TURKISH PERSPECTIVE 51

7

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BRIEFING Art, Stories, Istanbul… Contemporary Istanbul IN DEPTH The Rise of the Heritage BRANDS Innovative Brand In The Sector: Seramiksan

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

#co me tot u ey rk

#co me t

y e k r u ot

#cometoturkey TURKEY rises the hopes of the region and shapes a concept the society internalizes more and more day by day.

etoturkey om #c

key tur eto om #c

#discoverthepotential

The Turkish Perspective

Contents 30 COVER

05 FIRST 05 | Turkey Plays Key Role In New Global Ecosystem 06 | Turkish Trade Center Opens In New York 07 | Koç Unit Bids In Power Plant Tender 08 | Strong Recovery In Q2 11 | High Achievers In Universal Healthcare 12 | Tons of Turkish Tomatoes to Russia

#cometoturkey Turkey has been in a transformation process for the decade, which rises the hopes of the region and shapes a concept the society internalizes more and more day by day. What can one see from the new perspective of Turkey? A country that keeps its own agenda with its strategy established within the framework of long-term policies; has stabilized its profile as a global player in both political and economic aspects; and that has reformed its historical heritage in a broad range from culture to industry by using an innovative approach in compliance with the world dynamics.

05

13 BRIEFING

40 INDEPTH

24

13 | President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “We All Should Unite Against Crises And Challenges”

President Erdoğan, during his address at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Kazakhstan, called on all Muslim countries to unite in solidarity, citing the longsuffering Rohingya.

15 | EXPORTERS DOUBLED THE JOY IN AUGUST

According to Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), Turkey’s exports increased by 11.9% in August 2017, reaching 12.4 billion USD.

19 | THE QUALITY OF TURKISH PHARMACEUTICALS IS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED WORLDWIDE 20 | TİM-TEB Startup Business House Kolay İK: In The List of Wired UK “Hottest Entrepreneurs of Europe”

55 BRANDS 60 | clarity, efficiency AND sustainability

50 22 | Art, Stories, Istanbul...

Contemporary Istanbul 24 | The New Turkish Flight Training Center in Service

Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier airline, continues to invest in training to maintain its edge in service quality and growth momentum.

26 | PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN ADDRESSES KEY US INVESTORS AT ISPAT’S EXECUTIVE MEETING IN NEW YORK

During the meeting, an MoU was signed between ISPAT and the US Chamber of Commerce to boost and support bilateral investments.

40 | Making The World a Better Place

Istanbul is a magical seal which unites East and West since the ancient times.

Tech companies, executives, startups and investors from 65 countries got together in this lovely city, Istanbul.

GMW MIMARLIK’s design for Terminal 5 at Riyadh King Khaled International Airport has won the “Transportation Project of the Year” award in “MEED Quality Awards for Projects” organized in Dubai.

60

46 | The Rise of the Heritage 50 | BRING ASSISTANCE WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION: TURKISH RED CRESCENT

The Turkish Red Crescent, besides contributing to the development of social welfare has been providing, presenting and offering various and important services for social solidarity.

62 AGENDA FAIRS, EXHIBITIONS, SUMMITS, MEETINGS IN THE NEXT MONTH

63 FIGURES CONTINUE TO RISE AS EXPECTED

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2 Online

Online

theturkishperspective.com MANAGEMENT Publisher on Behalf of Turkish Exporters Assembly/ CHAIRMAN of The Turkish Exporters Assembly

MEHMET BÜYÜKEKŞİ

The Turkish Perspective Digital

The Turkish Perspective website is to be launched soon.

A new medium to learn, analyze and monitor everything about Turkish economy

Strategıc Partner Presıdent of Prıme Mınıstry Investment support and promotıon Agency

Arda Ermut

and business, is born. The Turkish Perspective Digital will share the latest

Manager In Charge H. BADER ARSlan PhD

news, interviews with decision makers, provide in-depth analyzes and will be the

PUBLICATION BOARD

foreigner’s guide in Turkey regarding regulations and legislations.

M. İlker aycı Hc. DR. MUSTAFA ÇIKRIKÇIOĞLU BİLAL EKŞİ SÜLEYMAN KOCASERT Noyan gürel BÜLENT AYMEN ZEKERİYA METE Furkan Karayaka

PUBLICATION MANAGEMENT President Mehmet Mücahİd Demİr

mdemir@theturkishperspective.com

VICE President YAŞAR MAMATİ Project COORDINATOR Ahmet Damgacıoğlu adamgacioglu@theturkishperspective.com

Business Culture t Investmen ce S and cien Innovation ay D e th Video of News keting d B r a n Ma r

Edıtorıal Editors mustafa yİğİt myigit@theturkishperspective.com

RAMAZAN GÜZYURDU european COORDINATOR İnanç atılgan contrıbutıng reporters İLHAN ALPAY OGAN ALPEREN ÇEVİKASLAN design

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PANORAMA Analytical Comprehension of Big Data BRIEFING International Media Forum Was Held In Antalya

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IN DEPTH Turkey, Heaven On Earth

BRIEFING Strong Growth In National Defense Industry IN DEPTH Top 500 Industrial Enterprises BRANDS Ganjan New Town

BRANDS Arçelik Wins Prestigious Ruban d’Honneur

JUNE 2017 ISSUE 47

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

JULY 2017 ISSUE 48

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

a New Form of Revolution Explore the achievements of Turkey’s service sector explained by the skilledworkforce, cost effective service compared to international standards.

TH YEAR

BRIEFING Turkey the Champion of Diplomacy Traffic

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IN DEPTH A New Era For Investors: Super Incentive System

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

7

BRIEFING Art, Stories, Istanbul…

Contemporary Istanbul

IN DEPTH All For A Smile

IN DEPTH The Rise of the Heritage BRANDS Innovative Brand In The Sector: Seramiksan

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

key ur ot

#co me t

EX ORIENTE LUX *

Turkey, a key NATO member, has always held an important position in global affairs. Turkey has become a more prominent player on the world stage as both an economic force and a power in the last decade.

* The sun rises from the east.

#co me tot u

ey rk

Turkey is a vulnerable actor when it comes to energy supply.

TH YEAR

BRIEFING National Era In File Transfer: Filegoes

ECONOMY BUSINESS FOREIGN TRADE ANALYSIS

TURKEY FORENERGY:

AN AMBITIOUS CANDIDATE

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BRANDS The Largest Simulator Training Center of Europe and Middle East

SEPTEMBER 2017 ISSUE 50

#cometoturkey TURKEY RISES THE HOPES OF THE REGION AND SHAPES A CONCEPT THE SOCIETY INTERNALIZES MORE AND MORE DAY BY DAY.

etoturkey om #c

7

BRANDS Assan Foods: Grow In Industry Scale Continuously

AUGUST 2017 ISSUE 49

key tur eto om #c

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More than a magazine, the Turkish Perspective will now be more interactive and responsive, as expected from Turkey’s main voice for international audience.

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Orhangazi Mah. 1673 Sok. No.34 Esenyurt- İstanbul / TURKEY T. +90 212 622 63 63 F. +90 212 605 07 98 info@promat.com.tr

contact T. + 90 212 216 19 48 info@medyatr.com.tr www.medyatr.com.tr Neither text nor photographs from this publication may be reproduced in full or part without acknowledging the source and securing prior permission from the publisher.

OCTOber 2017 ISSUE 51

The Turkish Perspective

Editorial MEHMET BÜYÜKEKŞİ PRESIDENT (TIM)

contınue to grow wıthout doubt

Turkish economy and especially foreign trade has begun to recover and continue to increase our share of world trade until the end of the year.

2

017 is a year that global trade

has begun to recover. Turkish economy and especially foreign trade has been positively affected by this recovery.

In addition, the incentives and supports provided by Turkish Government in the fields of export, production, investment and employment have taken to its effects. We can see this in our newly announced second quarter growth rate.

After the 5% growth in the first quarter of the year, we grew by 5.1 percent in the second quarter. Moreover, the first quarter data was revised to 5.2%.

In the second quarter, Turkey has been the fourth most growing economy among the countries whose data was announced in Europe. We have grown much faster than major economies such as Germany, France, Italy and the UK. Stated in other words, we proved that we are one of the most successful economies in Europe. On the other hand, in the G-20, which accounts for 85 percent of the world economy, we achieved to take third place right after China and India.

The reason for our happiness here is the contribution of our exports, namely net foreign trade, to growth. Because, exports contributed 2.3 points to growth in the first quarter and 1.7 points in the second quarter. In other words, the half of the growth in the first quarter and the one third in the second quarter was due to net exports. Thus, our exports increasing for last 10 months according to TIM data, showed that exports has

become the main engine of growth.

The most powerful contribution to this high-quality growth comes from investments with 2.8 points, which is a source of pleasure for Turkish economy.

At this point, we can say that credit disbursements accelerated investment spending with the help of the Credit Guarantee Fund (KGF) since March.

Just as in the previous quarter, most financial institutions made upward revisions to their estimates regarding Turkey’s growth. Goldman Sachs, Nomura, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan have changed their growth forecasts for 2017 immediately.

We cannot deny the share of the steps taken by Turkish Government to stimulate the economy since the end of 2016. For instance, successful and

continuous exporters can now receive special passports like government officials.

Companies that want to open R&D and Design Centers are now receiving incentives from the Government. The state subsidies provided for exporters was increased three times. The structure of Turkish Eximbank has been changed in favor of exporters so that our companies can ease their financial difficulties.

Likewise, in order to integrate our exporters into the e-commerce system, the Ministry of Economy started an incentive program, covering a large part of the membership fees for global e-commerce portals and so on.

We believe that as Turkish exporters by producing and exporting more, we will continue in this track, and reach higher numbers in the third quarter. Most economic indicators and the preliminary data, especially the industrial production index, support this expectation. In addition to these, exports will continue to contribute positively throughout the year.

As Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, representing 67 thousand exporters who provide jobs for 3.1 million people, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to the positive decomposition of Turkey on the global scale by working hard, especially our exporters. We will continue to be present in every area for the purpose of exceeding the target set by the Medium Term Programme to reach $ 155 billion and increasing our share of world trade.

