Turkish Forum

Category: Business

  • Competition Winners Spice it Up in Dubai and Turkey

    Competition Winners Spice it Up in Dubai and Turkey

    Purchasing hot water cylinders turned into an exciting whirlwind adventure through the souks and bazaars of Dubai and Turkey for two lucky competition winners and their travel partners.

    Matamata local Rene Thomson together with Ivan and Jess Ramsey from Rinnai (previously with HJ Cooper) and Henni and Bridget Russon from Nelson won a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity through a special promotion run by Mico Plumbing and Mastertrade for their loyal business customers.

    Their trip also included the chance to visit the state of the art factory of one the suppliers of the HJ Cooper electric hot water range just on the outskirts of Istanbul.

    Henni Russon says that visiting the factory was definitely a highlight of the trip.

    “We went on a guided tour of the whole factory which makes gas boilers, woodfire boilers, hot water cylinders, solar panels, basically everything on water heating. It was fascinating watching how all these things were put together, and checking out the whole process from start to finish. Bridget and I were beyond thrilled when we found out that we had won, and can’t speak highly enough about the trip.”

    Russon says the group spent about three days in Dubai and three days in Istanbul, where they had many exotic adventures including a desert tour, visiting mosques and other historical buildings and trying out “shisha” – an apple flavoured tobacco mix smoked through a hookah, or water pipe.

    “The highlight of the trip in Dubai was definitely the desert tour. It was hot and sandy, but you got to go in a big 4WD and drive around and at the end of the trip, they have a camp site in the middle of the desert where you stop for a barbecue meal. There were some belly dancers to provide entertainment.”

    “In Istanbul we went into some very interesting old buildings, some of which were built in 1100BC and some of them in 900BC. Our tour guide was a local and she was really great, and told us a lot about the rich culture and history of the city.”

    “We went through a record number of hot water cylinders in Motueka through our business, Henbridge Plumbing to win the prize package.

    Rene Thomson from Comag Ltd says that he was also excited and a little stunned at winning the Spice It Up competition.

    “There are eight business partners and it could potentially have been a bit of a minefield if all of us had wanted to go on the trip, but in the end, I was the only one available to go.”

    Thomson says that the highlight of the trip was definitely Turkey.

    “I really enjoyed Dubai as well, but felt that Istanbul had a pretty amazing culture. We really went into the heart of the city and explored the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque, which was built around 1609 – it is a stunning piece of architecture. The Grand Bazaar was just really fun and next time I go back to Turkey, I’m bringing my wife there to do a spot of shopping!”

    The Spice It Up competition was run exclusively through Mico Plumbing and Mastertrade – with entry into the competition achieved with purchases of HJ Cooper water heating products.

    via Competition Winners Spice it Up in Dubai and Turkey | Showroom is a popular New Zealand business news source..

  • Erdogan signals Turkish Air, Lufthansa joint management

    Erdogan signals Turkish Air, Lufthansa joint management

    ISTANBUL | Sat Nov 3, 2012 1:53pm EDT

    erd

    (Reuters) – Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and Turkish Airlines (THYAO.IS) should deepen their existing ties, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, but it was not immediately clear what he meant and both companies declined to make specific comment.

    The airline world has seen a flurry of partnerships recently as carriers band together to counter tough market conditions.

    Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa are already joint owners of the SunExpress airline and members of the Star Alliance, one of the global airline networks.

    Erdogan said he had agreed to a proposal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to establish “joint management” of the two carriers.

    “During my visit to Germany, Merkel made this proposal: ‘let’s put Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines under joint management’. I said okay,” Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling AK Party.

    “This is currently among our projects and God willing we can, and will, take this joint step with Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa,” he said.

    A German government spokesman declined to comment and Turkish officials were not immediately available to clarify.

    A Turkish Airlines spokesman told Reuters he had not heard of such a development.

    “There is nothing concrete that we have been informed of. If a big decision is to be taken here, a management board decision would be necessary. But there is no such thing at the moment,” the spokesman said.

    Lufthansa spokesman Klaus Walther said Germany’s largest airline had a long-term relationship with Turkish Airlines via Star Alliance and joint venture Sun Express.

    “We are always in talks about how we can further improve and intensify the cooperation between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines for the benefit of our customers,” he said.

    But he declined to comment on what form a deeper cooperation could take.

    A Turkish Privatisation Administration (OIB) official said last month there had been no decision on the method or size of a privatization of some of the government’s 49.12 percent stake in Turkish Airlines after a newspaper report said the state planned a 30 percent block sale.

    Lufthansa is currently in the middle of a 1.5 billion euro cost cutting program to combat rising fuel costs and increased competition from low cost and Gulf rivals. It has said that the program is needed so it can afford new fuel-efficient planes and that’s its focus at present rather than any acquisitions.

    (Additional reporting by Evrim Ergin in Istanbul and Victoria Bryan in Frankfurt; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jon Hemming)

    via Erdogan signals Turkish Air, Lufthansa joint management | Reuters.

