It is without a doubt that countries across Europe and the Middle East have experienced a flood of difficulties over recent years. Turkey has also experienced tough times, particularly in 2016. Despite these challenges, Turkey, with its strong domestic market and growing economy, remains a centre of attraction for foreign investors. Figures published by the Central Bank of the Turkish Republic have revealed that foreign direct investment increased to 50.1% in the first half of 2017 when compared to the same period in 2016, and has now reached USD 4.1 billion.
While European investors remain significant players in relation to foreign direct investment into the country, substantial investment is now emerging from the Gulf countries. Gulf investors are mainly focusing on Turkey’s financial sector, tourism, construction and real estate. Turkey’s geographical position presents a significant advantage for investors seeking to spread their activities across Europe, the Middle East and CIS countries.
As the similarities grow in line with the Gulf countries, many global companies also regard Turkey as an important operation centre and, therefore, manage their operations for the region from here. Furthermore, Turkey’s liberal foreign investment policy which guarantees equal treatment to foreign and local investors, provides confidence to foreign investors. the Turkish government is also taking important steps to attract more foreign investors into Turkey with the establishment of the Istanbul Finance Centre.
According to a recent announcement made by a top economy official, the Government aims to allow foreign investors to issue foreign exchange based securities as part of the Istanbul Finance Centre Project, in order to enable them to have leading roles within the country’s capital market. Another recent development that will be of interest to foreign investors is the establishment of the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (“ISTAC”) which is already providing new and efficient ways to resolve commercial disputes whilst aiming to strengthen Istanbul’s position as a regional and international finance centre.
Complimenting these initiatives and ongoing legislative developments, Turkey also has an extensive investment incentive regime increasing foreign investors’ appetite to invest in Turkey. For example, investors can benefit from various investment schemes (i.e. general, regional, large-scale or strategic investment schemes) according to the scope of their planned investments. Each of these investment schemes provides valuable benefits to foreign investors such as VAT exemption, customs duty exemption, tax reductions, social security premium supports, income tax with holding allowance, interest rate support, land allocation and VAT refund. There is also The Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT). This institution is helping foreign investors to invest in Turkey.
Active on a global scale, ISPAT operates with a network of local consultants based in countries such as Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the UAE, and the USA. ISPAT offers an extensive range of services to investors through a one-stop-shop approach, ensuring that they obtain optimal results from their investments in Turkey. ISPAT’s team of professionals can assist investors in a variety of languages, including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. These are the services they offer for foreign investors.
– Consulting Services
– Coordination Services
– Business Facilitation Services
– Site Selection Services
– Investment Delegation Services
– Project Launch Services
– Partnership Development Assistance
– Aftercare Services
CONEXIO is a Turkish consulting company that can develop your project in Turkey.