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The Turkish Perspective Content: Turkish Trade Center Opens in New York P06 Koç Unit Bids In Power Plant Tender P07 Strong Recovery In Q2 P08 Set Up Paper Mill In Turkey P09 Through China, India With Local Partners P10 High Achievers In Universal Healthcare P11 Tons of Turkish Tomatoes to Russia P12 Editor: Mustafa Yiğit

First

energy, economy, tech, fashıon, export, tourısm, health, aıd, busıness, avıatıon, defense...

”We will discuss and quest for increasing cooperation with a rational road map.”

energy

Albayrak:

Turkey plays key role in new global ecosystem

Turkey has been heavily investing in infrastructure projects to reinvigorate country’s transportation infrastructure.

E

nergy Minister Berat Albayrak elaborated on the recent political and economic developments in the global setting, for which Turkey is considered a key component between the transfer of shift from West to East.

Energy and Natural

Resources Minister Berat Albayrak highlighted that the West-centered ecosystem is in the process of shifting toward the East.

This offers great opportunities for countries located on that axis, and Turkey constitutes the backbone of the main

belt as a key country in the newly created global ecosystem.

Discussing the global crisis from the perspective of China and India in relation to Turkey in an address.

Recalling his visits to China and India, the minister highlighted that the visits have opened a wide array

of opportunities for successful and productive regional partnerships.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak emphasized the emergence of a new global ecosystem in which power is shifting toward the East from West.

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TRADE

Turkish Trade Center Opens in New York Offices in heart of Manhattan will give Turkish firms stronghold in world’s biggest economy

A

new Turkish Trade Center has been opened in the heart of one of the world’s largest financial centers -- New York’s Manhattan.

“New York is where everything begins, is designed, born and distributed all around the world,” Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said at the opening ceremony.

He added: “New York’s gross domestic product is around $1.4 trillion, higher than the GDP of Russia.”

Located near Fifth Avenue, the center will provide offices for Turkish companies that want a physical presence in the world’s biggest economy to access the U.S. market.

The 2,500 square meters (26,900 square feet) of space is divided into four sectors -- home textile, apparel, carpet and business contacts.

The goal of the center is to increase the volume of Turkish exports to the U.S. “Turkey’s export volume to the U.S. was $6.6 billion last year, while import volume was $10.9 billion,” Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, said.

“These numbers are not sufficient. They must be increased.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

TİM President Büyükekşi said: “Trade volume numbers between USA and Turkey are not sufficient, they must be increased.”

Strong growth “However, when we look at the first eight months of 2016, there is a 36 percent increase in Turkish exports to the U.S., compared to last year, reaching $5.1 billion.”

Zeybekci emphasized the importance of an export-oriented economic growth modelsomething Turkey achieved in the first half of 2017.

“3.9 percent of the 5.2 percent growth rate during the first two quarters of the year came from exports and production,” he said.

After growing by 3.2 percent last year, Turkey’s economy posted strong growth rates of 5.2 percent and 5.1 percent in the first and second quarters of 2017 respectively.

Those figures were above major economies such as the U.S., U.K. and Germany, which saw second quarter year-on-year growth of 2.2 percent, 1.7 percent and 2.1 percent respectively, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Outlining ways to avoid debt and a current account deficit, Zeybekci highlighted attracting sustainable foreign investment and transferring Turkey’s resources towards exports.

“That’s why, as a government, we are providing $3 million per annum to support Turkish Trade Center in New York,” he said.

The center follows similar Turkish enterprises in Iran, Dubai and Chicago. Others are due to be opened in Moscow, Frankfurt, London, Tokyo and Oslo, Zeybekci said.

The Turkish Perspective

energy

fashıon

brings Black Sea breeze to New York catwalk economy

Koç unit bids in power plant tender

Turkish business body opens UK branch

Entek Elektrik Üretim unit has bid in a tender to operate two hydroelectric power stations.

MUSIAD head says London branch opening result of their projection of better Turkey-UK relations in Brexit process.

MUSIAD Director General Abdurrahman Kaan told that they decided to open a branch of MUSIAD -leading Turkish business organization globally operating with 181 branches across 68 countries- in the U.K. as they foresee better relations between Turkey and the U.K. as it is leaving the EU. “The U.K. is one of the countries with the highest levels of investment in Turkey.

There are almost 2,900 companies with British capital that have invested in Turkey. The total of investment is about $9.6 billion. The level of investments from Turkey in the U.K. is about $2 billion.”

Kaan said MUSIAD also has an active role in the EU.

Turkish designer Numan Ataker presented his brand-new collection at NY Fashion Week.

T

urkish LPG distribution company Aygaz said on Sept. 12 its Entek Elektrik Üretim unit, jointly owned with parent Koc Holding, has bid in a tender to operate two hydroelectric power stations.

A previous privatization tender in 2016 for the two power plants, Menzelet and Kılavuzlu, had been canceled, Aygaz said in a statement

to Istanbul stock exchange.

The operating rights cover a period of 49 years in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4046 regarding the implementations of privatization, it added.

Aygaz currently provides its services in 81 cities with almost 4,000 cylindergas dealers and autogas stations, according to the company’s website.

tech

Amazon’s website for Turkey operations revealed American e-commerce giant Amazon is now officially in Turkey. The website of the e-commerce giant’s sales platform in Turkey has recently been announced.

A

mazon will run its activities in Turkey on www. amazon.com.tr. When you visit the website, it currently redirects to German version www. amazon.de, but all the contents on the site are presented in Turkish to the consumers in Turkey as Amazon has been offering services in Turkish since last November.

Amazon.com is a U.S.-based e-commerce and cloud computing company, founded by Jeff Bezos and it is on Forbes’ most innovative companies list.

Operating with 341,000 employees worldwide with annual sales of $135 billion, the company’s market value for 2017 is $427 billion.

Ataker’s stunning collection was in largely black and ivory, with clever wicker quilt detailing and golden sail rope embellishment and belts, referring to the rich cultural heritage of the Black Sea region of Anatolia.

Authentic assets of the region are incorporated into Ataker’s signature gowns, dresses and separates designed for daily and formal wear.

Inspired by native and traditional garments of the people, “cepken” (bolero jackets), shalwar (baggy pants), peshtemal (loincloth), and waistcoats have been modified for the collection in a range of fabrics spanning from cotton to linen, organza to jacquard and viscose finalized by hand sewn needlework.

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tourısm

economy

TURKEY TO HOST 200,000 CHINESE TOURISTS

AID

Strong Recovery in Second Quarter The Turkish economy expanded 5.1 percent year-onyear in the second quarter of the year.

Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister said that he expects 200,000 Chinese tourists to visit the country by the end of this year.

Numan Kurtulmuş met Chinese Culture Minister Luo Shugang in China’s capital Beijing on the sidelines of a session of the U.N. World Tourism Organization.

“Turkey and China need to strengthen cooperation, and this is impossible without cultural exchange and tourism,” Kurtulmuş said.

China has declared 2018 as the “Turkey Tourism Year.”

Kurtulmuş added that he hopes the One Belt, One Road project - which aims to connect Asia and Europe through 65 countries - will improve Sino-Turkish relations in all aspects.

F

ırst quarter growth was

also revised up to 5.2 percent from an initially reported 5 percent, while 2016 growth was revised up to 3.2 percent from an initial 2.9 percent.

Growth was driven by all main sectors in the second quarter, with the agricultural sector expanding by 4.7 percent, the manufacturing industry by 6.3 percent, the construction sector by 6.8 percent and the services sector by 5.7 percent, the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) said in a statement.

“Leading indicators regarding the third quarter show that strong economic growth is continuing and gaining momentum,” Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in a written statement following the data.

“Preliminary indicators have also showed that the economic growth would continue in the third quarter as well,” Şimşek noted.

“Our main priority is to maintain an inclusive growth,” also he said.

NEW AID CAMPAIGN FOR ROHINGYA The Turkish government will launch a new aid campaign for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

“We will launch a campaign with the Turkish Red Crescent, the Health Ministry, Directorate of Religious Affairs and non-governmental organizations,” Deputy Minister Recep Akdağ said.

Akdağ and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) head Mehmet Güllüoğlu held a press conference on Turkey’s humanitarian aid to Rohingya Muslims.

Akdağ stated that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşloğlu had gathered with authorities in Bangladesh and that the Turkish government is determined to support children and the elderly.

gaınıng momentum for strong economy “A visible recovery in tourism figures and exports will likely trigger economic growth in the third quarter with a base effect,” Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said.

5.1%

expandıng turkısh economy year-on-year in the second quarter of the year

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

70

$

bıllıon funds to small and medıum sızed enterprıses by government

5.5% 3.2% expected growth for end of the 2017

contribution to the GDP growth from domestıcs

The Turkish Perspective

energy

economy

German Home Appliance Giant to Keep Investing in Turkey

Gazprom, BOTAŞ to create joint venture for TurkStream Russian business daily Vedomosti revealed that the joint project company would be named TürkAkim Gaz Tasima A.Ş.

The TurkStream project will start from the southern Russian town of Anapa on the Black Sea coast. Pipes will be laid over a 900-kilometer route under the Black Sea to reach the Thrace region of Turkey along the Black Sea coast.

The TurkStream will send Russian gas to Turkey with the first of its two lines. The second line of the project will carry Russian gas to southern and southeastern Europe.

busıness

BSH Home Appliances’ investment policy and production plans will remain unaffected by the recent political row between Germany and Turkey.

set up paper mill in Turkey Hamburger Containerboard will establish a paper mill in the western Turkish province of Kütahya in worth 300 million euros.

S

peakıng with the Turkish media at the IFA Berlin, one of world’s leading consumer electronics shows, Ottenberg evaluated the current situation and said that ups and downs in bilateral relations between the two countries may be experienced from time to time but it will not affect long-term business plans.

The BSH CEO told the Turkish language daily, Dünya, that the recent political tensions between Turkey and Germany would not affect his company’s plans for Turkey and they will continue investing.

Pointing out that the two countries have a long history of cooperation, Ottenberg said, “As a global company that takes strength from this solid basis, we are producing in Turkey while creating value and employment for its people as well as our 8,000 employees and their families.

In Turkey, we regard ourselves as a Turkish company and focus on our business. Our investments will continue uninterrupted.”

