Category: Business

Istanbul’s First International Shopping Festival to Celebrate 40 Days of Shopping

Aims to stimulate retail sales during the festival period to reach USD10 billion by the centennial of Turkey founding in 2023.

Under the patronage of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Istanbul Governor’s Office and numerous other agencies, Istanbul’s first International Shopping Festival (ISF) will take place March between 18 and April 26.

The announcement came during a press conference in Dubai with the presence of ISF brand ambassador, popular Turkish actor, Kivanc Tatlitug.

The forty-day long shopping event is expected to attract millions of bargain hunters from across the globe who will win all kind of prizes, including a brand new car every day during the festival. Tourists will enjoy tax-free shopping as well as heavy discounts on a wide range of items, including jewelry, perfumes, textiles, handicrafts and electronics items as shops and malls try to outdo each other in sales. The İSF is also known for its colorful events ranging from music to street performances offering wholesome family entertainment.

Mr. Sedat Gönüllüoğlu, The Turkish Cultural & Tourism Attaché, said: “Istanbul is gearing to have yet another mega tourist event and for 40 days and 40 nights, the first annual Istanbul Shopping Fest will transform the cosmopolitan city into a shopping heaven. The campaign for the annual Shopping Festival is kick-started today by the Turkish tourism minister, governor and the mayor of Istanbul and the leaders of major business organizations. The event is set to attract millions of shoppers from surrounding countries who can visit Turkey without a visa.”

“Istanbul attracts more than 700 thousand tourists from the Gulf countries at this time every year and we hope to attract more than 1.2 million tourists from the region during this year’s festival. Our aim is to stimulate retail sales during the festival period to reach USD10 billion by the centennial of Turkey founding in 2023”, said Mr. Gönüllüoğlu.

“Organizers have been planning for the İSF for a long time to ensure its success. Our objective is to increase shopping lovers every year, making the Istanbul Shopping Festival a premium shopping event worldwide. The 2011 Istanbul Shopping Festival is expected to give much needed boost to Istanbul tourism industry and the retail sector,” he added.

Istanbul has rapidly emerged as the tourist capital of the world and a very busy shopping destination for the surrounding countries. With a population of 14 million people, Istanbul has over 90 brand new shopping centers and many street venues. Topping all that, the city has the world’s biggest and oldest shopping center, The Grand Bazaar, infamous for its jewellery, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops.

During İSF, shopping outlets will be open until 11 pm with special discounts, up to 50 per cent, offered after 10 pm, as well as price reductions and activities at some of Istanbul’s most famous markets, including Taksim, Nisantasi, Bakirkoy, Fatih, Bahariye, and the iconic Spice Bazaar.

Besides the shopping, a number of entertaining and colorful events, for children and adults, will take place at İSF. Visitors can participate with their families in all kind of shows, arranged by the city and its people. Dining is also a major attraction of İSF visitors, where gourmet food can satisfy their taste buds from delicious Turkish cuisine and from all corners of the world.

Turkish Airlines is a major supporter of İSF and will offer visitors special fares and will consider increasing travelers’ baggage allowance during the festival.

“The İSF is set to be a celebration for shopping lovers to visit Istanbul– a city that has been a top choice for shoppers for more than 1,500 years. From hip boutiques in trendy neighborhoods and colorful bazaars and markets to over 90 modern malls featuring top designers, travelers and locals can expect a diverse shopping experience when perusing Istanbul’s wares. Famous for its handmade rugs, clothing, antiques, spices, sweets, footwear and accessories, visitors to Istanbul rarely walk away empty-handed,” concluded Mr. Gönüllüoğlu.

Kippreport

February 21, 2011
U.S. defense contractors with the most at stake in Egypt

Egypt — where a popular uprising that began last week seeks the end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule — is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Israel.

The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt’s military compared to about $250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain’s Telegraph reports.

The U.S. has long made the case that its unconditional funding for Egypt strengthens relations between the countries and provides benefits for the U.S. such as expedited processing for U.S. Navy warships sailing through the Suez Canal.

Indeed, one of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks noted that “President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion annual FMS as ‘untouchable compensation’ for making and maintaining peace with Israel.”

Last week White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration would be reviewing its assistance to the Egyptian government based on events over the coming days.

Obviously any change in U.S. aid policy would have important ramifications for Egypt. But it could also have implications for the U.S. companies that contract with the Defense Department to provide good and services to the Egyptian military — and for their workforces and communities.

