Invest News DetailStar - Japan’s largest lender, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) has announced its intention to apply for a banking license in Türkiye mainly to finance the large-scale investment projects in Türkiye that Japanese companies expect to take part in. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) in 2011, the bank will file an application with a capital investment of USD 300 million to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) of Türkiye next month. In a joint press event with ISPAT, the Managing Executive Officer of BTMU Shoji Nakano said that BTMU plans to assume its new role as a financer of large-scale investment projects by October, 2013 following the authorization by BDDK. The Japanese bank has been in Türkiye since 1986 via its representative office in Istanbul. “Türkiye’s growing economy, key geographical location and young population presents an excellent investment hub for Japanese companies. BTMU already supports many Japanese companies operating in Türkiye and plans increasing its exposure to USD 5 billion in 3 to 5 years as its business grows in Türkiye,” said Nakano. The number of Japanese companies in Türkiye is expected to increase threefold over the next 5 to 7 years as the two countries form stronger business ties. Another Japanese lender, Mizuho Corporate Bank has opened a representative office in Türkiye in June and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ISPAT for further expansion in the country. Noting that Türkiye is the only country that BTMU applied for a banking license in the region, the Japanese executive cited large-scale infrastructure, energy, automotive, cosmetics and medical equipment production as their priority industries for funding. Stating that they have intensified their efforts to secure more investments from the Far Eastern financial institutions, the President of ISPAT, Ilker Ayci, said the Agency will sign a new MoU with another bank soon. Türkiye’s economy is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with an average growth rate of almost 9 percent for the last two years. Recent activities in the banking sector of Türkiye include the entry of Russia’s state-owned Sberbank, which acquired Dexia’s Turkish unit, Denizbank, for USD 3.6 billion.