Turkish Forum

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  • Yelp Goes Transcontinental With Launch in Turkey

    Yelp Goes Transcontinental With Launch in Turkey

    ISTANBUL, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects consumers with great local businesses, today announced the availability of Yelp Turkey ). Beginning today, people in Turkey are able to create accounts on Yelp.com.tr to share their opinions about great local businesses and services. Yelp’s free iPhone and Android applications will be available as well as its free suite of business owner tools: Yelp for Business Owners ).

    SFW134LOGO

    “Bridging the European and Asian continents, Turkey has always been a place for different cultures and communities to meet, exchange and develop,” said Miriam Warren, Vice President New Markets. “We look forward to watching the Yelp community experience that same treatment as we hand over the reins to the local population and ask them to make Yelp their very own local guide to what’s good and great wherever they are in Turkey.”

    A newly industrialized country with the youngest population in Western Europe by median age, a rapidly expanding population and an entrepreneurial spirit to rival that of any nation, Turkey is ideally suited to develop its own Yelp community for the benefit of both consumers and independent small businesses.

    Initially, Yelp’s community building efforts will be concentrated in Istanbul, an expansive city that spans two separate continents. However, the full-featured site will be available to all Turks across the entire country and will support English, Danish, Dutch, French, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Polish and Turkish, providing users access to local insights in any one of these twelve languages.

    To learn more and see pictures of Yelp.com.tr and our iPhone and Android applications, visit our Yelp Official Blog .

    About Yelp

    Yelp or http://www.yelp.com.tr) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Singapore and Poland. Yelp had a monthly average of 84 million unique visitors in Q3 2012*. By the end of Q3 2012, Yelpers had written more than 33 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Yelp’s mobile application was used on 8.2 million unique mobile devices on a monthly average basis during Q3 2012. For more information, please visit or send an email to press@yelp.com.

    * Source: Google Analytics

    Media Contacts:

    UK

    Elliot Adams

    Yelp

    eadams@yelp.co.uk or press@yelp.co.uk

    +44 (0) 207 347 1663

    SOURCE Yelp Inc.

    via Yelp Goes Transcontinental With Launch in Turkey — ISTANBUL, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –.

  • Investing In: What’s the Risk for Investors of Turkey Going Islamist?

    Investing In: What’s the Risk for Investors of Turkey Going Islamist?

    By: Deborah Caldwell

    Senior Editor, Enterprise

    Turkey is as complex as a Byzantine mosaic or a potent Turkish coffee. Straddling Europe, Asia and the Middle East, it’s a Muslim country with ancient Christian roots — but founded as a modern nation in 1923 by a militant secularist, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. For decades an economic backwater, it’s now the fastest-growing economy in Europe.

    Turkey Mosque Getty Images
    Turkey Mosque
    Getty Images

    That economic success was achieved by an Islamist-leaning government that has managed successfully to meld the conservative religious devotion of the masses with the economic interests of the secular elite.

    But what if Turkey, propelled by its majority of populist conservative Muslims, were to adopt a more extreme version of Islam? Syria, its neighbor to the south, is disintegrating — abetted according to some reports by rebels connected to Al Qaeda. Some of those rebels may be drifting across the border into Turkey. And there are rumors that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has intestinal cancer; with no clear successor to his decade-old leadership, his ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party could splinter and give rise to a more extremist Islamic rule.

    Yet experts say Turkey is so much improved economically from a decade ago that there is little chance its people would risk that prosperity — and relations with the West — to adopt an extremist Islamic state.

    That is not to say, however, that Turkey isn’t dealing with a precarious religious situation. “The society is going more conservative,” said Ebru Erdem, political science professor at the University of California at Riverside. “It’s been going on since the 1990s, and that is still in progress.”

    Erdem said Turks who don’t fast during the holy month of Ramadan, for instance, or who drink alcohol, face ostracism. And last spring the AKP ignited a debate about the morality of abortion and C-sections, two issues Erdem said had never before caused so much as a flicker on the Turkish radar screen.

    “They are not like the Islamist parties of before,” Erdem said. “They come from the same traditions, but they said they have taken off that shirt and they present themselves as a ‘liberal’ political party.”

    Erdem and other Turkey experts liken the religious dynamic in Turkey to none other than the U.S., comparing the AKP to the most conservative Christians of the Republican Party.

    “They are modeling on the Americans,” Erdem said. For instance, she said, the government has gradually begun regulating alcohol sales. “They say it’s not good for you, and they give the example of the U.S. Bible Belt, where you can’t buy alcohol on Sundays.”

    via Investing In: What’s the Risk for Investors of Turkey Going Islamist?  – US Business News – CNBC.