Facing South reviewed the Department of Defense contract database over the past two years to see what deals are already in place, and discovered many contracts with connections to the South. The following are the 10 biggest contracts involving aid to Egypt in that period.

1. Lockheed Martin — Fort Worth, Texas and Orlando, Fla. Last March, the aerospace giant won a $213 million Air Force contract to provide Egypt with 20 F-16 fighter jets (pictured above). The following month, its Lockheed Martin Missiles subsidiary in Orlando, Fla. got a $46 million Army contract to provide night vision sensor systems for Apache helicopters.

2. DRS C3 and Aviation — Horsham, Pa. In December 2010, this subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica received a $46.1 million Army contract to provide vehicles, hardware and services for Egypt’s border surveillance program. That same month DRS landed another$19.6 million Army contract to provide surveillance hardware and services for the Egyptian government.

3. L-3 Communication Ocean Systems — Sylmar, Calif. and Garland, Texas. The company’s Sylmar operations completed a $24.7 million deal with the Navy last August to provide a sonar system for the Egyptian Navy. And in April 2009, L-3’s EOS Division in Garland, Texas got a $6.6 million Army contract to provide Egypt with military imaging equipment.

4. Deloitte Consulting — Arlington, Va. The professional services firm won a $28.1 million Navy contract in December 2009 to provide planning and other support for Egyptian aircraft programs.

5. Boeing — Mesa, Ariz. and St. Louis. Last May, the aerospace firm landed a $22.5 million Army contract to provide Egypt with 10 Apache helicopters. The month before that, the company’s St. Louis operations won a $5.8 million Navy contract to provide logistics support for other governments, with $262,530 of that designated for assistance to Egypt.

6. Raytheon — Tucson, Ariz. and Andover, Mass. The weapons and electronics firm received a $26 million Navy contract in June 2009 to provide 178 Stinger missiles to both Egypt and Turkey. This past December, it finalized a $5.6 million Army contract to provide Hawk missile system technical assistance to the Egyptian government.

7. AgustaWestland — Reston, Va. In November 2009, the Navy made definite a previously awarded $17.3 million contract for the company — a subsidiary of Italy’s Finmeccanica — to provide helicopter maintenance for the Egyptian government.

8. US Motor Works — Cerritos, Calif. and Grand Prairie, Texas. The company got a $14.5 million Army contract in June 2009 to provide engines, components and spare parts for vehicles acquired for the Egyptian Armament Authority, with most of that work to be done in Texas.

9. Goodrich Corp. — Chelmsford, Mass. In October 2010, Goodrich landed a $10.8 million Air Force deal to procure and deploy reconnaissance systems for use on the F-16 fighter jets purchased by the Egyptian Air Force.

10. Columbia Group — Washington, D.C. In June 2009, the defense contractor completed a$10.6 million contract with the Navy to provide remotely operated vehicle systems as well as technical support and training to the Egyptian Navy, with most of the work to be performed out of the company’s Panama City, Fla. operations.

Many other companies with recent deals related to Egypt have operations in the South as well. They include Michelin Aircraft Tire of Greenville, S.C.; Wyle Laboratories, Camber Corp. and Summa Technology, all of Huntsville, Ala.; WRSystems Ltd. of Fairfax, Va.; TASC of Chantilly, Va.; and Clayton International of Peachtree City, Ga.

For a full listing of Defense Department contracts awarded over the past two years for work related to Egypt, click here.

(Photo of F-16 fighter jet by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway for the U.S. Defense Department via Wikimedia Commons.)

www.southernstudies.org

February 18, 2011
UK plans to double trade with Turkey, report says

The White Paper, an official UK document on investment and trade perspectives, attaches crucial importance to trade with emerging and fast-growing economies, targeting doubling economic volume with Turkey. ‘We promote trade with Turkey,’ says a contributor to the report, adding that the goals were not for the short term

The United Kingdom Trade and Investment’s, or UKTI, most recent White Paper includes a target of doubling mutual trade between the country and Turkey by 2015.

“The U.K. also has significant interests in other emerging powers,” said the report released on Wednesday.

“We aim to double trade with Turkey and support its accession to the European Union.”

Turkey is in a customs union with the EU, the document noted. “The U.K. has long been a strong supporter of Turkey’s membership of the EU, as a major emerging economy in Europe that is set to be Europe’s second largest economy by 2050. Turkey is pro-trade and is seeking a series of bilateral trade deals, with a focus on Middle East and Caucasus markets. Turkey presents a significant opportunity and the U.K. is aiming to double current trade by 2015, from a base of 9 billion pounds [$14.5 billion].”