Ottenberg emphasized the fact that many German companies that operate on a global scale receive a significant portion of their revenues from their nonGerman operations.”Business and sales volume of some of the German companies that also operate in China have surpassed the ones in Germany. In short, if German companies would have changed their business plans in every political crisis, today there would neither be German miracles nor giant German companies,” he said.

He added that the BSH’s facility in Çerkezköy is its largest production center under one roof and that BSH Turkey ranks third in terms of size after Germany and China.

The factory is slated to be completed in 2020 and create 500 new jobs, read the statement, Reuters reported.

The facility will be the company’s first greenfield investment in Turkey, the statement noted, adding that Hamburger Containerboard would follow organic and inorganic growth opportunities in Turkey.

The company is based in four countries: Germany, Austria, Hungary and Turkey.

The group produces high-quality corrugated case material, as well as plasterboard liner and paperboard, according to data in the company website.

“Turkey attracted $12.3 billion FDI inflow last year. We expect this year will be better,” Ermut said.

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dıplomacy

to purchase is Turkey’s decision NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that purchasing the S-400 missile system from Russia is Turkey’s decision.

The S-400 missiles, which were introduced in 2007, are the new generation of Russian missile systems and, so far, Russia has sold them to China and India only.

Last year, both China and India signed an intergovernmental agreement for the procurement of four regiments of Russianmade S-400s and delivery of the new air defense systems is expected to begin in 2020.

The defense system is able to carry missiles, which has the capability to destroy ground and air targets, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

avıatıon

EXPORT

Through China, India with local partners Turkish Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Officer İlker Aycı said planing to both grow and add China and India as international partners in the coming period.

$9.4B in 8 months Turkey’s machinery exports reach 6.8 percent increase compared with same period last year.

s

peakıng at the “International

Economic Development Summit - A View of Global Crisis Through China and India and Turkey,” Aycı said Turkish Airlines has become an airline company that provides flights to the greatest number of destinations in the world. “We are trying to do what the maxim ‘The future is in the skies’ requires,” he said.

Stressing that he hopes that the deepening in financial markets will continue, Aycı said, “Thanks to the Sovereign Welfare Fund, Turkey will now determine its own path.”

Aycı stated that the Turkish Airlines ‘s number of passengers increased by 2.5 percent last year and that they had an operational profit of $386 million in the last quarter, adding: “We are sorry, we cannot prevent our growth.

We are planning to both grow and add China and India to our international partners in the coming period. My colleagues are in talks with major investors in the Far East.”

“We want to enter China by establishing partnerships, such as cooperation on airport operations and airline companies,” he said. Underlining that partnership might go for all countries in the region, Aycı said business partnerships with other companies that have long international experience can indirectly allow Turkish Airlines to enter those regions as well. He said they would continue to ask for frequency and flight rights at every level.

Kerem Alkin, a member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Sovereign Wealth Fund, made a presentation titled “The Rise of the Asia Pacific, Belt and Road Initiative.”

Stating that Turkey should proportionally target its role in global goods and services production, Alkin said Turkey’s critical objective to achieve from 2023 to 2030 is to have a 1.5 percent share both of global gross domestic product and global trade.

Turkey’s machinery exports rose by 6.8 percent to $9.4 billion in the first eight months of the current year compared with the same period last year.

While Turkey reached its all-time highest exports for August, the share of the machinery sector in total exports was almost 10 percent, the Machinery Exporters’ Association (MAIB) said.

Adnan Dalgakiran, the association’s executive board chairman, said: “We see that the global political tension due to the increase of geopolitical risks has directly affected the demand for investment goods worldwide. We were able to increase our exports in this critical period that shows confidence in Turkish machines.”

The Turkish Perspective

export

health

High Achievers in Universal Healthcare The Mersin City Hospital is among the government’s pojects to further advance universal healthcare.

20 MILLION

passangers IN FIRST 8 MONTHS OF 2017 More than 20 million passengers have arrived to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Istanbul from January to August 2017.

contınue to ıncrease ın lıvestock Turkey’s livestock production up nearly 7 pct in January-June.

The total number of livestock animals in Turkey reached 59.7 million this June, a 6.8 percent rise since the beginning of 2017, according to official livestock production statistics released on Tuesday.

The number of bovine animals, including cattle and buffalo, reached 14.8 million heads in June, up 4.2 percent in the first six months, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

The central Anatolian province of Konya, Turkey’s biggest by area, has the largest number of cattle with 0.8 million heads, followed by the eastern province of Erzurum (0.7 million heads), and the Aegean province of Izmir with 0.6 million heads.

tourısm

t

urkey, along with China,

Rwanda, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea and Laos, recorded the biggest improvements in universal health care between 2000 and 2016, which translated into better vaccine coverage, as well as fewer child deaths and malaria infections, according to a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationsponsored study published by the medical journal Lancet yesterday.

The study reviewed the progress made by 188 countries toward achieving the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), noting not one country was on track to achieve the goal of eliminating new tuberculosis infections by 2030. At the same time, less than 5 percent of countries were likely to reach the U.N. goal of reducing suicides, road deaths and child obesity by that date, and only 7 percent would likely eliminate new HIV infections, according to an Associated Press report on the matter.

Overall, only a fifth of 37 healthrelated targets set under the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015, are likely to be met, said the review in the journal.

In the review, more than 2,500 researchers from around the world scored the health progress of 188 countries and projected their trajectory to 2030. High-income countries were forecast to meet 38 percent of the U.N.’s health-related targets, compared to 3 percent for low-income states.

They also were not dealing with the same problems. Poor countries fared poorly on maternal mortality, child stunting and environmental risks that affected rich nations less. But when it comes to lifestyle problems, many high-income countries fared poorly on measures for suicide, alcohol abuse and homicide. The United States, also joined Lesotho and the Central African Republic, among countries showing “minimal improvement” in universal health care, said the team.

According to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport Investment Development and Operation Inc. (İSG), Turkey’s second busiest airport welcomed 20,496,800 travelers during the first eight months of the year, with more than 360,574 passengers arriving in August.

By comparison, 19,810,629 passengers arrived at the airport in the first eight months of 2016, revealing a three percent increase in 2017 compared to the previous year.

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tourısm

health

Local Health Tourism Eyes 750,000 Tourists Turkey, which has made a great move in health tourism for the past five years, aims to earn $7 billion in income from 750,000 tourists in 2017.

export

tons of turkısh tomatoes to russıa Up to 300,000 tons of Turkish tomatoes to be granted export visa by Russia.

Turkish tomatoes will be allowed to enter the Russian market from Oct. 1 until April or May of next year. It is planned that the scope of the purchase will include between 100,000 tons and 300,000 tons of tomatoes, for a defined period of time. Turkey will have the opportunity to recapture previous numbers in terms of export volume to Russia.

Unlike the period prior to Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet in its airspace in November 2015, producers and exporters who want to sell tomatoes to Russia will not be allowed to sell tomatoes to the country. Only those who are accredited with a license of compliance will be able to export tomatoes to Russia.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

A

lthough hair implants and plastic or aesthetic surgery operations come to mind first in relation to health tourism, Turkey is becoming the center of major operations with investments made in the health sector.

Turkish Healthcare Travel Council (THTC) Founding President Emin Çakmak said Turkey receives the greatest number of patients in eye, orthopedic, dental, cardiology, oncology and brain and nerve surgery branches, and added that “There are huge investments in the oncology field in the

recent period, and today we have 15 large hospitals that serve only in the oncology field providing above world standard services.” Underlining that these investments make Turkey one of the centers of cancer treatment, Çakmak stated that Turkey has also made great progress in transplant operations. According to Çakmak, there has been a 100 percent increase in liver transplant and bone marrow operations in the last two years mainly thanks to the increase in the number of health centers licensed by the Health Ministry.

center of major operatıons Turkey welcomed 746,000 health tourists in 2016 and generated $5.8 billion in revenue, with 90 percent of it earned from medical operations and 10 percent from plastic surgery.

10

$

thousand average ıncome obtaıned from sıngle health tourıst

19.6%

ıncrease ın health tourists coming from Russia and Turkic Republics ın 2017

7

$

BILLION

ıncome ın health tourısm ın 2017

Miracle mud baths Miracle mud baths bring tourists to Turkey’s Muğla.

Ranking at the top of the world’s list for mineral density, the ‘beauty mud’ of Sultaniye Thermals is beneficial for dermatological problems and attracts local and international tourists alike.

With sanatoriumlike accommodations that offer joyful holiday activities, Sultaniye Thermals and Mud Baths function as a health and holiday tourist attraction, serving enthusiasts for thousands of years in the Köyceğiz district of Muğla province.

The thermal has attracted a great deal of attention especially from Russian, British and Arab tourists in recent years thanks to its high mineral values, optimal health benefits and the strong flow of thermal spring waters.

Located on the southeastern shores of Köyceğiz Lake, Sultaniye Thermals is a destination most famous for its mud baths, in addition to its healing waters.

These thermal springs are accessible to tourists on boats departing from the districts of Köyceğiz and Dalyan and also by car from Köyceğiz. The thermal springs boast indoor and outdoor pools for visitors.

The Turkish Perspective Content: “We All Should Unite Against Crises And Challenges”s P13 To Collaborate Under This One Roof P15 ‘Kumib’ Shows Up In Sydney P17 Kolay İK: In The List of Wired UK “Hottest Entrepreneurs of Europe”s P20 Contemporary Istanbul P22 The New Turkish Flight Training Center in Service P24 President Erdoğan Addresses Key Us Investors At Ispat’s Executive Meeting In New York P26 Editor: Mustafa Yiğit

Briefing

dıplomacy , exporters dıary, tim-teb, art, avıatıon, ınvestment...

Astana - Kazakhstan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:

“We All Should Unite Against Crises And Challenges”

President Erdoğan, during his address at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Kazakhstan, called on all Muslim countries to unite in solidarity, citing the long-suffering Rohingya.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

S

peaking at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Science and Technology Summit in Astana Sunday, Erdoğan said Muslim countries should work together to end the suffering of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. In his

address before the heads of states and representatives from predominantly Muslim countries, Erdoğan said: “We want to work together with the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to get ahead of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in

the region. We have communicated our offer of aid to the Bangladeshi authorities and have expressed our expectations for the necessary facilitation to be provided to Muslims fleeing repression and murder.”

