Turkey’s economy is now the fastest growing in EuropePosted by: atif, June 22nd, 2010

Turkey’s economy is now the fastest growing in Europe, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development forecasts, with the Turkish government now pursuing an expansive foreign policy.

Alongside Europe, Turkey is now establishing new partnerships with the Middle East for the banking and construction sector and is also linking on energy deals with Brazil, Russia and South Korea.

Last year Turkey managed to attract foreign direct investment worth $7.6 billion. This figure is expected to increase gradually in the coming months.

Turkey is attracting investments from automotive manufacturers as well. Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery will build a plant in the country, in cooperation with Turkey’s Mermerciler Group, while China’s Geely also has joint investment projects with the Anadolu Group. The world’s leading truck and other commercial vehicle manufacturers, including JAC and China Truck, recently had talks with Turkish officials concerning investing in the country.

Japan’s Toshiba Corporation is preparing to expand into the Turkish energy sector by investing in nuclear energy.

Leading Indian hotel chain Oberoi will also enter the Turkish market with a large hotel to be constructed in İstanbul. The company’s operations in Turkey will be extended with more hotels planned in İzmir, Antalya and Ankara, for which sites have been already found. India’s software giant Wipro is also expected to start operations in Turkey by establishing an information technology center in the country.

According to data from ISPAT, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) is one of the firms interested in investing in Turkey. As the holder of a 40 percent stake in the Turkish Bank Group, the NBK plans to acquire one more bank in Turkey. The bank is currently considering buying Tekstilbank or Anadolubank. The NBK is Kuwait’s largest bank and is one of the top five banks in the Middle East.

Index of growth of the Turkish real estate exceeded 8% in the first quarter of 2010, which was European record for the market.

As such, Turkey has turned into a bit of an investor hotspot for property buyers. The warm climate and beautiful coastlines are always a major appeal, but as Turkey is still outside of the Eurozone, it still offers some great property prices, which means that your money goes much further than in some other popular destinations.

Tourism in Turkey has also risen dramatically over the last few years, and it was reportedly the only one of the world’s top ten tourist destinations to record an increase in visitors last year. While 2009 saw the economic downturn force global tourism to contract by 4.3%, Turkey welcomed more than 27 million foreign visitors, an increase of 2.8% compared with 2008. Because it’s outside the eurozone, it has been attracting an increasing number of holidaymakers who are looking for value. This means that demand for quality rental properties in the popular tourist areas should continue to outstrip supply, making rental yields very lucrative.

2010 has started confidently for the Turkish economy and will be seen to be a strong investment hotspot for a long time to come.

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