Lord Brittan, trade adviser to the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, who guided the strategy set out in the White Paper, told the Anatolia news agency that the fact that Turkey is not a member of the European Union creates no obstacles in trading with the nation.

Responding to a question by Anatolia about the improvement in economic relations between the U.K. and Turkey since Prime Minister Cameron’s statement on doubling mutual trade during his visit to Ankara in July 2010, Brittan said, “This is not a short-term target.”

UK Prime Minister David Cameron (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shake hands in this July 29 photo. The UK PM said during his visit to Ankara that he wanted to boost trade between the parties. AP photo

“We promote trade with Turkey,” he said, noting that results were dependent to the British private sector’s approach.

Still, in case results came out at a lower level than expected, the U.K. government would promote more, he said.

Brittan, a former interior minister during the Conservative Party rule under Margaret Thatcher, became Cameron’s trade consultant in August last year. He had been working at the European Commission earlier.

In the foreword section of the latest White Paper, Dr. Vince Cable, the U.K. secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, wrote that the fastest-growing emerging economies are now creating new opportunities for all to benefit further from trade and investment.

“Despite these benefits, there is an urgent need to restate the case for open markets because the insecurity that is a legacy of the economic crisis fosters a mood of protectionism,” he said. “So far, the world’s nations have largely resisted the temptation to put up trade and investment barriers. But we must remain vigilant and reinforce the global system of rules that keep markets open for us all.”

UKTI supports a number of formal ministerial bilateral economic and trade dialogues with key emerging and high growth markets, such as Brazil, China, India, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, said the report. “These aim to strengthen economic, industrial and commercial ties between the U.K. and these markets and also look at barriers to trade between these countries.”

UKTI plans to publish its new strategy later in 2011 to set out how to enhance the practical help British exporters and investors receive from the U.K. government.

Hürriyet Daily News

February 18, 2011
Turkey’s Karsan opens factory to manufacture bus

Karsan has opened a new facility in Bursa to manufacture bus with Italy’s BredaMenarinibus under a strategic partnership deal.

Turkey’s first multi-brand vehicle manufacturer, Karsan, has opened a new facility in the northwestern province of Bursa to manufacture bus with Italy’s BredaMenarinibus under a strategic partnership deal it signed the leading bus manufacturer of Italy in September 2010.

Murat Selek, CEO of Karsan, said at the opening ceremony, “Karsan has begun producing, selluing and exporting buses in Bursa under a deal with BredaMenarinibus. We have begun trial production of BredaMenarinibus’s CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and diesel models which ranges between 8 and 12 meters in January. The Municipality of Rome ordered 75 buses.”

“Our bus factory has an area of 10 thousand square metres. Our investments in the first three years will amount to 25 million euro. For the time being, our annual production will be 300-400 buses,” he said.

Roberto Ceraudo, CEO of BredaMenarinibus, said that they had added Karsan’s high production capacity to their 90-year experience. This deal between BredaMenarinibus and Karsan will lead to quite interesting innovations in the coming years, he added.

Founded in 1966 as the first and only multi-brand vehicle manufacturer of Turkey, Karsan provides services to the world’s leading brands in its modern end flexible production plants with more than 40 years of experience in the automotive sector. Karsan, having sold 7,379 units of vehicles in 2008, generated a turnover of 206.5 million Turkish lira (TL). Karsan is the producer of five different brands including its own one, aims to focus on product design and engineering works beginning from 2010 and to become an export-based production center in 2012.

Italian firm BredaMenarinibus is one of the well-establihed bus manufacturers which has contributed to the development of public transportation in Italy with over 30 thousand buses that it has produced in over 90 years. The company currently operates in its facility established on total 155 thousand square-meters area with 45 thousand square-meters closed area.

World Bulletin

February 18, 2011
Texas company to drill for gas off Cyprus in 2011

AFP – Feb 17, 2011

NICOSIA — US energy firm Noble said on Wednesday it hopes to start drilling for “sizable quantities of gas” off the coast of Cyprus later this year if all goes according to plan.

“Our intention is to accelerate the drilling off the well in Cyprus block 12,” said Noble’s vice president of international operations Terry Gerhart after meeting Cyprus President Demetris Christofias.

“Our hopes are to be able to start the well as early as the fourth quarter of 2011 or possibly slipping into 2012,” he told reporters.

Gerhart said the Texan-based company had no exact estimate of the hydrocarbon deposits inside Cyprus’s economic exclusive zone, but seismic surveys were “very favourable” indicating a “sizeable quantity”.

