Turkish Forum

Category: Business

  • Turkey, Canada explore possibility of free trade deal

    Turkey, Canada explore possibility of free trade deal

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan (C), Ömer Vardan of MÜSİAD (second from R), Mehmet Büyükekşi of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (far right), Canadian Minister Peter van Loan (second from L) and Yılmaz Argüden, head of the Turkish-Canadian Business Forum, pose for the cameras during a press conference in Istanbul on Dec. 7, 2010.

    Turkish State Minister Zafer Çağlayan (C), Ömer Vardan of MÜSİAD (second from R), Mehmet Büyükekşi of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (far right), Canadian Minister Peter van Loan (second from L) and Yılmaz Argüden, head of the Turkish-Canadian Business Forum, pose for the cameras during a press conference in Istanbul on Dec. 7, 2010.

    Turkey and Canada are exploring the possibility of signing a free trade agreement, according to a top businessman who spoke to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday.

    Speaking during a visit by a Canadian trade mission to Istanbul, Yılmaz Argüden, head of the Turkish-Canadian Business Forum, said Canada was preparing to sign a free trade agreement first with the European Union and then with Turkey.

    Canada also officially opened a consulate in Istanbul during the visit.

    The visit was jointly organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, or DEİK, and the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association, or MÜSİAD.

    “It is too early to say whether we should have a free trade deal or not,” said Peter van Loan, Canada’s minister of international trade. “We would like to consider this after a free trade agreement signed with EU,” he told the Daily News. Van Loan said Turkey, a strong economic performer with a dynamic market of 72 million people, has a “key place in the global economy.”

    Disappointing bilateral trade

    Noting that the bilateral trade is relatively low, Zafer Çağlayan, Turkey’s foreign trade minister, said Canada had a total trade volume of $800 billion in 2008 while Turkey had $300 billion of foreign trade in the same year. “Unfortunately, the volume between the two countries remained at only $1.2 billion,” Çağlayan said.

    “Last year, Canada’s total imports were $327 billion, while Turkey’s exports to Canada stood at $330 million,” said the minister, calling for stronger trade relations.

    Çağlayan also called for Canadian energy companies to invest in Turkey. “We were not able to reach an agreement with South Korea for Turkey’s second nuclear power plant. Canadian firms are welcome to bid on constructing the plant.”

    “Canada has great expertise in clean technologies and especially nuclear power plants,” said van Loan, noting that Canadian firms are interested in energy investments in Turkey. Canada accounts for 10 percent of the global nuclear energy market, while the country’s nuclear energy industry is valued at $6.6 billion annually, according to Atomic Energy of Canada.

    Canada’s Istanbul consulate was opened in the high-rise office tower of Tekfen, located in the Levent financial district. The consulate mainly aims to serve Canadian and Turkish businessmen but does not accept visa or immigration applications. The consulate will be led by Michael Ward.

    Çağlayan said a Turkish Trade Center and a Turkish Trade Consultancy would be opened in Toronto next year.

  • Report says Istanbul hotels benefit from culture capital status

    Report says Istanbul hotels benefit from culture capital status

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    Deloitte publishes an accommodation report every year to evaluate the tourism sector. The latest issue, published in November, focuses on the accommodation sector in Europe. The report says Istanbul hotels have had an almost 73 percent occupancy rate and registered 10 percent growth in revenue per available room in 2010, thanks to its tenure as a European Capital of Culture

    Deloitte report says those wanting to stay within the limits of the Euro region prefer Istanbul also because it is cheaper.
    Deloitte report says those wanting to stay within the limits of the Euro region prefer Istanbul also because it is cheaper.

    Deloitte report says those wanting to stay within the limits of the Euro region prefer Istanbul also because it is cheaper.

    Istanbul hotels increased their revenue per available room nearly 10 percent in 2010 due to the city’s status as a European Capital of Culture for the year, according to a Deloitte report.

    The report also said Istanbul hotels had an almost 73 percent occupancy rate.

    Deloitte publishes an accommodation report every year to evaluate the global tourism sector. The latest issue published in November focused on the accommodation sector in Europe and the world. The report said developing countries’ economic recovery process accelerated, whereas growth in Europe was slower.