  • Yemeksepeti.com in Talks to Sell Stake to Investors, CEO Says

    Yemeksepeti.com in Talks to Sell Stake to Investors, CEO Says

    Yemeksepeti.com, an Istanbul-based company offering web-based meal order services, is in talks with private equity and venture capital firms to sell a stake of 10 to 15 percent, chief executive officer Nevzat Aydin said.

    Three major shareholders including Aydin, who is also the co-founder of the company, own 70 percent of the company, Aydin said in a telephone interview yesterday.

    A decision on whether to sell the stake or not will be made by the end of March, Aydin said.

    To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at eersoy@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Benedikt Kammel at bkammel@bloomberg.net

    via Yemeksepeti.com in Talks to Sell Stake to Investors, CEO Says – Bloomberg.

  • Amazon Turkey Deal May Be First of Many

    Amazon Turkey Deal May Be First of Many

    By Ben Rooney

    Turkey is that rare thing; a growing European economy. Investors are starting to pay attention to the burgeoning internet economy there. So news that Amazon has taken a stake in a leading Turkish e-commerce site should come as no surprise.

    The global retail giant has taken an undisclosed stake in Ciceksepeti, a Turkish ecommerce site based in Istanbul that delivers flowers and other gifts across the country.

    Back in the summer Tech Europe visited Turkey to take the temperature of the start up scene there. Even in the few months since my visit, the climate has changed. With a population of 77 million (and another 3 million Turks in Germany), a growing middle class, a strong network in the urban centers and high credit-card penetration, it is becoming an increasingly attractive market.

    According to Arda Kutsal, the Founder of Webrazzi, Turkey’s leading site for the burgeoning start-up scene there, and who broke the story, it is a very good deal for Amazon, and an indicator of things to come.

    “We don’t have the details yet, but it is a good move by Amazon. The company is growing very fast, we see a lot of advertisements on TV for them, and they have attracted new funding recently. Hummingbird Ventures made an investment in CicekSepeti in January 2011.

    For the last three years we have been waiting for Amazon to invest

    “I think Amazon is using this to test the market, they want to see the market dynamics here in Turkey.

    “For the last three years we have been waiting for Amazon to invest in the market here. EBay is already here.”

    eBay owns approximately 93% of GittiGidiyor, Turkey’s leading online marketplace.

    Mr. Kutsal expressed some surprise that Turkey had not bought a stake in Hepsiburada. “If you had asked anyone who Amazon should buy, everyone would have said Hepsiburada.com ”

    Mr. Kutsal predicted there would be more.

    Turkey has attracted a lot of interest from leading VCs

    “This is just the first step,” he said. “We think they will be in the market fully in the next few years.”

    Turkey has attracted a lot of interest from leading VCs recently. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers recently took a stake in Trendyol, a Vente Privee-style flash sales site and Hummingbird Ventures was an investor in Ciceksepeti.

    Jeremiah Daly of Accel Partners recently returned from Istanbul on a fact-finding mission. ”The payment systems are in place. Everyone said the logistics are good. I spent a lot of time talking to eCommerce sites. It is not like Russia where you have to build your own. They build relationships with third party providers who are cost efficient and reliable.” Furthermore Turkey has high credit card penetration, some 60%, as well as some interesting mobile banking developments coming from Turkcell, the country’s largest mobile network operator.

    “There are some interesting opportunities in marketplaces, online retail and classifieds,” he said. He said that because smartphone penetration across the country is not yet at the levels of other European markets, investment opportunities in mobile were not as advanced as in other areas. “However, it is just a matter of time.”

    Mr. Kutsal said that Turkey was also attractive to investors looking to use Turkey to expand either into the Central Asian Republics or into the Middle East.

    Amazon,

    Arda Kutsal,

    Turkey

    via Amazon Turkey Deal May Be First of Many – Tech Europe – WSJ.

  • POSCO building stainless steel plant in Turkey

    POSCO building stainless steel plant in Turkey

    By Kang Seung-woo

    POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang, center, poses with high-profile figures from the Turkish government, including Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, left, and Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergun, right, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s construction of a stainless steel plant in Izmit, Turkey, Wednesday. The plant, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2013, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons. / Courtesy of POSCO
    POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang, center, poses with high-profile figures from the Turkish government, including Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, left, and Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergun, right, during the groundbreaking ceremony for the company’s construction of a stainless steel plant in Izmit, Turkey, Wednesday. The plant, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2013, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons. / Courtesy of POSCO

    IZMIT, TURKEY ― POSCO broke ground Wednesday for its $350 million cold-rolled stainless steel plant in Izmit, Turkey in its efforts to become a leading stainless steel maker.