The president added that international organizations and Muslim countries, in particular, should work together to exhaust all possible means to end this cruelty. Earlier at a press conference Friday, Erdoğan revealed

13

Briefing

Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and severed air, land and sea links with the country on June 5 after accusing it of supporting extremist groups. Qatar strongly denies the claims, arguing that efforts to isolate the country were politically motivated.

President Erdoğan also pointed out that Muslim countries lose their “most successful children and brightest brains” to Western institutions and countries as a result of what he called “brain drain.”

“Today, 55 percent of the population in the Islamic world does not even know how to read or write. In the OECD countries, the percentage of nationals who are educated is 5.2 percent, compared to less than 1 percent in the Islamic world. We are not producers but rather consumers of information technology, which is the most important source of power in today’s world. This makes us fragile in many respects, especially in terms of national security. I want to emphasize the fact that today, as it was yesterday,

being a strong country is contingent on producing knowledge and processing it in the best possible way,” he said.

He also emphasized that the leaders of Muslim countries should allow their citizens to gain access to all of the benefits the internet has to offer while protecting them from its dangers, particularly referring to the exploitation of the internet by terror organizations and antiIslamic groups.

Meanwhile, President Erdoğan, who arrived in Astana Saturday morning on a two-day visit, held a number of bilateral meetings and attended the OIC Summit Sunday.

He met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Pakistan

“We are not producers but rather consumers of information technology, which is the most important source of power in today’s world.”

President Mamnoon Hussain, Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Bosnian member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic in Astana on the sidelines, to discuss regional developments and bilateral ties.

He also met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev Saturday. After the meeting, President Erdoğan said that preliminary work on the upcoming Astana summit, which will be held on Sept. 14, has been completed, adding that the steps taken toward establishing peace in Syria will hopefully be finalized in Astana.

He also asserted that Turkey and Kazakhstan should work together to boost bilateral trade ties.

Two close partners, Turkey and Kazakhstan established a strategic partnership in 2009, which became a corporate mechanism known as the Turkey-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in 2012.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

Turkey plans to build a tent camp in Bangladesh for Rohingya Muslims.

“The tent camps are unlivable right now. If the Bangladesh government designates an area to us, we plan to build new tent camps there, while utilizing our experience,” the president announced, adding that the first round of humanitarian aid from the state-run Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) has already been delivered and another round was on its way.

He also touched upon the ongoing spat between the Gulf countries and the tensions in Jerusalem.

“What the Muslim world needs now is not instability but unity and solidarity. The crisis in the Gulf region has upset us deeply. We want the crisis in the Gulf to be resolved as soon as possible. We can never allow for the violation of the holiness of Jerusalem and Aram al-Sharif. We should adopt a more determined attitude to prevent further provocations,” Erdoğan said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

14

The Turkish Perspective

The Only Way To Find A Solution To The Crisis Is

To Collaborate Under This One Roof President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech during the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that international collaboration was a must for finding a solution to the Syrian crisis.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

H

e also urged world powers to honor their promises to 3.2 million refugees in Turkey, after the country was named the most generous country for spending 0.75 percent of its gross national income (GNI) on humanitarian causes.

Turkey has the largest refugee population in the world and is currently home to more than 3 million Syrians, according to official data. It has spent around $25 billion to provide for those who have fled within its borders, while the international community contributed $526 million to that amount.

Reminding that Turkey has and will continue to do all it can to help Syrians, Erdoğan reminded world leaders of Turkey’s determination in the fight against terror, saying it has liberated over 2.000 kilometer squares of land in Syria from Daesh terrorists.

He also criticized countries that continue to support terror groups such as the PYD/YPG, who claim to fight against Daesh, saying they are “solely trying to change the demographics of Syria.”

The president also touched on the hotly debated independence referendum proposed by

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Donald Trump had a discussion in a positive atmosphere.

the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq.

“I call on the KRG to cancel the planned referendum which could easily destabilize Iraq even more, and lead to clashes in the region,” he said. Turkey has numerous times urged the KRG to cancel the vote to secede from Iraq.

The Iraqi Supreme Court of Iraq on Monday ordered the suspension

of the nonbinding referendum after the National Security Council rejected the move as “unconstitutional.”

However, Iraq and Turkey are not alone in their outspoken opposition the vote.

The U.S. and other Western nations also fear that the Sept. 25 vote in Iraqi Kurdistan could ignite a new conflict with Baghdad and possibly neighboring countries,

diverting attention away from the ongoing war against Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria.

In the wake of North Korea’s nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches over Japan, Erdoğan asserted that Turkey was against nuclear armament.

“I want to reiterate once again that Turkey is against all kinds of nuclear weapons,” he said.

Regarding the violence and oppression against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, he said “the international community has failed in the Rohingya crisis, just like it did in Syria.”

He said the violence and crimes committed against the Rohingya would go down as a ‘dark stain’ in human history.

“These developments have proven right our call to restructure the United Nations Security Council, which we summarized as the ‘World is bigger than 5,’” he added, mentioning his criticism about the structure of the UNSC, which only has five permanent members who basically decide the top governing body’s policies.

Erdoğan meets Trump in luncheon hosted by UN Chief Guterres President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump during a luncheon hosted by United Nations chief Antonio Guterres in New York.

No statements have been released regarding what was discussed during the meeting.

However, sources said the presidents had a discussion in a positive atmosphere.

15

Briefing

EXPORTERS CONTRIBUTED TO GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT S

EXPORTERS DOUBLED THE JOY IN AUGUST

According to Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM), Turkey’s exports increased by 11.9% in August 2017, reaching 12.4 billion USD.

E

valuating the

data, TİM Chairman Mehmet Büyükekşi told that, “The increase in our exports, doubled the of Eid al-Adha for Turkey.” Büyükekşi also told, “Since November 2016, our exports have been increasing steadily. We believe that we will reach 155 billion USD by the end of the year and meet our target. Despite the long Eid al-Adha holiday, Turkey’s exports increased for the 10th month in a row. As exports increase, other areas of the economy improve as well, every part of the economy is deeply connected. We will see a positive contribution from net exports’ to the Q2 GDP growth.”

According to TİM, exports in August increased by 11.9% to 12.4 billion USD, while exports in the first eight months increased by 10.7% to 102.5 billion USD, and the exports in the last 12 month increased by 7.8% to 151.8 billion USD.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Germany kept its place on the top of export destinations of Turkey with 1.3 billion USD, which accounts for roughly 10% of Turkey’s exports in August, with an increase of 11.3%.

Iraq, UK, USA and Spain followed Germany in the list. EU-28’s shares in Turkey’s exports were 47% in August with an amount of 5.9 billion USD. 16 of the “Top 20 Countries” in Turkey’s exports had realized increases in export value. Russia, China and UAE were at

the top of the list of biggest improvements with increases of 58.9%, 43.1% and 35.1% respectively.

Looking at the sectors, top performer was automotive as usual, with 1.8 billion USD. Automotive was followed by ready garments and apparel with 1.7 billion USD and chemicals with 1.5 billion USD. Exports increased by 11% in quantity in August, reaching 9.9 million tons.

Exports in the first eight months were 77.2 million tons, with an increase of 12.8%.

conference, the Chairman of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly Mehmet Büyükekşi told that; “Exports increased by 8.2 percent in the first 6 months, and contributed 2 points to the Q2 growth.” Büyükekşi also told, “Research shows that the majority of our firms increased the number of their employees in the second quarter. For the remainder of the year 2017, which we announced as the breakthrough year, the increase in our exports will continue to reflect positively on employment data.

The most important problem is the cyber-attacks.

This situation did not affect only our own firms and systems, it also affected the large-scale European and US firms which we do business with at the same time. This has also caused our firms to slow down their exports.

49 percent of the companies that participated in the survey has entered a new market in 2017 Q1. This rate has risen to 57 percent in 2017 Q2.

Most of the companies have diversified their export markets by entering markets they have never exported before.

When we look at the target countries of our exporters, the most preferred markets are Russia, Qatar and Germany.

Russia has entered the radar of our exporters once again after the normalization of our bilateral relations. We can see this recovery in January August period, our exports to Russia increased by 52.6% in the first 8 months of 2017.”

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

peaking at the press

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

16

The Turkish Perspective

THE EXPORT COMPASS DIRECTS THE ROUTE TO RUSSIA The Export Compass Program, which was organized by TİM with the support of Coface and covering 10 countries, continued with the Route: Russia event.

‘KUMİB’ SHOWS UP IN SYDNEY F ine Food Australia

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

T

urkish Exporters Assembly Chairman

Mehmet Büyükekşi said that the opening of the Turkish Trade Centers (TTM) in the target markets is continuing and Moscow TTM will be operational by the end of the year. Speaking at the Export Compass Route: Russia event, Büyükekşi said, “Our 34,000 square meter companies will show their products to customers at first hand. We are demanding companies from the furniture, textiles, ready-made and leather sectors, “he said.

In the first seven months of 2017, Turkey’s exports to Russia rose by 60 per cent, while imports from Russia rose by 18 per cent, Büyükekşi continued: “However, these figures are not enough for us. Turkey has a great potential for exports to Russia, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, textiles and ready-to-wear, machinery and accessories. Turkey and Russia are perhaps the two countries with the highest

ability to complete each other in the world. Therefore, we need to remove the obstacles and increase our foreign trade as soon as possible.

The largest sector having potential for export is fresh fruits and vegetables. With the removal of obstacles in front of this sector, our exports increased by 150 percent in 2017. “ Andy Podelsyhev, Consul General of the Russian Federation, who participated in the event, stated that all issues related to agricultural products will be discussed at the meetings between the two countries in Antalya on

14 September. “The bilateral cooperation is important for both countries,” Podelyshev said. In the last year important steps have been taken. Turkey’s exports to Russia in the first 6 months of this year increased by 1.5 times.

“Turkey has a great potential for exports to Russia, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, textiles and ready-towear, machinery and accessories.”

2017 Fair is organized in Sydney, Australia on 1114 September 2017 as the organizer of the Istanbul Dried Fruits and Products Exporters’ Association (KUMİB) and under the coordination of the Ministry of Economy.