    Deloitte Turkey Tourism and Entertainment Industries Leader Ahmet Cangöz said in the report that the events organized as part of the Capital of Culture project were not only an attraction for Istanbul residents, but also for foreigners.

    “Particularly those who want to stay within the limits of the Euro region prefer Istanbul, both because it’s cheaper and because it presently is the culture capital. This is a great force contributing to Turkey’s tourism development plans. We predict that Istanbul will continue its performance next year.”

    The report said the 10 percent growth in revenue per available room stemming from being a capital of culture occurred due to a 14 percent increase in occupancy rates.

    According to the report, room prices were 4 percent lower in Istanbul and this reduction had a positive effect on occupancy rates in the last four months, “ as a consequence of which, the hoteliers now have the chance to increase their room prices.”

    The report said the year was a great advantage for Turkey’s efforts in trying to make Istanbul rank seventh on the best destinations for tourists list of the U.N. World Tourism Organization by 2023.

    Germany, England Europe’s tourism giants

    Munich, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Cologne are on the list of the five fastest-growing hotel markets, with a 19 percent average growth rate, according to the report.

    The report said average room prices in Germany grew 12.4 percent, while the occupancy rate increased from 50.9 percent to 62.9 percent. The report said the growth stemmed from events like fairs and conventions.

    In London hotels, there was a similar increase, the report said, adding that the hotels in the U.K. capital registered a 12.2 percent growth in revenue per available room. The U.K. ranked highest in Europe in terms of room occupancy rates at 82 percent.

    The report said the growth was due to the biannual Farnborough Air Show and Arabic tourists seeking cooler regions for shopping during the Ramadan bayram holiday.

    Israel’s Tel Aviv was the only non-European city on the list, with a 17 percent growth rate, the report said.

  • Turkey has given the first production license for wind energy applications

    Turkey has given the first production license for wind energy applications

    turbineBlueSkyTurkey has given the first production license for wind power applications by companies, taking a crucial step in renewable energy.

    The applications, dated Nov. 1, 2007, had been mired in red tape and debates on wind energy since then. The Energy Market Regulatory Agency, or EMRA, convened on Thursday at last to evaluate the applications, according to an Anatolia news agency story filed Sunday.

    The EMRA decided to give a license to Tektuð, a Turkish electricity company, for a 25-megawatt wind farm in Adýyaman, in Southeast Turkey. On average, 1 MW of power can supply electricity to as many as 300 households per year.

    On Nov. 1 three years ago, 751 applications flooded regulators’ desks. But since then, none of the wind turbines projects received a license as the authorities wrestled with various regulatory changes.

    “The EMRA will continue to distribute licenses to wind farm projects whose technical assessment is positive and which do not involve more than one application for the same region,” Anatolia news agency reported.

    Over the next term, the regulator is expected to give the go-ahead to 27 wind power projects with a total capacity of 1,343 MW. These investments may total between 2.7 billion Turkish Liras and 3.2 billion liras.

    In a previous statement, EMRA chief Hasan Köktaþ said Turkey’s current wind energy capacity is at 1,200 MW and that 2011 will be a year of “mobilization” in the private sector’s wind energy investments.

    Tolga Bilgin, chairman of the Wind Power and Hydropower Plants Businessmen’s Association, or RESSÝAD, said he expects other projects to be approved soon.

    GE’s Turkish unit eyes producing wind turbines

    General Electric’s Turkish unit revisits a plan to manufacture wind turbines in the country. ‘If the number of companies that need financing through export insurers falls, then we may dust off plans to make the equipment in Turkey,’ says Mete Maltepe, the chief of GE’s local energy unit.

    Turkish companies have been going overseas to buy wind turbines because they relied on export insurers such as Euler Hermes, the world’s largest insurer of trade credit, when financing was scarce. Wind turbines will be more likely to be bought domestically as the global recovery takes hold and more loan facilities become available, Maltepe said.

    GE wants to generate “significant” business as Turkey increases wind power capacity to 20,000 megawatts by 2020 from less than 1,000 megawatts now, Maltepe said. A planned government incentive of 5.5 euro cents per kilowatt-hour to wind power producers needs to be increased to at least 7.5 cents to justify investments, he said. The subsidy is awaiting parliamentary approval.

    Wind turbine prices, which fell during the global economic crisis, have steadied and will start rising unless other, less-costly sources of renewable energy are developed, Maltepe said.

    via REVE – Regulación Eólica con Vehículos Eléctricos -.

