Turkish Forum

Category: Business

  • ANA service to Istanbul and expanded partnership with Turkish would need balance with Lufthansa

    ANA service to Istanbul and expanded partnership with Turkish would need balance with Lufthansa

    Asian airlines are expanding partnerships and collaboration with new hubs. Following Singapore Airlines’ expanded partnership with Turkish Airlines and Cathay Pacific’s with Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways – now Japan’s largest international carrier – is likely to open a service from Tokyo to Istanbul and deepen its partnership with fellow Star carrier Turkish Airlines. This would be the first Japanese service to Turkey, complementing those from other Asian countries including Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. It would also be the first strategic partnership between a Japanese carrier and an airline from a new hub in Turkey/the Gulf.

    The rationale is clean cut. Turkey has become a popular tourist point for Japanese passengers, who would pay a premium to fly on a Japanese carrier to Istanbul. ANA can use Istanbul to open new destinations in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa that it and competitor Japan Airlines cannot reach but Middle East Gulf carriers can.

    ANA’s challenge is tapping these new markets while sustaining its important relationship with the Lufthansa Group, whose seven daily flights to Japan are under a JV with ANA. An expanded Turkish Airlines partnership would have sensitivity in its overlap with Lufthansa, which has recently very publicly terminated most of  its cooperation with Turkish as the fast growing “fourth Gulf airline” increasingly challenged its hub role.

    via ANA service to Istanbul and expanded partnership with Turkish would need balance with Lufthansa | CAPA – Centre for Aviation.

  • Poor Richard’ Report

    Poor Richard’ Report

    POOR RICHARD’S REPORT
    THE TRUMPETS ARE ROARING
    Part One
    The cloudless blue sky become a grey and black sky with ominous thunderheads suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Nations are powerless for the coming economic calamity even though intermittent rays of sunshine give false hope of a recovery.
    There is a battle between socialism – the false promise of security through government sponsored entitlements – and democracy. A true democracy has freedom of religion and free movement between the social class infrastructure depending upon one’s ability.
    Socialism breeds an elite upper class of the privilege few to govern the many.
    Two countries stand out. The United States of America which was founded on the principal of freedom of religion. Many immigrants came for the “Pursuit of Happiness”.
    The other country is Turkey whose history is littered with major religious movements with individual freedoms versus a state religion.
    One of the greatest world leaders of the 20th Century was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who instituted freedom of religion in modern Turkey in 1923. Just compare modern day Turkey with it’s Mideast Neighbors. The average citizen is held in high esteem by the rest of the world.
    Their armed forces based upon the Korean Conflict in 1948-1953 are held in high honor. However , and unfortunately , the political system in Turkey is turning away from democracy and religious freedom. Sadly the USA is trotting down the same path.
    The problem with democracies is when socialist leaders are elected they start instituting entitlement programs to secure reelection. Many of these programs were needed, but over subsequent years have been raided to fund other programs . In the united States The Social Security has been illegally raided. Instead of buying bonds and investing the income for compound interest- the government has been borrowing from it , and in a few years we will have a deficit. Correct actions are always hard to swallow by politicians; since the general population suffers.
    A south American country , namely Argentina, was a very prosperous nation in 1914. The President decided it would be a good idea to share the wealth with the less fortunate, and they kept doing it . At That time the Argentina Peso was equal to the US Dollar. Today it would take a billion Argentina Peso’s to equal one US Dollar.
    Today democracies must keep a constant vigil on socialist countries; especially where they have little respect for human life.
    We need each other to explore the avenues of faith and prosperity. One nation cannot sustain itself anymore. We need each other, but we must play by the same rules and it is the people who must decide.
    The trumpets are roaring……………
    Part 2 Coming—–

  • Turkey Has Never Been Better: Constantinople to Istanbul

    Turkey Has Never Been Better: Constantinople to Istanbul

    From Constantinople to Istanbul, Turkey Has Never

    Been Better

    By Frank Holmes

    CEO and Chief Investment Officer

    U.S. Global Investors

    COMM-Ulker-Chocolate-Factory-Turkey-05302014Every time he travels to Turkey, portfolio manager of our Emerging Europe Fund (EUROX), Tim Steinle, says the country continues to develop. Although technically classified as an emerging market, one wouldn’t think to label the country as such upon arrival. The population is young and growing, there are improvements to infrastructure everywhere you look, beautiful green parks are more prevalent, and the professional staffs that run many of the shops and businesses are both well organized and thriving.

