NEWS FROM TÜRKİYE

Referans - As the increase in oil prices continue to help boost the income of Persian Gulf nations, Türkiye is becoming a magnet for Gulf-based investors. Investors became nervous in the United States and the West after September 11, 2001, and carried out an “investment hunt” all over the world. Gulf-based investments can be seen in Türkiye's finance, healthcare, real estate and media sectors, as Gulf-based capital investment volume has reached $30 billion. According to Treasury data, 2,430 Gulf-based firms entered Türkiye's market in the last eight years. While the number of the Gulf-based firms investing in Türkiye was 1,014 in 2003, the figure climbed to 2,430 as of the end of June this year. Following the acquisition of Turk Telekom by Oger Telekom in 2004, acceleration has been seen in Gulf-based investments. The number of the Gulf capital-based investments in Türkiye increased 140 % within the last five years. There are 959 Iranian, 542 Iraqi, 247 Israeli, 157 Saudi Arabian, 121 Lebanese and 52 Kuwaiti companies operating in Türkiye, while the number of companies from the United Arab Emirates increased to 60 and those from Jordan increased to seven, as of June. The recent global rise in food prices has caused the Gulf countries to accelerate their pursuit of investment in the agriculture sector. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia began to focus on agricultural investment projects in Türkiye. Aiming to establish strategic food reserves, Saudi Arabia announced it was continuing to negotiate with Türkiye, Ukraine, Pakistan, Egypt and Sudan to invest in strategic food products such as wheat, corn, rice, soybean and clover on at least a total of 100,000 square meters of fields. As such, Gulf nations, which manage $2 trillion-worth of capital, are going to add a new sector to their investment portfolio in Türkiye.