  • Turkey needs infrastructure for electric cars, Renault says

    Turkey needs infrastructure for electric cars, Renault says

    The Renault Fluence, an electric car that has launched production at the company’s facility in the northwestern province of Bursa, will be exported to European countries such as France, Denmark and Portugal next year, according to a company official.

    Tarık Tunalıoğlu (L), director general of Oyak Renault, and İbrahim Aybar, director general of Renault Mais, present a new automotive technology in the northwestern province of Bursa. AA photo
    Tarık Tunalıoğlu (L), director general of Oyak Renault, and İbrahim Aybar, director general of Renault Mais, present a new automotive technology in the northwestern province of Bursa. AA photo

    People in France will have access to electric cars produced in Bursa before people in Turkey do because the country does not yet have the necessary infrastructure, said Tarık Tunalıoğlu, director general of Oyak Renault, a Turkish carmaker co-owned by Oyak and French Renault.

    Speaking at a meeting to promote the Efficient Dual Clutch, or EDC, a new automatic transmission system, in the industrial city, Tunalıoğlu said the production work for the electric Fluence is ongoing and Turkey should implement the proper legal regulations as soon as possible.

    A regulation about establishing charging stations for electric vehicles in Turkey is expected, said İbrahim Aybar, director general of Renault Mais, the Turkish producer for the famous French carmaker.

    “As Renault, we insist that the electric cars can be supported with zero taxes in Turkey for the first five years, just how they did in Europe,” Aybar said. “Europe can be taken as an example for the regulation. As a country that obtained this technology, our aim is to maintain and provide domestic integration.”

    Electric cars have begun to be produced, Aybar said, adding that they are ready but the infrastructure is lacking. “A regulation will be implemented and the necessary infrastructure will be prepared. Charging stations should be established in houses, hospitals, schools and shopping centers. Studies should be accelerated.

    “Even though we are selling electric cars to the world, we cannot use them in our domestic market,” Aybar said. “We should solve this problem. We are serious. In the second half of next year, electric cars will begin to be exported to the world. For the future production of these cars, we should sell them also in Turkey.”

    Noting that efficiency is extremely high in electric cars, Aybar said, “Ninety percent of energy generated in electric engines is transferred to the car’s wheels, but this figure is only 30 percent for petrol engines.”

  • A futuristic taxi with global ambitions

    A futuristic taxi with global ambitions

    CNN’s global series i-List takes you to a different country each month. In December, we visit Turkey and look at changes shaping the country’s economy, culture and social fabric.

    (CNN) — It’s a long way from the streets of New York to the factories of Turkey, but this 5,000-mile journey could soon be made by all of the city’s iconic yellow taxis.

    A glass-roofed, eco-friendly vehicle designed by Turkish automaker Karsan is among the three finalists in New York City’s search for a taxicab for the future.

    New York launched the “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition to find a safe, energy efficient and accessible model. The winning design will be the exclusive New York City taxi for at least 10 years, according to city officials.

    Karsan’s V1 is the only model that was designed from scratch for the contest.

    A reflection of the country’s growing automotive ambitions, it would be Turkey’s first high-profile branded vehicle if it wins.

    So far all the cars Turkey makes are built under license for major manufacturers. Karsan, while not exactly a household name outside its homeland, makes vehicles for Hyundai, Peugeot, Citroen and Renault.

    “Having a vehicle designed and built in Turkey being used as a New York taxi would be a very strong branding opportunity for the Turkish automotive industry,” said Jan Nahum, executive director of Karsan.

    Having a New York taxi designed and built in Turkey would be a very strong branding opportunity.

    –Jan Nahum, Karsan

    “It’s an incredible source of pride and passion for us,” he said of being named a finalist. “New York is probably the most popular and visible city in the world, and its iconic yellow taxis are seen in almost every picture.”

    The Karsan V1 would be wheelchair accessible, spacious enough to hold five passengers and a stroller, and have a glass roof to give passengers a view of New York’s skyscrapers.

    It could hold a gasoline, compressed natural gas or electric engine, depending on which technology is the greenest at any time.

    Nahum said his ambition is to build taxis for other major world cities.