With the concept of “TURKEY” brand, with a total area of 306 m2 and 18 exhibitors, the Consulate General of Turkey, Mr. Melih KARALAR visited the fair. Istanbul Dry Fruit and Products Exporters Association Chairman of the Board of Directors Muhsin ÇAKICI presented the participant firm certificates.

The “Turkey Stand” which has been designed successfully in accordance with the concept of the brand of Turkey that constitutes the new identification identity of our country is collected by the official delegations, other fair participant countries and visitors. Turkish Perspective magazine, “Turkey Discover the Potential” logo introductory booklet and collar badges were distributed in addition to catering to visitors coming to Turkey stand.

The KUMİB Turkey national participation organization, which increased the number of exhibitors by 150% and the stand area by 100% compared to last year, also diversified the product range displayed.

17

Briefing

4th TİM “AMBASSADORS GATHERING” HAS BEEN ORGANIZED IN GAZIANTEP

President of Turkish Exporters Assembly Mehmet Büyükekşi hosted 4th TİM Ambassadors Gathering with the participation of 176 ambassadors, mission chief and bureaucrats from 74 countries in Gaziantep.

they inform each other of the event, Büyükekşi shared that IMF Turkey Representative wanted to participate to the program even if he needs to pay for his expenses.

Büyükekşi Edited the Menu During their two days long trip, Ambassadors have visited touristic places like Zeugma Museum, Archeology Museum, Culture Road, which contains Historical Bazaar and Rumkale. Before their departure, they have tasted delicious traditional food of Gaziantep in the organized picnic. At the gala dinner in Historical Hışvahan district, Ambassadors have enjoyed the regional folk dances and music.

Mehmet Büyükekşi, who is from Gaziantep, has edited the menus of the picnic and gala dinner himself.

B

esides that the

participation of 44 Ambassadors, there were also IMF, EU Turkey Delegation and Turkey representatives of Arab League.

President of TİM Mehmet Büyükekşi stated: “Some of the ambassadors are planning to come back to Gaziantep. They have all satisfied the event.

Being on familiar terms is really important.”

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has met with the ambassadors at a breakfast and made them a presentation about Turkish Economy.

Gaziantep’s Mayor Fatma Şahin and Governor Ali Yerlikaya gave information about the planned actions on Syrian refugees. Ambassadors of Finland, Panama, Philippines and Charge D’affairs of Ethiopia declared in their speeches on behalf of the participants that they are really affected by Syrian people’s being called as “guests” OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Ambassadors have visited touristic places like Zeugma Museum, Archeology Museum, Culture Road, which contains Historical Bazaar and Rumkale.

who is from Gaziantep, has edited the menus of the picnic and gala dinner himself.

4th TİM Ambassadors Gathering with the participation of 176 ambassadors, mission chief and bureaucrats from 74 countries has been organized in Gaziantep.

They are informing each other and that the actions are model for the others.

During their two days long trip, Ambassadors have visited touristic places like Zeugma Museum, Archeology Museum, Culture Road, which contains Historical Bazaar and Rumkale.

Before their departure, they have tasted delicious traditional food of Gaziantep in the organized picnic. At the gala dinner in Historical Hışvahan district, Ambassadors have enjoyed the regional folk dances and music. Mehmet Büyükekşi,

Reminding thet Ambassadors Gathering have been organized in Mardin, Çanakkale and Trabzon, Büyükekşi stated: “People know each other while travelling and eating together.

We have travelled together with an ambassador for 2 programs and even, we have performed the regional dances. In this way, a friendship developed.”

Pointing out that foreign missions are well-interested in Ambassadors Gathering and

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has met with the ambassadors at a breakfast and made them a presentation about Turkish Economy.

Gaziantep’s Mayor Fatma Şahin and Governor Ali Yerlikaya gave information about the planned actions on Syrian refugees. Ambassador of Finland Paivi Kairomo , Ambassador of Panama Jorge Hernan Miranda Corona, Ambassador of Philippines Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez and Charge D’affairs of Ethiopia TesfaKiros Hailu Gebremariam declared in their speeches on behalf of the participants that they are really affected by Syrian people’s being called as “guests” and that the actions are model for the others. Charge D’affairs of Ethiopia TesfaKiros Hailu Gebremariam stated that: “we have almost 800.000 refugees from Eritre and South Sudan in our country. In this respect, we have a lot to learn from Turkey.”

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

There are things to be learned from Turkey about refugees

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

18

The Turkish Perspective

THE QUALITY OF TURKISH PHARMACEUTICALS IS OFFICIALLY REGISTERED WORLDWIDE

The membership that will boost the drug export became reality.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

T

he efforts of the Ministry of Health

came to fruition and the good news that’s long been expected by the pharmaceutical sector came through. Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (TITCK) was granted the membership of The Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), to which Switzerland, USA, UK, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Japan and Australia are already the members. Murat Akyuz, the Chairman of the Board of IKMIB, stated that this membership that was much appreciated within the sector meant that the quality of the drugs manufactured in Turkey was registered internationally and expressed that they expected an increase in the export of drugs with a high added value.

The Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), a nonbinding, informal co-operative arrangement between Regulatory Authorities in the field of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) of medicinal products for human or veterinary use, is known as the most respected and notable organization that is recognized in this field. To become a member PIC/S is not that easy. The countries are granted the membership to the Association as a result of demanding inspections. All inspections conducted by the Ministry of Health, Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency in Turkey will gain global recognition and the

quality and safety of the drugs manufactured in our country will have been registered as soon as Turkey becomes a member to PIC/S. This membership that will take effect as from 01 January 2018 will clear the way for drug export.

Last year, we realized 777 million dollar drug export and unit export price per kilogram was 15,5 dollars. This figure is 10 times more than Turkey average.

Turkish pharmaceutical industry is now in the world league...

In his review, Murat Akyuz, the Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Chemicals and Chemical Products Exporters’ Association

455

million dollars Turkey’s drug export in 7-month period in 2017.

(IKMIB), thanked the Ministry of Health for its determination in finalizing the membership works in which the pharmaceutical sector also supported and for its contributions to the sector.

Stating that they expected an increase in the drug export in the upcoming period, Murat Akyuz said, “While the quality and safety of the drugs manufactured in Turkey were registered globally through this membership, our country has consolidated its place in drugs in the world league.

Both Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency and our manufacturers went through a number

of tough and challenging inspections throughout the membership process in which our pharmaceutical industry also supported. The works have been carried out for around 4 years. We are glad that the good news that we have expected came through in the long run, thanks to the attempts and determination of the Ministry of Health.

The membership to The Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S) will increase the worldwide reputation and reliability of our pharmaceutical industry. The fact that the inspections conducted by Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency gains global recognition will make things easier for our companies, reduce their costs and remove the non-tariff barriers to export, by virtue of PIC/S membership. It will also bring along an increase in the export of drugs, one of the product groups of our chemical industry, which has the highest added value.

Last year, we realized 777 million dollar drug export and unit export price per kilogram was 15,5 dollars.

This figure is 10 times more than Turkey average. Our export in 7-month period in this year reached 455 million dollars. We believe that the opportunities will be created to achieve our real potential with, high-tech products in export, as the high level of quality in drug manufacturing in our country has been registered.”

19

Briefing

Human Resources

TİM-TEB Startup Business House

Kolay İK: In The List of Wired UK “Hottest Entrepreneurs of Europe” Kolay İK ( is on the list of Wired UK Europe’s 100 Hottest Start-Ups 2017 that has become a measure of tracking successful enterprises.

P

resident of Turkish

Exporter’s Assembly Mehmet Büyükekşi stated: “The main aim of TİM-TEB Start-Up Business House is to create awareness about entrepreneurship and innovation and to encourage the young. We are happy to see proof of our successes internationally. I personally congratulate the entrepreneur.”

Indicating that they want to make entrepreneurship a hot topic in Turkey, Büyükekşi said: “As the successes of our entrepreneurs climb, our welfare climbs more.”

Co-Founder of Kolay Human Resources Çağlar

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Yalı: “We have participated in TİM-TEB Start-Up Business Houses when we were founded in 2014. The Start-Up Business House helped Kolay İK a lot to be educated about basic entrepreneurship knowledge.

TİM-TEB Start-Up Business House provided the best opportunities in the most helpful manner for the success of young entrepreneurs like us.”

Kolay HR, one of the entrepreneurs of TİM-TEB Start-Up Business Houses, has gained a place among Wired UK 2017 Europe’s 100 Hottest Start-Ups, which is a list that has become a measurement in terms of following up successful

TİM-TEB StartUp Business House provided the best opportunities in the most helpful manner for the success of young entrepreneurs.

entrepreneurs since it is first published in 2011. Developing the first cloud-based personnel management software, Kolay HR was founded by Çağlar Yalı, Gizem Sevinç and Efecan Erdur in 2014.

Considering that Kolay HR has gained a place in the list, TİM President Mehmet Büyükekşi declared: “The main aim of TİM-TEB Start-Up Business House is to create awareness about entrepreneurship and innovation and to encourage the young. We are happy to see proof of our successes internationally. I personally congratulate the entrepreneur.”

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

By ramazan güzyurdu

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

20

The Turkish Perspective

Indicating that they want to make entrepreneurship a hot topic in Turkey, Büyükekşi said: “As the successes of our entrepreneurs climb, our welfare climbs more.”

We also conducted an interview with Kolay İK and we had the opportunity to talk about the company from its foundation to its future plans.

Entrepreneurs Have Received 115 Million Investment

How did Kolay İK born and how did it develop? Could you tell the process a bit?

When we were working in different startups, we’ve realized that SMEs are started to adapt themselves in digital world. But unfortunately human resource departments of most of those companies were still using old methods for personnel management like excel or word documents.

Those old methodologies are taketoo much time, costs resources and performance.

In order to prevent those problems and create a better communication between human resources department and employees, our cofounders Efecan Erdur, Gizem Sevinç and Çağlar Yalı came up with Turkey’s first cloud based personnel management software Kolay İK in 2014.