    The plant, which is scheduled to be completed in April 2013, will have an annual capacity of 200,000 tons.

    It is the steel giant’s second investment in Turkey, following the launch of its POSCO-Turkey Nilufer Processing Center (TNPC), a comprehensive auto steel processing center, last year in Bursa Province.

    “The plant will be equipped with one of the best cutting-edge facilities in the world and is expected to stably produce solid cold-rolled stainless steel,” POSCO Chairman Chung Joon-yang said in the ground-breaking ceremony, where Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergun and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan were present.

    The chairman also said that the building of the stainless steel plant will help Turkey to improve its trade balance, as the production from the new plant will replace its imports.

    Currently, the Pohang-based company, which can nearly produce 3 million tons of stainless steel, is sitting third in terms of annual production capacity behind Acerinox and Taiyuan Iron and Steel, which has an annual capacity of 3.4 million tons and 3 million tons, respectively.

    The mill will be established within the Izmit industrial complex, about 100 kilometers east of Istanbul that features major infrastructure such as electricity, road and natural gas, and its closeness to Derince Port will make it easy to bring in stainless hot-rolled plates, from Pohang Steelworks, necessary for the stainless cold-rolling mill.

    With the Turkey stainless mill, POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker, expects to play a leading role in the Eurasian country’s domestic stainless market, which entirely relies on imports ― 210,000 tons in 2009 and 326,000 tons in 2010 ― and capitalize on Turkey’s geographic advantage to take on the demands from neighboring areas including the Middle-East, Eastern Europe, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

    According to the steelmaker, Turkey has swiftly evolved into heavy industry-centered mode, with global automakers like Renault, Fiat, Ford, Nissan and Honda clustering in the country.

    In addition, Turkey, along with Italy and Germany, is the top three home appliance manufacturers in Europe, so there is strong demand for high-end stainless steel from them.

    According to POSCO, Turkey and its neighboring nations are expected to fall shortest of supply of stainless steel in the world in 2015, with its supply likely to reach 40 million tons ― 90 million tons in lack of demand.

    This groundbreaking comes as POSCO’s aggressive push for value-added stainless steel is on full display.

    Last week, POSCO purchased shares of Southeast Asia’s largest stainless steel producer, Thainox Stainless, to boost its stake to 75 percent from 15 percent, while earlier this year, it expanded the capacity of its Chinese stainless steel joint venture, Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel (ZPSS), from 800,000 tons to 1 million tons per year.

    Over the past year, POSCO has also taken over Asia Stainless Corp. in Vietnam and Taihan ST Corp. in Korea.

    Earlier the day, the POSCO Chairman said that he will broaden its economic cooperation with Turkey.

    “We have set our sights on Turkey because of its steady economic growth,” Chung told reporters in a press conference after meeting Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.

    According to him, POSCO and its affiliates will make efforts to enter the Turkish markets, while Turkey is considering giving supports including tax benefits.

    ksw@koreatimes.co.kr

    via POSCO building stainless steel plant in Turkey.

  • Russian search giant Yandex expands into Turkey, opens Istanbul office

    Russian search giant Yandex expands into Turkey, opens Istanbul office

    Russian search giant Yandex expands into Turkey with new search portal and Istanbul offices

    Russian search giant Yandex today announced its expansion into Turkey, opening a Turkish version of its search engine and incorporating a range of other services tailored for Turkish users but also opening an office in Istanbul.

    Yandex has made sure to introduce its core search product but also serves pictures and videos, demonstrating small tweaks that can help users find books and poetry just by entering one line from the text itself. On top of its search features, Yandex’s Turkish portal will also offer email services, news, translation and other services.

    Yandex’s CEO Arkady Volozh notes how big a move this is for the Russian search giant:

    “It’s the first time we start offering web search services in a country where almost nobody speaks any Russian. We have considered countries with a well-developed internet market, a growing web user audience and a lot of local language content. Turkey was a clear first choice. Instead of just localizing our services for this country, we custom-built an entirely new product – tailored specifically to web users in Turkey.

    The company has already employed over twenty new staff in its new Istanbul office, making sure that it can add to its technological innovations with a deep understanding of the local culture, the language and the varying preferences of its users.

    In August, Yandex acquired ‘social newspaper’ service The Tweeted Times as part of a push to integrate more social data into its search results. Similar to Paper.li, it generates a ‘newspaper’ on the Web containing stories shared by people that they follow on Twitter. The team behind have now joined Yandex to work on boosting its search and content services with information from social networks.

    In 2010, Yandex generated 64% of all search traffic in Russia and was the largest Russian Internet company by revenue. It floated on the NASDAQ earlier this year.

    via Russian search giant Yandex expands into Turkey, opens Istanbul office.