    Tim told me the entire taxi system has improved upon each visit that he makes. There are newer, cleaner cars, and more professional drivers who run meters without being asked to do so. The same higher quality of service holds true when it comes to hotels, restaurants and employees of bus systems and airlines. Tim says these kinds of improvements are merely a side show in comparison to even larger companies that are run by world-class management teams.

    A sweet spot in Turkey.

    As Tim saw first hand, wanting the richer things in life can start with something simple, like chocolate. During his time in Turkey, he visited the Ulker Chocolate factory, a highlight for him and the group of individual investors he was traveling with.

    via Turkey Has Never Been Better: Constantinople to Istanbul.

  • Turkey mine owner and government deny negligence

    Turkey mine owner and government deny negligence

    SOMA, Turkey (AP) — In the aftermath of a deadly explosion and fire in a Turkish coal mine, the mining company and Turkish officials are on the defensive.

    Original

    Miners rest as they await their trapped friends on May 14, 2014 in Soma, Turkey. Rescuers pulled more dead and injured from the coal mine in western Turkey on Wednesday more than 19 hours after the explosion, bringing the death toll to 238 in what could become the nation’s worst ever mining disaster. Hundreds more are still believed to be trapped in the mine. (Ahmet Sik, Getty Images)

    At least 284 miners were killed. The country’s energy minister says 18 others remain missing — tamping down earlier fears that more than 100 victims were still in the mine.

    The disaster has set off protests and public outrage at allegedly poor safety conditions at Turkish coal mines, and what some perceived as government indifference. One banner held by workers who marched through Istanbul yesterday read, “It’s not an accident, it’s murder.”

    But the owner of the mine where the disaster occurred is defending its safety record. He says he had spent his own money improving standards at the mine. And he says he hopes to continue operations at the mine after correcting any problems found by investigators.

    Senior Turkish officials, meanwhile, are denying allegations of lax government oversight. A deputy leader of the ruling party says there are no problems with inspections and supervision of mines — and that this mine was “vigorously” inspected 11 times in the past five years.

    Turkey’s energy minister says anyone who’s found to have been negligent about safety at the mine will be punished.

    via Turkey mine owner and government deny negligence – ABC36 News WTVQ Lexington Kentucky.

  • Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul dismisses three senior staff

    Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul dismisses three senior staff

    May 7 (Reuters) – Borsa Istanbul, Turkey’s state-run stock exchange, has dismissed three senior personnel after a restructuring eliminated their jobs, an official at the exchange told Reuters on Wednesday.

    The decision to discharge two deputy general managers and the head of research at Borsa Istanbul came at a May 2 board meeting, the official told Reuters on condition his name was not used.

    It was not immediately clear whether the dismissals were linked to a series of purges at other state institutions in recent weeks after a high-level corruption scandal broke late last year.

    The Capital Markets Board, Turkey’s financial-markets regulator, dismissed three deputy chairmen and 11 other senior members on April 25 in a move that one source said was government retaliation for the graft investigation, which involved Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circle. Members of the state banking regulator have also been removed from their posts.

    “As part of the ongoing organisational restructuring at Borsa Istanbul, deputy general managers Ali Coplu and Mustafa Baltaci were relieved of their duties,” the exchange official said. “Because the research and business-development sections were merged, the research manager Orhan Erdem was also relieved of his duties.”

    Borsa Istanbul declined to comment. The three who lost their jobs were not immediately available for comment.

    Nasdaq OMX Group took a 5 percent stake in Borsa Istanbul, which houses the stock, gold and derivatives exchange, at the end of 2013.

    Erdogan has denounced the graft probe as a plot against his rule orchestrated by his former ally Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who has many supporters among Turkey’s police, judiciary and other arms of the bureaucracy. Thousands of police officers and prosecutors have been reassigned. (Reporting by Birsen Altayli; Writing by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Larry King)

    via Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul dismisses three senior staff | Reuters.

  • Istanbul airport climbing rank to join London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle as Europe’s top air hubs

    Istanbul airport climbing rank to join London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle as Europe’s top air hubs

    Istanbul’s Ataturk airport attracted 12.4 million passengers in 2013 making it one of Europe’s busiest air hubs. Photo: Ugurhan Betim/Ataturk airport

    Istanbul’s Ataturk airport lured more travellers than Frankfurt and Amsterdam in the first quarter, setting the Turkish Airlines base on course to establish itself as Europe’s third-busiest air hub this year.