Stating that TİM-TEB Start-Up Business Houses organizing programs that provides consultancy for more over 400 entrepreneurs and education services for about 15.000 people since it is opened in 2013, Büyükekşi: “The total amount of investment, from both public and private foundations, to the companies in the program has reached out to 115 million TL.” Drawing attention to the fact that they are supporting all kinds of entrepreneurs from newly founded start-up businesses to the technology companies that want to expand abroad with 11 different programs, Büyükekşi: “Entrepreneurs may benefit from opportunities like free office support, Management Consultation programs, client-investor meetings, network or publicity support.

Total Annual returns of the companies in the program has exceeded 205 Million TL.”

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

All the opportunities provided in the best way Co-Founder of Kolay Human Resources Çağlar Yalı: “We have participated in TİMTEB Start-Up Business Houses when we were founded in 2014. The StartUp BusinessHouse helped Kolay İK a lot to be educated about basic entrepreneurship knowledge. TİM-TEB StartUp House Business provided the best opportunities in the most helpful manner for the success of young entrepreneurs like us.”

Despite being a platform established in 2014, there is a serious road that is shortlived. What do you depend on this?

In our company culture we have four elements that are really important to us; right team, motivational working environment, good product

and happy customers. Right now over 9.500 companies and over 100.000 employees are using our software with 90% customer satisfaction.

These numbers shows us that our company culture and our values are right from the beginning. Our product is not just for human resources department but also for all company employees.

What contributions did TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses have to you, could you tell about this support?

We have participated in TİMTEB Start-Up Business Houses when we were founded in 2014.

The Start-Up House helped Kolay İK a lot to be educated about basic entrepreneurship knowledge. TİM-TEB Start-Up Business House provided the best opportunities in the most helpful manner for the success of young entrepreneurs like us.

This support make us one of the successful startups in Wired Magazine’s “European’s Hottest 100 Startups” list.

TİM-TEB Start-Up Business Houses organizing programs that provides consultancy for more over 400 entrepreneurs and education services for about 15.000 people.

TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses have provided all the opportunities for the young entrepreneurs to be successful since it was established. How do you evaluate TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses’ success in this regard?

As we’ve said before, after we participated TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses we’ve learned a lot of things like startup culture, business models and how to run a business from professionals.

Right now when we look back, TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses was with us during most of our achievements. Still today we know that if we need a guidance TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses will be there for us.

What recommendations would you like to have for young people who would like to do this kind of work like you?

Never afraid. Istanbul become one of the hottest startup hubs in Europe and organizations like TİM-TEB Startup Business Houses are more than willing to help young entrepreneurs. Also instead of copying something already existed, try to find needs of industry that you are interested in.

What new projects do you have for the coming years?

What is your goal?

First of all we want to expand in Turkey and offer service to more people. SMEs are really important for Turkish economy and we want to help their human resources departments and employees during personal management process with fair prices.

Afterwards we want to make our product global friendly and expand abroad. In 2017 we will open our first office outside of Turkey.

21

Briefing

ART

Art, Stories, Istanbul…

Contemporary Istanbul

The 12th edition of the Contemporary Istanbul (CI) brings together leading contemporary galleries, artists and collectors from Turkey and around the world, giving a regional and international focus.

By Ramazan GÜZYURDU

A

place to discover

and rediscover significant artists, CI spreads over the 13,600 square-meter spaces of Rumeli Hall at the Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Center and the Istanbul Congress Center with the support of Akbank.

In its fifth year, the Plugin New Media Section is dedicated to new media art at the intersection of science and technology. Curated by OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Ceren and Irmak Arkman for the third time, Plugin is a future-friendly extension of CI under the sponsorship of Siemens home appliances.

This section’s curated exhibition titled “Natura Nova” presents new media art examining conceptions of space, time and culture and the impact that digital technology has brought, also aiming to speculate and envisage what the future may hold.

Participating artists include: Félix Luque, Memo Akten, onformative, Ryoichi Kurokawa, Semiconductor, Joanie Lemercier, Lia, FIELD, Sougwen Chung, İdil İlkin, Aziz + Cucher and Quayola.

In line with the “Exciting Possibilities” motto of the brand, the artwork by Can Büyükberber and Marpi showcase the nature of new media as an innovative field that redefines preconceptions around art and its cultural impact.

This year’s CI Dialogues, the fair’s discussion and talk series, mainly focuses on the topic of “Movement” from the artistic perspective. The theme will be discussed in relation to different disciplines that constitute the essence of daily human life, such as technology, architecture, space and food.

The fair features a new sculpture exhibition, titled “The Fifth Element,” at the neighboring Artists’ Park, curated by Professor Hasan Bülent Kahraman.

Istanbul’s first ever outdoor contemporary sculpture exhibition in a public park, it is held in Artists’ Park adjacent to the fair. Using Tabanlıoğlu Architects’ concept as its point of departure, “The Fifth Element artists include: Erdağ Aksel, Jan Fabre, Wim Delvoye, Genco Gülan, Günnür Özsoy, Jannis

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

‘Movement’ From Artistic Perspective

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

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The Turkish Perspective

The important players and galleries of the world’s international art come to Contemporary Istanbul.

exhibits the 12th BMW Art Car, created in 1991 by South African artist Ester Mahlangu, at the fair.

The BMW Art Car Project dates back to 1975 when French racing driver and auctioneer Hervé Poulain wanted to invite an artist to create a canvas on a car.

Since then, many renowned international artists have created BMW Art Cars.

Born in South Africa in 1936, Mahlangu is known for her brightly colored paintings and murals in the Ndebele tradition. “My art has evolved from our tribal tradition of decorating the home,” she said.

for children to discover their talents with expert instructors.

“Istanbul in a very important and striking spot on the world art map” On the closing day, Contemporary Istanbul Chairman Ali Güreli said: “We organized our festival last year in the downturn that started at the end of 2015 and continued throughout the year of 2016.

This was the result of our trust in Istanbul and its artistic surroundings and at the same

All this movement placed Istanbul in a very important and Having achieved international striking spot on the acknowledgement for her work, world art map.

Kounellis, Johan Tahon, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Osman Dinç and Tony Cragg.

Contemporary Istanbul celebrates its 12th year with CI Publications’ first book, Collectors’ Stories. The CI Collectors’ Stories project gathered artwork selected by 60 of Turkey’s prominent private contemporary art collectors from their personal collections for the first time.

The Collectors’ Stories book will be an invaluable guide for a new generation of art collectors and art lovers and will be distributed across leading art organizations and institutions worldwide.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

Art Car Project With Mahlangu The fair also celebrates its 12th edition with the 12th BMW Art Car. BMW’s official distributor in Turkey Borusan Otomotiv co-sponsors CI for the first time for its 12th edition. Borusan Otomotiv

she is considered the leading representative of this art form.

Mahlangu’s patterns unite her tribe’s traditional means of expression with contemporary technology and the BMW spirit.

Founded on the belief that art significantly contributes to a child’s development as a versatile human being, the Ülker Children Art Atelier in the fair promotes children’s imagination and aesthetic sense through various activities and provides an opportunity

time our responsibility. This year we have seen the results of our persistence. We had a fair period with all participants and very happy. This year we organized the same day with the 15th Istanbul Biennial.

This was a very important move. The galleries and fairies who see and understand this reality have attended the week. They organized very interesting exhibitions. All this movement placed Istanbul in a very important and striking spot on the world art map. As I mentioned earlier today, there is a totally different Istanbul in the world. We are determined to continue the enthusiasm we have captured next year. “

“This fair is very important for the promotion of Turkey” European Union Minister Omer Çelik, who came to the fair, said: “This fair shows Turkey’s great potential. It is visited by art galleries from all over the world. As far as I can see, the standards rise every year, and the important players and galleries of the world’s international art come to Contemporary Istanbul. This fair is very important for the promotion of Turkey. We are also proud of the interest of our citizens and young people in Contemporary Istanbul. “ The next edition of Contemporary Istanbul will take place between 13-16 September 2018.

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Briefing

AVIATION

The New Turkish Flight Training Center in Service T

urkish Airlines has

introduced a major project in accordance with its vision and goals to meet the needs of the modern aviation industry. Equipped with the latest technologies and highly qualified training professionals, the new Turkish Flight Training Center provides state-of-theart knowledge, complying with international standards.

At the opening ceremony, the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines, Mr. M. İlker Aycı stated “The opening of Istanbul New Airport will create a strong demand for well-trained flight crew. With our Flight Training Center, we aim to encourage national, in-house training and increase our competitiveness and market OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

share globally in terms of training and thus contribute to the country’s economy as well.”

Turkish Airlines, which has been providing flight training at Ataturk Airport since 1993, invested in a new Flight Training Center by increasing the number of its high-end full flight simulators from 10 to 14 and “With our Flight Training Center, we aim to encourage national, in-house training and increase our competitiveness and market share globally.”

the number of its classrooms from 58 to 90. Furthermore, 10 new full flight simulators are awaited very soon, as 24 flight simulators are targeted in total. With the new Flight Training Center, the capacity of 1520 trainees has been increased by 48%.

Thus, flight training will be available to a total of 2260 trainees.

Besides the increase in service capacity, the center also hosts the first national and domestic simulator, produced by HAVELSAN specially for our Company.

The tender procedure of the Flight Training Center was concluded on April, 22, 2016 for the 26.500 square meters center, set up on a total 55.369 square meters outdoor area. Designed with Smart Building Automation Concept, the center will be providing uninterrupted flight training with dynamic UPS Power Supply Systems, all of which being equipped to be monitored accordingly.

Turkish Airlines’ new Center will be providing world-class flight-training courses for the national flag carrier’s staff consisting of more than 4000 pilots and 10.000 flight attendants.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s national flag carrier airline, continues to invest in training to maintain its edge in service quality and growth momentum.

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

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The Turkish Perspective

The Flight Training Center will also be offering its services to other national and foreign airlines as well.

The training programs will be provided under six categories: 

Basic Pilot Training



Cockpit Flight Training



Ground Training



Flight Attendee Training



Dispatcher Training



Loadmaster Training

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

Offering internationally recognized, state-of-the-art flight training with providing the latest technologies and infrastructure, this new center will help Turkish Airlines accelerate its efforts to attain its ambitions and continue its global expansion.

The center, with its carrier system of concrete-steel carcass, has been furnished with the latest technology.

