5/16/2008

BNP Paribas research center moves to Türkiye

Turkish Daily News- Türkiye's new Research and Development (R&D) Incentive Law, which has sparked an inflow of investments in many sectors including automotive and pharmaceuticals, is now attracting the financial sector. Encouraged by Türkiye's new law on R&D, BNP Paribas, the French partner of Turkish Economy Bank (TEB), decided to move its R&D center from France to Türkiye. The French company will develop software and train staff in Türkiye in order to halve its costs. “We are developing a joint R&D center project with our French partner on software and staff training. Conducting this activity in France would cost double,” said Yavuz Canevi, chairman of the board at TEB. “With the incentives, the cost of employment may be reflected on employees as a rise in wages… Besides, the French were always complaining about the cost of the existing center. When we showed them the costs [in Türkiye], they were more than satisfied.” BNP Paribas, referred to as the largest bank of the eurozone, sees Türkiye as a base to develop the software to be used at its branches in Algeria, Malaysia, Morocco and Ukraine, Canevi said. The R&D law, which is expected to encourage investments in telecommunication, energy and automotive sectors, will open a new gate for Türkiye, Canevi noted. New arrangements were implemented in Türkiye within the framework of the incentives and support introduced with the new R&D law. The R&D reduction rate that stood at 40 percent increased by 100 percent. The firms that employ 50 R&D staff are now defined as an R&D Center. R&D and Innovation Projects, supported by domestic or international funds, are also included within its scope. The new law envisages supporting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on the basis of projects and large-scale companies on the basis of their R&D Center activities.
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