Milliyet – Türkiye’s policies to draw foreign investments to the country are shifting towards a more sector-specific approach, aiming directly at high-tech and export-oriented projects, the head of the country’s official investment agency said.
The inflow of FDI to Türkiye in 2011 is expected to reach USD 13 billion, Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) President, Ilker Ayci told reporters at a press meeting on the organization’s recent successes and future goals. Ayci said he was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the situation in Europe, from where Türkiye draws substantial amounts of FDI. “Due to the volatile economic environment in Europe, our 2012 target is to reach at least the last year’s total,” he noted, without giving an exact FDI forecast.
Providing insights into the Agency’s efforts to bring in investment projects with added-value and high-tech, Ayci said that they have adapted a more sector-specific approach, focusing on technology transfer and reducing imports.
“We are in contact with companies with high-tech products which can add to Türkiye’s export portfolio. Our aim is to draw investments that include the local production of previously imported goods and materials. The Agency has designated automotive and petrochemical producers as primary objectives and will soon add the mining sector as well,” Ayci remarked, adding that 35 foreign companies in the automotive, spare parts and petrochemical industries were listed as possible investors.
Of the Agency’s recent successes, ISPAT President said that Dow Chemical’s joint investment with Aksa Akrilik to produce carbon fiber in Türkiye was a significant contribution to the country’s petrochemicals industry. The investment total of the partnership announced last month will reach USD 1 billion over the next five years. The Agency also announced the Indian textile manufacturer Aditya Birla’s USD 500 million investment project in Adana, which involves setting up a greenfield integrated viscose staple fiber (VSF) plant.
ISPAT President said that the latest investment project handled by the Agency is that of a German auto parts supplier’s EUR 20 million greenfield production plant in the Aegean province of Manisa.