The building also shines out with its modern architectural design. The maintenance required for the special simulator devices

is also provided by the fixed air-conditioning system, integrated into the structure of the building.

The new Flight Training Center was designed to not hinder the landscape of the residential area, blending into the background with its ergonomic design.

It is predicted that Turkish Airlines Flight Training Center will also

Turkish Airlines’ new Flight Training Center will be providing world-class flighttraining courses for the national flag carrier’s staff.

contribute to the economic development of the area by forming an intersection to the residential district, due to its location, neighboring an old residential district in Yeşilköy as well as Atatürk Airport. The new center will provide flight trainings at the international level and will serve to both the Turkish Airlines staff and and the aviation sector in general.

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Briefing

“President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Alibaba Founder and Chairman Jack Ma during his visit to the US.”

INVESTMENT

PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN ADDRESSES KEY US INVESTORS AT EXECUTIVE MEETING IN NEW YORK

“Turkey continues to implement milestone reforms to attract FDI in accordance with the ever-changing business conditions.”

O

n the occasion of his official visit to New York to attend the 72nd United Nations General Assembly meetings, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came together with around 70 businesspeople, including top executives of global companies, NGOs, and senior representatives of OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

the US business community, on September 21. During the executive meeting organized by the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) and hosted by the EastWest Institute, President Erdoğan offered US corporate giants insights into Turkey’s investment opportunities

and provided updates on the economic agenda.

The meeting in particular focused on Turkey’s investment climate, investment opportunities, economic developments, and reforms. Among the attendees were top executives of prominent companies that included

Boeing, Citigroup, Metlife, GE, PepsiCo, Allergan, Cargill, Chevron, UBS, Blackstone, TPI, Oppenheimer, Abraaj, Coca Cola, General Atlantic and Qinvest. Also at the meeting were chairpersons and vice presidents of institutions such as the US Chamber of Commerce.

The Turkish Perspective

In his address to the investors, President Erdoğan underlined that Turkey is continuing to implement milestone reforms to attract foreign direct investments. He stressed that reforms and economic policies are made not only on paper, but that they are also institutionalizing them and providing the required infrastructure for investments that are in the pipeline.

ISPAT President Arda Ermut noted that the meeting was of vital importance, adding, “We organize roundtable and one-on-one meetings with top executives of US companies during every US visit of our President. On this visit, as a result of the robust interest and tight agenda of our President, we merged our meetings with EastWest Institute’s program. This allowed us to bring together a larger number of participants,

including senior executives of the US community and top executives of giant companies. President Erdoğan’s presence at this meeting amidst his tight agenda showcases the support Turkey’s extends to FDI. Turkey, through our Agency that was incorporated around ten years ago under the leadership of our President, has also offered a legal and corporate identity to its substantial support and services offered to investors – evidence of significance the country attaches to investors.

Our President’s visionary leadership and support has always been our greatest source of inspiration since our establishment. With this inspiration and support, we are making utmost efforts to continually push Turkey forward and to attract value-added investments that generate employment and enable the transfer of technology transfer in our country.”

President Erdoğan underlined that Turkey is continuously implementing milestone reforms to attract foreign direct investments.

President Erdoğan came together with international investors in similar ISPAT organizations during his US visits in March and September of 2016 and May 2017. The relationship between the two countries is defined as “model partnership” in the fields of politics, military, economy, and humanity.

Bilateral trade volume surpassed USD 17.5 billion in 2016, up from USD 6.5 billion in 2002. The US stood out as the 5th largest export market and 4th largest import partner of Turkey in 2016. On the investment side, there has been USD 11.2 billion in FDI inflow from the USA to Turkey since 2002, and the FDI stock from the USA to Turkey was USD 4.3 billion as of the end of December 2016. As of the end of June 2017, there were 1,744 companies and 74 liaison offices backed

by American capital in Turkey.

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Briefing

Austrian Packaging Giant Hamburger Containerboard To Make Direct Investment In Turkey Hamburger Containerboard, part of Austrian Prinzhorn Holding, is poised to debut its first green field investment in Turkey in the province of Kütahya.

A

ustria’s Hamburger Containerboard GmbH will invest EUR 300 million in a new green field paper mill in Kütahya, Turkey.

Slated for completion in 2020, the new state-of-the art and eco-friendly facility will produce 480,000 tons of containerboard per annum and create job opportunities for 500 people.

A September 13th meeting hosted by ISPAT President Arda Ermut and attended by Cord Prinzhorn, CEO of the Austrian Prinzhorn Holding, Harald Ganster, Managing Director of Hamburger Containerboard GmbH, and Velişah İner, Managing Director of Hamburger Turkey, saw the unveiling of the details of the first green field investment by Hamburger Containerboard in Turkey.

ISPAT President Arda OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

“This investment progressed to an advanced stage following a 3-year effort.”

Ermut revealed that Hamburger Containerboard had worked with ISPAT for almost three years on its first green field investment in Turkey. “The 300 Million Euro investment in Kütahya has been finalized with the land purchase by Hamburger Turkey. A total of 500 new jobs will be created,” said Ermut. “This investment progressed to an advanced stage following a 3-year effort, and it is notable for being completely eco-

friendly. Once again, this investment confirms that Turkey is a key market for European companies. We see that European investors are still showing a great deal of interest in Turkey.” Arda Ermut thanked the Turkish Embassy in Vienna, the Turkish Ministry of Industry, the Kütahya Municipality, and the Zafer Development Agency for their collaboration and support throughout the process.

Speaking at the meeting, Prinzhorn Holding CEO Cord Prinzhorn said, “Turkey is an important market for us and this latest investment is a sign of our commitment to a fast-growing Turkey.

We would be happy to take further steps to continue the project.”

Harald Ganster, Managing Director of Hamburger Containerboard said, “We are

very excited to have found such an excellent location for this project. The paper mill we are setting up will further strengthen our supply of high-quality paper for our customers.”

Hamburger Turkey is a part of Hamburger Containerboard, which has seven paper mills in four countries and an annual production of 2 million tons of containerboard.

The company has two other mills in Turkey, in Çorlu and Denizli. The new paper mill will employ cutting-edge technology and use a width of 7.80 m for an annual production capacity of 480,000 tons of containerboard.

Hamburger Containerboard GmbH is part of the Prinzhorn Holding, which employs 6,300 people in 15 countries and ranks among the European market leaders in the recycling, paper and packaging industries.

Prinzhorn Holding is ranked third in its segment in Europe, with an annual turnover of €1.23 billion.

The family-owned Prinzhorn Holding has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Prinzhorn Holding has three main divisions: Dunapack Packaging (corrugated packaging solutions), Hamburger Containerboard (paper production) and Hamburger Recycling Group (collection and trading of waste papers).

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

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The Turkish Perspective

Venture Capital Anatolia Meetings T

he third in a series of Venture Capital Anatolia Meetings convened in İzmir on September 20.

The goal of the meeting series is to increase awareness of venture capital and private equity funds in Turkey and to bring successful Turkish companies together with fund managers. Organized with the cooperation of the Turkish Presidency Economy Monitoring and Coordination Department and the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), the Venture Capital Anatolia Meetings are taking place throughout 2017 across nine different provinces in Turkey, including Adana, Bursa, Denizli, Kayseri, Manisa, and

Samsun in addition to the meetings in Gaziantep, Konya and İzmir.

There was a panel discussion in the meeting in İzmir where managers from several venture capital and private equity funds shared ideas on how to assist companies during their

The goal of the meeting series is to increase awareness of venture capital and private equity funds in Turkey.

investments in Turkey. ISPAT Deputy Head Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu was a speaker at the panel discussion on private equities. The meeting also featured a presentation

by ISPAT Coordinator Ahmet Cüneyt Selçuk on the relation between FDI and venture capital.

Ispat Attends Khazanah Nasional’s Regional Meeting In Istanbul

photograph byLOREM IPSUM

M

alaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Khazanah Turkey Regional Office (KTRO) held a regional meeting in Istanbul on Sept 11-12 for staff covering Turkey, Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Attendees for the event included board members, senior management, and CEOs of some of KTRO’s portfolio companies.

Khazanah’s total investments in Turkey todate have reached USD 2.6 billion, including stakes in Acibadem Healthcare Group, Acibadem Sigorta, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Gama Enerji, and Abraaj Turkey Fund I.

ISPAT President Arda Ermut participated in the meeting as a panelist on the session “Turkey and Eastern Europe Opportunities”.

Ermut underlined that

Turkey’s economy is quite resilient and that it grew by 5.1 percent in the first half of 2017, marking it one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad is a wealth fund launched in 1993 by the Government of Malaysia.

The fund holds and manages the chosen commercial assets of the state, with a primary mission of undertaking strategic investments on behalf of the state. Existing in industries such as energy, telecommunications, finance, health, aviation, infrastructure, entertainment, and tourism, Khazanah includes Axiata, CIMB, Tenaga Nasional, IHH Healthcare, UEM Group, Telekom Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines, and Malaysia Airports in its portfolio.

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Why you s

#Cometo OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

The Turkish Perspective

u should ou

31

oTurkey?

Turkey has been in a transformation process for the decade, which rises the hopes of the region and shapes a concept the society internalizes more and more day by day. What can one see from the new perspective of turkey? A country that keeps its own agenda with its strategy established within the framework of long-term policies; has stabilized its profile as a global player in both political and economic aspects; and that has reformed its historical heritage in a broad range from culture to industry by using an innovative approach in compliance with the world dynamics.

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T

he story begun in 1923 with the founding of the Republic of Turkey in which the first integration move into global economy and politics came 9 years after its founding. The first and only country that joined to League of Nations (proto-United Nations) by invitation instead of application, Turkey, was always an economic and geopolitical base but the transformation into an open-access market was not initiated until 1980.

Turkey was still a closed market (which inhibits and/or prohibits international trade, investments, foreign currency exchange etc.) in first 23 days of 1980. The famous reform package known as “January 24th Implementations” and shaped by two historical figures in Turkish politic history, Turgut Özal, the then President of Turkey and Süleyman Demirel, the then Prime Minister, was the declaration of dropping mixed economic system and adopting free market conditions.