    Ataturk, Europe’s No. 5 airport in 2013, boosted passenger numbers 11 per cent to 12.4 million, edging past Frankfurt, last year’s No. 3, on 12.2 million and the 11.2 million at Amsterdam, the No. 4, according to the latest traffic data.

    The airport, west of Istanbul on the European side of the Bosporus, is benefiting as Turkish Airlines piles on capacity to tap local growth and build a long-haul transfer base. Should Ataturk cement its first-quarter standing, Frankfurt will find itself outside the top three for the first time since the 1960s.

    “Growth has been enormous in Turkey for years but this will mark a changing of the guard,” said Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst at Fairesearch GmbH in Kronberg, Germany. “West European airports are losing transit passengers, which are the most lucrative as they spend the most in airport shops, and it’s even worse for airlines, who are losing customers entirely.”

    Istanbul Ataturk, renamed in 1980 after modern Turkey’s first president, boosted passenger numbers almost 14 per cent to 51.2 million in 2013, the biggest gain among the world’s top 30 hubs after Kuala Lumpur, following a 21 per cent jump in 2012.

    Frankfurt posted a 0.9 per cent advance to 58 million and Amsterdam had a 3 per cent gain to 52.6 million, according to March 31 rankings from Airports Council International. Europe’s top hubs are London Heathrow, with 72.4 million passengers last year, and Paris Charles de Gaulle, with 62 million.

    Istanbul also lured 544,000 more passengers than Amsterdam Schiphol in the first quarter of 2013, only for the Dutch hub to retain No. 4 spot for the year after the peak-season surge.

    The three-month gap now stands at almost 1.3 million, based on figures published April 7 and April 15, suggesting the Turkish hub may make its advantage stick through the summer.

    Ataturk’s 200,000-passenger quarterly lead over Frankfurt translates into a swing of almost 700,000 people year-on-year, indicating that the airports may end 2014 neck and neck.

    The German hub expects 2 to 3 per cent growth to about 59.5 million travellers as Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which has its main base there, uses bigger planes. To beat that total Istanbul’s full-year growth rate would need to reach about 16 per cent.

    Sani Sener, chief executive officer of TAV Havalimanlari Holding AS, which operates the airport, anticipates growth of as much as 10 per cent, backed by the city’s status as “a tourist destination and financial hub,” he said in an e-mail.

    Frankfurt’s passenger tally took a battering this month as a pilot strike caused Lufthansa to scrap 3,800 flights. At the same time, a mild winter has pared weather-related disruption.

    Established airports in western Europe are also under pressure from fast-expanding Gulf hubs such as Dubai and Doha -headquarters to Emirates and Qatar Airways – which like Ataturk are exploiting a fortunate geographical location to set themselves up as intercontinental crossroads.

    Like the Arab carriers, Turk Hava Yollari, as Turkish Air is known in full, has built a major wide-body fleet for long – haul operations. With Turkey’s population of 76 million dwarfing the Gulf city-states, the carrier has also established a much bigger narrow-body fleet for domestic and short-haul routes.

    Ataturk, in which Charles de Gaulle-owner Aeroports de Paris has an interest via a 38 per cent stake in TAV, has also been aided as a weakening Turkish lira boosts competitiveness as West European rivals emerge more slowly from the recession.

    With a 12-month rolling passenger count of 52.6 million through March, the main obstacle to Ataturk’s expansion may be its capacity limit of about 60 million. Booming demand there and at Istanbul’s secondary Sabiha Gokcen hub – where the passenger count quadrupled in five years – has prompted Turkey to award construction contracts for an all-new super-airport able to handle as many as 150 million passengers per year.

    “The Turks are thinking big,” said Fairesearch’s Wodniok, who has a reduce rating on Frankfurt airport owner Fraport AG. “It’s a bit of megalomania, but then you do have to have the infrastructure in place before people can use it.”

    Ataturk ranked No. 18 in the 2013 ACI standings, up from No. 30 two years earlier. Frankfurt was ranked 12th, Paris Charles de Gaulle 8th and Heathrow third.

    The order of the world’s top six airports remained unchanged, with Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, home to Delta Air Lines Inc., topping the table on 94.4 million passengers, 11 million ahead of Beijing even after a 1.1 per cent annual drop.

    via Istanbul airport climbing rank to join London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle as Europe’s top air hubs.