    “We believe in the next 10 to 15 years, other cities will follow New York’s lead in looking for a dedicated taxi responding to the needs of the city,” he said.

    The winner of the “Taxi of Tomorrow” contest will be the first ever custom-built New York taxi. There are 16 different vehicles from nine manufacturers in the current fleet of 13,000 licensed taxicabs.

    There have been many efforts to design futuristic taxicabs over the years, but “this project marks the first time ever — anywhere — that such an exercise will be backed up by an automotive manufacturer that can turn these concepts into tangible reality,” New York Taxi and Limousine Commissioner David Yassky said in a statement when the finalists were announced last month.

    The winning proposal will be announced early next year and the first new vehicles are expected to be on the road in 2014.

    The V1 isn’t the only contender in the race to have a Turkey connection. Another finalist, Ford’s Transit Connect, will be built in Turkey and adapted in the United States if it wins. Also in the running is a taxi design based on a Nissan van.

    Turkey’s prime role in the race to produce a new taxi might come as a surprise to New Yorkers, but the country is quietly becoming an automotive powerhouse. It’s the 15th largest vehicle producer in the world, according to Invest in Turkey, producing around 900,000 vehicles a year.

    According to Nahum, the industry is planning to increase its output to 2.5 million vehicles annually within the next three or four years.

    As well as home-grown companies like Karsan, many international companies, such as Fiat, Ford and Renault, have established a presence in the country, often with local partners.

    Renault announced last year that it would begin production on the electric version of its Fluence car in Bursa, the so-called “Detroit of Turkey,” in 2011.

    “The Turkish automotive industry has grown a lot in the last 10 years because manufacturers in Western Europe have seen it as a low-cost place to make cars and ship them to the European Union,” said David Leggett, an automotive industry analyst at just-auto.

    Fiat, Ford, Renault and many others have got together with local partners and made a lot of vehicles, mainly for export.

    “There’s also a lot of demand coming from Turkey’s domestic market, because the economy has boomed,” he told CNN.

    via A futuristic taxi with global ambitions – CNN.com.

  • Turkey Selling Final Three Electricity Grids, Including Istanbul, Antalya

    Turkey Selling Final Three Electricity Grids, Including Istanbul, Antalya

    Turkey will today sell the last three power grids in a series of auctions that have already drawn more than $10 billion in bids from local and foreign investors.

    The state asset sales agency will offer the network on the Asian side of Istanbul, the country’s biggest city, the grid near the southern tourism hub of Antalya, and the supplier of power to the Mediterranean port region around Adana at the sale in Ankara.

    Turkey is selling power grids and generators to attract private investment into an industry where demand is set to rise at 6 percent annually, according to estimates published Nov. 9 by Deloitte LLP. The country needs as much as $150 billion in energy investment by 2023, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Nov. 24.

    The asset sales agency sold 15 grids in auctions this year and last, drawing a total of $10.8 billion in offers. Some of those sales are yet to be completed and payment is likely next year, when the government aims for 13.7 billion liras ($9.3 billion) in revenue from selling assets, according to the medium-term economic program.

    The agency received a total of 39 bids for today’s sales, it said last week. Bidders registered for the Istanbul grid sale include Enerjisa Enerji Uretim AS, the joint venture between Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS and Austria’s Verbund, and Mmeka Makina Ithalat Paz. & Tic. AS, which placed the $2.99 billion winning bid for the other half of Istanbul’s network on Aug. 9.

    Istanbul Anadolu Yakasi Elektrik Dagitim AS, also known as Ayedas, serves about 2 million commercial and household subscribers in the eastern half of Istanbul, according to 2008 data published on the agency’s website. About 9 percent of the grid’s energy is stolen, according to the website.

    Akdeniz Elektrik Dagitim AS has 1.5 million subscribers around Antalya, with a theft rate of nine percent.

    Toroslar Elektrik Dagitim AS, which provides power to 2.6 million subscribers in and around Adana, also has a theft rate of about nine percent.

    The Istanbul grid drew 11 bidders, Akdeniz 15 and Toros 13.

    To contact the reporters on this story: Steve Bryant in Ankara at [email protected]; Ali Berat Meric in Ankara at [email protected]

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem at [email protected].

    via Turkey Selling Final Three Electricity Grids, Including Istanbul, Antalya – Bloomberg.