  • Turkey does not pay gold for Iranian gas, finance minister

    Turkey does not pay gold for Iranian gas, finance minister

    Turkey does not pay for natural gas from Iran in gold, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

    Until August, Iran imported large amounts of gold from Turkey before the United Arab Emirates took the lion’s share in the following months, official figures show. However, it is widely speculated that gold exported to the UAE continues on to Iran.

    State-run Halkbank is responsible for the Iranian payment issue, Simsek said, adding that gold exports to Iran are mainly from exchange offices and Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, the traditional heart of the jewelry trade.

    The Central Bank of Iran banned all gold exports without its explicit approval to avoid a shortage of the precious metal, The Associated Press reported.

    A senior Central Bank official, Mohammad Reza Naderi, was quoted by the semi-official Mehr News Agency on Oct. 31 as saying that the new restriction was imposed due to currency fluctuations.

    According to Iranian law, the export of coins made from precious metals previously did not require a permit from the Central Bank, but current economic conditions have resulted in a decision to require Central Bank licenses for the export of such goods, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported.

    Iran’s currency, the rial, lost about 50 percent of its value earlier this month. The currency’s nosedive has been blamed on a combination of government mismanagement and the bite from tightened sanctions imposed regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at producing a nuclear weapon.

    Iran denies the charge, insisting its uranium enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes such as fuel generation.

    via Turkey does not pay gold for Iranian gas, finance minister – Tehran Times.

  • Turkey signs $350m Iraq oil drilling deal

    Turkey signs $350m Iraq oil drilling deal

    ANKARA: Turkey has signed a $350m deal on drilling 40 oil wells in the southern Iraqi Basra area and is in talks with Baghdad on drilling 7,000 wells across Iraq, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said yesterday. Details of the timeframe or companies involved were not immediately available.

    Turkey’s growing energy involvement in Iraq comes despite tensions with Baghdad over Ankara giving refuge to Iraq’s fugitive Vice President Tareq Al Hashemi, who was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court for a second time on Thursday.

    Iraq has also asked Turkey to stop attacking Kurdish rebel forces sheltering across the border in northern Iraq, a Kurdish autonomous region over which Baghdad has little control and with which Ankara has forged close ties in recent years.

    “We are continuing work with the central government on opening 7,000 wells across Iraq as a whole,” Yildiz told a news conference in the Turkish capital.

    He also told reporters talks were being held with the Turkish treasury on holding initial public offerings (IPO) for state-owned oil firm TPAO and state pipeline company Botas, with a TPAO offering planned first.

    Separately, Yildiz warned that the government would review Italian energy firm ENI’s investments in Turkey if it went ahead with plans to explore for natural gas in Cyprus. Cyprus said on Tuesday that it would start negotiations with ENI, South Korea’s Kogas, France’s Total and Russia’s Novatek on the potential development of natural gas fields off the Mediterranean island. Turkey, which has been at diplomatic loggerheads with Cyprus for decades, claims the island has no authority to explore for gas offshore.

    reuters

    via Turkey signs $350m Iraq oil drilling deal.

  • Sani Şener’s Success Story on CNN International

    Sani Şener’s Success Story on CNN International

    TAV Grubu CEO’su Sani Şener, CNN International’da yayınlanan “Global Exchange” programında, Türk inşaat şirketlerinin 2000’li yıllardan itibaren bölgede büyük başarı sağladığını söyledi. Şener, hükümetin dış politikasının ve Türkiye’nin tarihten gelen yakınlığının başarının zeminini hazırladığını belirtti. Şener ayrıca TAV’ın İpek Yolu üzerinde hayata geçirdiği projelerle yarattığı başarı hikayesini anlattı.

    via Sani Şener CNN International’da Türk şirketlerinin başarısını anlattı – YouTube.

  • Edelman Launches In Turkey

    Edelman Launches In Turkey

    Edelman Launches In Turkey

    EMEA, Global

    Arun Sudhaman 30 Oct 2012

    serra buyukfiratISTANBUL–Edelman has formally launched a startup operation in Turkey, led by new hire Serra Türk Büyükfirat.

    Büyükfirat was previously head of brand and communications at Türk Ekonomi Bankasi (TEB), a banking joint venture with BNP Paribas. Prior to joining TEB, Büyükfirat oversaw corporate communications at AVEA, a leading mobile network operator in Turkey.

    She has also held a number of senior agency positions at global firms including Wunderman and Young & Rubicam International.

    Chris Dobson, Edelman MD of strategic and emerging markets in EMEA, said the firm’s move into Turkey was driven by increasing demand from clients.

    “Opening in Turkey is a crucial step for Edelman” said Dobson. “Turkey’s rise as a key growth market and a pivotal commercial and geo-political player has been well documented. The demand from our clients for an Edelman presence here has been significant and growing in recent years.

    “I’m therefore delighted that we have become the first truly international network agency in our field to enter the market organically, and that someone of Serra’s stature, experience and multi-sector background will be leading our business,” he added.

    via Edelman Launches In Turkey.