Istanbul, a giant city with historical and cultural resources and enormous business opportunities is challenging world giants such as Moscow, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York and many more. Istanbul was described as the most promising place for real estate investments in 2012. The number of modern shopping centers increased from 44 to 284 between 2000 and 2011.Turkey, as a regional hub providing easy access t ...

The Turkish retail sector, which recorded $302 billion in 2011, is expected to reach $421 billion in 2015. Internet retail portals are becoming a new favorite among Turkish internet users and shoppers, according to a Deloitte Turkey report. Turkey’s retail sector, which exceeded $302 billion in 2011, is expected to reach $421 billion in 2015, according to the “Retail Sector Analysis” report published yester ...

OUTLINE OF TURKEY ECONOMY REPORT - DECEMBER 2012 We believe the data down below would be convenient to provide an opinion for anyone who would like to have a swift look at what has been happening in the Turkish economy, on a monthly basis. September industrial production index increased by 6.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. The increase in the index, which was the highest since November 2 ...

Turkish banking sector keeps drawing interest from abroad as more foreign companies keep coming into this country. It has been reported in the meantime that one of the newcomers in Turkey’s banking sector, Russia’s Sberbank is seeking to enhance its position by signing cooperation deals with the Export Credit Bank of Turkey (Turk Eximbank) and the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT). A ...

Monthly change in CPI was realised by 1,03%. A rise in general index was realised in the 2003 based Consumer Price Index on the previous month by 1,03%, on December of the previous year by 3,34%, on same month of the previous year by 9,19%, on the twelve months moving averages basis by 9,53% in September 2012. The highest monthly increase was 2,26% in the index for miscellaneous goods and services by main e ...

In an interview with world-renowned economist Kemal Derviş he encouraged Turkey to face west rather than east and added that Ankara had a major role to play in an EU that needs to transform itself. Derviş said Ankara has a major role to play in an EU that needs to transform itself. Kemal Dreviş is known to have been at the steering-wheel years ago when Turkey's economy was in a very critical situation. Some ...

Chatham House laid Turkey, its neighbors and Istanbul on the table. During a Chatham House meeting, Suzan Sabancı Dinçer stated that Turkey’s balancing role in the region is a result of the nation’s economic dynamism and stable democracy. Akbank hosted the third Turkey Project for one of the world's most respected international affairs think tank, the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House m ...

Turkey leaps ahead in the global competitiveness ranking Improving macroeconomic stability and increasing accessibility of the financial sector catapulted Turkey’s rank by 16 places in this year’s Global Competitiveness Index, securing the 43rd spot in the 144-country survey prepared by the World Economic Forum. Turkey surpassed world’s leading emerging economies, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, ...

Budget targets will not be met this year, according to Finance Minister Şimşek. The Finance Ministry has prepared a draft law that would introduce new tax hikes, focused on automobiles, tobacco products, real estate investment trusts and title deed fees, daily Zaman reported yesterday. The ministry drew up the draft after Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said this year’s budget targets will not be met. Work o ...

Some 1,000 business leaders from 87 countries will gather in Istanbul starting today to discuss the role of the private sector during a period of global economic crisis and recession that is dominating the world’s trade environment. The Union of Chamber and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), the country’s largest business organization, is hosting the event while marking its 60th anniversary. “The world e ...

Gold at months high, Istanbul bourse gains Gold was steady yesterday at a three-and-a-half month high, which was hit during the previous session, as investors remained hopeful the European Central Bank (ECB) would soon take action to contain the region’s debt crisis, according to Reuters. Recent media reports said the ECB has been mapping out details to cap Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, easing invest ...

Turkey to launch ‘free health zones’ in 2014 Turkey looks to grow its share of the medical tourism market, promising to establish several ‘free health zones’ by 2014 that will mostly benefit from no taxes Turkey’s Health Ministry revealed the details of a new initiative to turn the country into a destination for health tourism in the region by instituting a network of “health free zones” throughout the coun ...

In the first quarter of 2012, improvement signals in the balance of current account and inflation will be more powerful, leading  better conditions on the economy, if the economy in the second quarter of 2012  moves as in the first quarter. However, the economy authorities have also been trying to accommodate  the market to the possibility that the economic growth rate might realize below   %4. If we look a ...

Turkish firm gets Israeli loan for power production Despite strained relations between Turkey and Israel following the flotilla incident in May 2010, Turkish and Israeli business ventures continue full steam ahead as witnessed by Zorlu Enerji’s $277 mln natural gas investments in Israel The Ashdod and Ramat natural gas facilities in Israel have been granted a loan of more tharn 1.1 billion Israeli Shekels ( ...

Turkish-run firm gets $212.5 mln from NASA NASA has granted $212.5 million to the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), owned by Turkish couple, Eren and Fatih Özmen, to support the firm’s space-taxi project “Dream Chaser.” Sierra Nevada is one of three companies NASA has chosen to support with a total fund of $1.1 billion. The other two companies are airplane manufacturer Boeing and SpaceX (Space Exploration Te ...

At the beginning of 2012 strong conservative growth forecasts were made. This was in spite of the fact Turkey had grown real fast in the last decade. At that time some were concerned that this slowdown forecast meant that growth could stop. In a way this was understandable because the retail sector in specific is normally quite vulnerable to such economic developments and real fast. However Turkey is lucky ...

My name is SEMIHA UNAL .. I am a business consultant and founding director of consultancy company called S4U (Solutions For You) based in Istanbul, Turkey. You can have detailed information about my career and past achievement on MY WEB PAGE I have been following this website (BTT) for a while and the editor of the site and I have agreed to combine our capabilities to provide foreign entrepreneurs intereste ...

OECD releases 2012 Turkey reports The Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development (OECD) praised the structural and macroeconomic policies of Turkey in its 2012 Turkey report. The report says that Turkey's economy rebounded vigorously following the global crisis, adding, "The growth averaged close to 9 percent in 2010-11, with strong job creation. At the same time, the current account deficit ...

The Istanbul bourse is the best performer in the world so far this year.Turkey has continued to separate itself from debt-ridden Western economies with its high performing Istanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB), on the back of higher growth rates and other positive macroeconomic data. The Istanbul bourse has recorded the highest increase in value in the world, with 23 percent for the year to date, outscoring its cl ...

Lars Thunell, the executive vice president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said that the corporation intends to invest some $2 billion in Turkey in 2012-2015. Thunell said the Turkish economy has proved it is resistant to the global economic crisis at a time when concerns about the euro-zone and global uncertainties have increased, adding that Turkey should ...

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced during the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Tuesday, to provide the IMF with $5 billion. The mentioned fund to be provided from the foreign exchange reserve of the Central Bank will be utilized to help to alleviate the worsening crisis in the euro zone. The Central Bank said yesterday that the contribution will be counted of Turkey's international reserves at ...

Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, has reached an agreement with the Franco-Belgian lender Dexia to buy out Dexia’s Turkish unit Denizbank, according to local media reports citing Bloomberg News yesterday. An unnamed official from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) said the next step in the regulatory phase was to examine the buyer. The review period could take nearly three months if the b ...

İçtaş-Astaldi Consortium wins bid for Northern Marmara Highway İçtaş İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret and Italy’s Astaldi consortium won the bid for a part of the Northern Marmara Highway Project, which includes a third bridge over the Bosphorus at yesterday’s tender at the Highway Authority in Ankara at 1:00. İçtaş İnşaat Sanayi Ticaret-Astaldi Joint Venture and Cengiz İnşaat-Kolin İnşaat-Limak-Makyol İnşaat-kalyon İ ...