He said that there were various options on the table such as constructing a pipeline to bring the gas to Cyprus.

“We are very excited about the prospect of working in Cyprus, finding some gas and being able to bring it to the Cypriot market.”

Israeli company Delek is a partner of Noble, which has reported large reserves of natural gas in two Israeli offshore fields.

Delek and its Texan partner announced the discovery of 16 trillion cubic feet (453 billion cubic metres) of natural gas in the Leviathan gas field some 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone. Gas was also found in Israel’s Tamar block even closer to the Mediterranean island.

It is touted to be one of the largest hydrocarbon finds of the past decade.

“We are working with Delek in Israel. They are our partners in Israel and we are looking forward to being a partner in Cyprus if approved,” Gerhart said.

“We had quite a bit of success on the Israeli side with our discoveries of Tamar and Leviathan,” he added.

Delek has proposed the creation of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the island to process deposits Israel has discovered offshore and which Cyprus hopes to uncover.

Delek says such a deal would transform Cyprus from being totally reliant on gas and oil imports into a regional net exporter.

Cyprus and Israel have signed an agreement defining their sea border that allows the neighbours to forge ahead in the search for energy sources in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus has signed delineation agreements with Egypt and Lebanon, which have agreed to mutually exploit hydrocarbon deposits that criss-cross their boundaries.

Noble has the rights to drill for hydrocarbons within a 1,250-square-mile area known as Block 12 close to the Israeli blocks. Cypriot officials believe the block could hold as much as 10 trillion cubic feet.

Cypriot Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said the full extent of the deposits beneath the sea won’t be known until next year.

A second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration is scheduled for the latter half of this year after the process was first launched in 2007.

Turkey has voiced its disapproval of Cyprus’s oil and gas search and reacted negatively to Israel, Egypt and Lebanon getting involved.

February 18, 2011
Turkish Lessons gaining popularity in Sidon

Turkish language courses gaining popularity in Sidon

By Mohammed Zaatari

SIDON: More than 100 students in the southern coastal city of Sidon have registered for Turkish language classes aimed at fostering economic and social relations between the two countries.

“It is useful to learn Turkish, and its importance has grown since the Gaza-bound Turkish flotilla, carrying aid, was targeted by an Israeli raid in May of last year,” said Allaa al-Saleh, a television anchor who recently enrolled in the course.

“Many Turks have been learning Arabic for Palestine, and for their love to our country; we will learn Turkish,” said Saleh.

Words like “Tashakkurat” (much thanks), are being exchanged between Turkish instructors and their Lebanese and Palestinians students, who conjugate verbs in one of the halls of the House for Orphans Care in Sidon, where lessons take place.

Saleh registered for this year’s session after hearing about the language course through an online advertisement. He claims his interest in the language comes from the many cultural and religious factors that bring the Turks and Arabs together.

“History, culture, religion and the recent Turkish stances toward Palestine, amid the negligence of Arab countries [have spurred me to take lessons],” Saleh added.

Lebanon and Turkey have a long history of enmity, sowed during the Ottoman era, which saw Lebanon dominated by the Turks for centuries. The semiautonomous Mount Lebanon was treated harshly at the height of World War I, when the Lebanese struggle for liberation was crushed after Jamal Pasha was appointed the sole Turkish commander-in-chief in the region.

Despite the oppression and famine caused by Ottoman policies (sic.) in Lebanon, common legal, economic and cultural connections have remained long after the Ottomans withdrew following the end of World War I.

Both the Turkish efforts to send ship aid to the Gaza strip and the firm anti-Israeli stance of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in power since 2009, have yielded widespread Arab and Lebanese praise for the Turkish leadership.

Another student Randa Dahsha related her interest in the language classes to her husband’s job which allows the pair to occasionally travel to Turkey. “My husband is a businessman; we go to Turkey several times a year and I always fit in with the people there,” said Dahsha.

According to Dahsha the Turkish language, although harsher in tone, has many similarities with Arabic.

“There is common vocabulary with the Arabic language, so why not learn it,” she added.

Dahsha was lucky and registered in time for the course, but many other interested students were denied a place this term because of high demand, course operators said.

Administrator accepted only 100 students for this session. “We have already started to register students for the second session which would start in June,” said the president of House for Orphans Care, Saeed Makkawi.

All walks of life including engineers, teachers and businessmen are among the students, who attend two three-hour classes a week

“For many people in Lebanon and especially in Sidon, Turkey has become a trade and tourism hub,” said Dahsha.

www.dailystar.com.lb, February 14, 2011

February 14, 2011