of 138.5 million liras, according to the average of four analyst ...

The trade balance targets set by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, for the year 2023, the 100th anniversary of the modern republic, reflect a $100 billion gap, according to remarks by a top party official. “The import target of CHP by 2023 is $750 billion,” said Umut Oran, responding to a Hürriyet Daily News question during a meeting with small group of journalists in Istanbul. The ...

The European Commission raised its 2011 growth forecast for Turkish economy to 6.1 percent from an earlier forecast of 4.5 percent. In its economic forecast report for spring 2011, the commission said, “Turkey's fiscal consolidation in the past decade is an impressive success story.” The report projected that Turkey's growth, which touched 8.9 percent in 2010, would slow down but continue in 2011. Labor mar ...

CHP deputy leader Sezgin Tanrıkulu said the Kurdish problem could be solved within the unitary structure of Turkey The main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, proposes full implementation of the “European Local Administrations Autonomy Condition,” which would require the strengthening of the local administrations’ powers in Turkey. CHP deputy leader Sezgin Tanrıkulu said the Kurdish problem could ...

The Fiba Group, owned by Turkish businessman Hüsnü Özyeğin, has decided to continue its banking activities under the name “Fibabanka,” once used by the group, shifting its current brand Millenium. Fiba acquired Millenium Bank from Banco Comercial for 61.8 million euros in December. The group first started its banking business in 1987 under the Finansbank brand. Two year later Fiba Holding was launched in th ...

The prime minister said Wednesday building two new settlements near Istanbul will help provide safer housing for the city residents living in earthquake danger zones. The prime minister said Wednesday building two new settlements near Istanbul will help provide safer housing for the city residents living in earthquake danger zones. Plans to add two new settlements to Istanbul will be a “catastrophe” for the ...

Sex tape scandals hitting Turkey’s opposition parties are holding politics hostage and could be products of an organized crime gang, a former prosecutor running for Parliament from the main opposition has said. Even the prime minister or other senior officials could become the subject of this sort of blackmail, said Republican People’s Party, or CHP, candidate İlhan Cihaner, adding that such “plots” could n ...

Turkish markets weakened on Wednesday after the current account deficit sharply exceeded forecasts in March, fuelling concerns about overheating and Turkey's vulnerability to external shocks. The deficit widened 128 percent to a record $9.766 billion, central bank data showed, far higher than a Reuters poll forecast of $8.2 billion. The lira eased to 1.57 against the dollar, the weakest since March 22, from ...

An agreement was signed for Turkey’s first national tank during the IDEF'11 Fair. The nationally-produced tanks will contain a system that is able to distinguish between friend or foe. President Abdullah Gül conducted the opening for the IDEF'11, the 2011 International Defense Industry Fair on Monday in Istanbul. The indigenous tank, entitled Altay, and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ANKA) made their mark on ...

The European Union must liberalize its visa regime with Turkey before the country’s accession to the bloc, because Turkey’s membership will take a long time to achieve, a former top EU diplomat has said. “I don’t know [whether visa liberalization will occur before or after membership], but since the accession process will be long, I hope that it will happen before,” prominent European diplomat Javier Solana ...

Plans to build two new settlements near Istanbul will help provide safer housing for the city residents living in earthquake danger zones, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in televised remarks Wednesday. Erdoğan said the brainstorming phase had been completed and steps were now being taken to implement the plans. The “two new cities” planned by his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, will ...

Turkey became the first country Wednesday to sign a new European convention to prevent and combat violence against women, including crimes based on custom, religion, tradition or “honor.” “Not a day goes by in Turkey without news in the paper about women who have been subjected to violence. Now Turkey wants to be known in the world as a country that has championed the cause of combating violence against wom ...

The high-speed train between the capital city Ankara and the commercial hub Istanbul will be connected to a bridge across the Bosphorus and Marmaray rail system as part of a vast rail project in Istanbul, according to Turkey's Transportation Minister Habib Soluk. Soluk said the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed train would travel through the north of Sapanca Lake and reach the Sultanbeyli district of Istanbul. “In ...

Turkish lender Garanti Bank has secured 1 billion euros in a syndicated loan to replace the 700 million-euro loan obtained in the same period last year. Garanti Bank's Chief Executive Ergun Özen said after the signing ceremony in London that they proved their power in banking relations and their expertise in syndicated loans once again. "Garanti Bank has become a reliable business partner in international m ...

Businessmen from the 48 LDCs and Turkey had the chance to have tete-a-tete business meetings as part of Tuesday’s program organized by TUSKON in İstanbul. More than 3,200 businesspeople from the 48 least developed countries (LDCs) and Turkey have gathered around 545 business meeting desks on Tuesday at a trade fair organized by Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), on the sidelin ...

Iran will hold talks with major powers in Turkey over its disputed nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday, after earlier discussions failed to resolve the row. "I hope that this important issue will reach its final result in the (next) Istanbul talks," Ahmadinejad told a news conference in Istanbul, broadcast live on Iranian state television, without giving a date. Iran's nuclear talk ...

The Turkish prime minister and religious leader Fethullah Gülen are cozying up to each other over a tape scandal that led to the resignation Tuesday of two senior members of the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP. “It is ugly for [MHP leader Devlet] Bahçeli to engage in an approach implying that this issue [the release of the secret tapes] was managed from overseas. Then say its name clearly: What is overse ...

Turkish and other world leaders participating at a high-level U.N. conference in Istanbul slammed developed nations Monday for their indifference to – and responsibility for – the conditions of the world’s least developed countries. “This conference aims to establish a vision on how the world will struggle against poverty and hunger. But I am sorry to say that the developed, rich countries have not shown sa ...