1995 was the year of another critical development in Turkey’s integration story. Turkey has signed a treaty with EU regarding Customs Union (CU). By signing the agreement Turkey became one of the three non-EU states entered to Customs Union before receiving EU membership candidate status while it was the first effectuated trade agreement of EU with a non-member state. Furthermore, Turkey’s accession to the EU progress has entered to a new phase with the agreement which followed by Turkey’s recognition as a candidate in 1999 and initiation of full membership negotiations in 2005.

The early times of transformation had its ups and downs of which the political dispute induced financial crisis of 2001, known as the Black Wednesday, remarks both a rock-bottom and the OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Turkey has increased its export quality and contınue to export to all over the world.

start of a new rise. The crisis had a devastating effect on Turkish economy whilst 13 banks failed along with numerous financial intermediaries, overnight interest rates reached to 6200%, aggregate domestic demand shrunk by some 10% and so on. Ali Babacan, the Deputy Prime Minister Responsible for Economy, stated that the total economic damage of the crisis was more than $100 billion (with today’s currency rates), which was roughly 75% of Turkey’s GPD in 2001.

On the other hand, upshifting the policies and giving a basis for new and solid implementations, the crisis was a milestone.

Turkey was already focusing on taking precautionary measures, learning from the financial crisis of 1994, such as founding of Banking Regulation and Supervision (BRSA) in 2000. But the real deal reforms, Transition to the Strong Economy Programme, declared in April 15th 2001, two months after the Black Wednesday. The programme was supporting privatization and competitive market conditions, regulating taxation and finance sector and changing the public debt policy. Furthermore, investment climate, financial markets, monetary policies and interest rate policies were all readjusted by the programme. In other words it was building the infrastructure of a new Turkish economy -adapting it to global economy by reconfiguring the domestic dynamic- which was stabilized, adopted Western financial discipline and able to compete in international markets.

The Turkish Perspective

Turkey has set a series of 2023 goals including $2 trillion GDP, becoming one of the largest 10 economies in the world and $500 billion export.

Turkey: Growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) from 2010 to 2020 (compared to the previous year)

This statistic shows the growth of the real gross domestic product (GDP) in Turkey from 2010 to 2016, with projections up until 2020. The real GDP is also known as economic growth. In 2016, the growth of the real GDP in Turkey was at approximately 2.88 percent compared to the previous year.

12.5%

10%

7.5%

5%

2.5%

0

2010

2011

Source: statista.com

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017* 2018* 2019* 2020* * Estimated

Uncertainty leaves its place to prosperity 2001 was the turning point of the tide. After two decades of open market transition based instabilities and unpredictable crisis caused by political instabilities and unorthodox policies, Turkey underwent an economic transformation and development era which is still ongoing despite global economic setbacks. Thanks to the momentum based on the new economic profile, Turkey has been enjoying an era of prosperity in which global economic integration process, the robust growth and foreign trade performance secured a 4.9% annual growth between 2002 and 2013 while the average annual GDP growth of the world is around 2.5%, according to World Bank.

A performance which has drawn attention of the world whereas twenty delegations from emerging economies including India and Malaysia have visited Turkey to learn about its transition

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regarding various areas such as banking restructuring, public finance management and health care reforms. Despite the fluctuations in global economy and exchange rate volatilities, regional political conflicts and slow recovery progress in EU, Turkey’s biggest trade partner, Turkey managed to grab a modest 2.9% growth by the end of 2014 whereas OECD forecast indicates that Turkey will keep up with 4% growth in 2016. Whereas Turkey’s GDP per capita is increased circa threefold, reaching $10,482 in 2013 from $3,521 in 2011. IMF estimates that Turkey will keep this trend and GDP per capita will exceed $11 thousand by the end of 2015.

Finance sector is amongst the protagonists and beneficiaries of the story. Istanbul Stock Exchange (Borsa Istanbul before its transformation) has reached to a trading volume of $165 billion in 2014 from $35 billion in 2001. In a similar manner, the amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) to Turkey increased drastically. While Turkey has received a total sum of circa $15 billion of FDI over the 20 year window after 1980, in the past decade this amount increased to $142 billion in which the FDI inflow in 2016 was around $12.3 by itself. The number of foreign companies operating in Turkey has surpassed 39 thousand by the end of 2014 and the trend is keeping its pace. Banking sector’s performance was another booster for finance.

The sectors share in GNP which was around 61% in 2002 is increased to 111% by the end of 2013. Furthermore, Turkish banking sector meets Basel II criteria and already surpasses some of the standards defined in Basel III as the leverage ratio 8% and the capital adequacy ratio average of sector is around 15%, according to BRSA statistics.

Foreign trade most certainly is one of the strongholds of Turkey‘s globalization course. The trade liberalization’s early boost has been observed short after the implementation of Transition to the Strong Economy Programme, as the export increased 13% in following six months of the implementation. And thanks to its exporters and policies, Turkey was able to maintain the raise and export volume reached $157.6 billion in 2014 from $31 billion export in 2001. These figures indicate a solid 15% annual increase over the last decade meanwhile number of Turkey’s export markets –including free zones- hit to 240 and rising over 18 thousand EXPY (unit used to measure a country’s sophistication of its export batket) its export sophistication outpaced MENA average, BIC average and EU candidates average.

In other saying Turkey increased its export quality and export to whole world. With its incrementing productivity, growing with an annual average of 3.6% between 1995-2011 which exceeds BRICS average and MENA average and only 0.3% below OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Share of economic sectors in gross domestic product (GDP) from 2005 to 2015 This statistic shows the share economic sectors in gross domestic product (GDP) in Turkey from 2005 to 2015. In 2015, agriculture contributed 8.53 percent to GDP, while industry and services accounted for 26.51 percent and 64.96 percent respectively.

Agriculture 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

Industry

Services

Source: statista.com

Economic growth Turkey’s share and estimated share according to research conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

US GDP OECD GDP World GDP World Trade

2016

2017

2018

1.5 1.7 2.3 2.5

2.1 2.1 2.8 4.0

2.1 1.9 2.6 3.2

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit

EU average, and approach that prioritizes high value-added manufacturing, net export’s share in growth increased to 1.2%. In the light of these developments and more Turkey has set a series of 2023 goals including $2 trillion GDP, becoming one of the largest 10 economies in the world and $500 billion export. In order to achieve the goals there are many measures and actions waiting to be taken by Turkey and increasing the number of its free trade agreements, the trade liberalization tool of our age, is certainly one of them.

TURKEY EXPORTS AUTOMOBILE TO 96 COUNTRIES

TURKEY EXPORTS CITRUS TO 76 COUNTRIES

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Why does Turkey grow?

T

urkey’s performance since 2000 has been impressive.

Macroeconomic and fiscal stability were at the heart of its performance, enabling increased employment and incomes and making Turkey an upper-middle-income country. Poverty incidence halved over 2002–12, and extreme poverty fell even faster. During this time, Turkey urbanized dramatically, opened up to foreign trade and finance, harmonized many laws and regulations with European Union (EU) standards, and greatly expanded access to public services. It also recovered well from the global crisis of 2008/09.

Turkey’s economy has continued to fire on all cylinders as a result of a strong export performance, robust public spending and the government’s loan guarantee fund. The unemployment rate dropped to a one-year low in May, highlighting the positive impact of the government’s employment campaign. In August, the capacity utilization rate inched up, and the manufacturing PMI remained firmly entrenched in expansionary territory in July. The country is also benefiting from a revival in the tourism sector, which is helping plug the gap caused by a widening trade deficit. The upbeat narrative is underscored by Turkey’s economic confidence index, which reached a five-year high in August despite a dip in consumer sentiment. All told, however, economic growth is likely to ease in OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Since the failed coup Turkish government has expanded state guarentees to rush about 50 billion of lira loans to almost 300.000 businesses.

H2 as the credit impulse provided by the credit guarantee fund facility nears its end and tax cuts on consumer durables expire in September, which should weigh on lending growth to SMEs and lower households’ purchasing power.

The direct capital investment in Turkey rose to its highest in 17 months at nearly $2 billion in December 2016, with nonresidents making the greatest direct investment of $1.3 billion in banks last year. According to data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), nonresidents made a direct investment of $6.7 billion in Turkey in 2016, 30 percent of which was made in the last month of the year.

In December, the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey was recorded at $1.2 billion, the highest investment amount recorded over the past 17 months. The FDI soared by 446 percent in December 2016 compared to the previous month and by 37.4 percent compared to the same period in 2015.

In 2015, the direct investment of nonresidents in Turkey stood at $12.1 billion.

The Turkish Perspective

“Thanks to the recent reforms implemented and incentives introduced in Turkey, we have experienced a considerable amount of recovery in total FDI in 2016. In the first half of 2016, the FDI in Turkey declined almost 50 percent yearon-year, affected by global contraction,” said Arda Ermut, the president of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT)

Turkish government has pooled about 200 billion dollars of assets into a wealth fund.

Highest investment came from the U.K. The highest direct investment in Turkey last year was from European countries with a total of $4.265 billion in 2016 compared to $7.98 billion in 2015.

Among European countries, the U.K. became the country with the highest foreign direct investment in Turkey, investing $961 million in 2016 followed by the Netherlands with $956 million, Germany with $430 million, and Spain with $409 million.

On the other hand, Asian countries invested $2 billion in Turkey in 2016, with Azerbaijan made the highest investment among Asian countries with $652 million followed by Qatar with an investment of $375 million.

The U.S. made $391 million in direct investments last year.

As in the entirety of 2016, the U.K. was the top country in terms of foreign direct investment with $444 million reported in the last month of 2016, followed by the Netherlands with $394 million, China with $300 million, Qatar with $285 million and Azerbaijan with $175 million.

One-fifth of FDI made in banks Nonresidents made the highest foreign direct investments in banks in 2016, with FDIs totaling $1.271 billion made in banks last year.

Among last year’s total direct investments, 19 percent were made in the banking sector, 10.6 percent ($715 million) in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning production and distribution sector, 9.1 percent ($611 million) in the wholesale and retail trade sector and 8.9 percent ($598 million) in the transportation and storage sector.

New World Bank Support A new World Bank loan is helping promote sustainable and inclusive growth in Turkey by focusing on increasing domestic savings, enhancing economic participation among vulnerable groups, and addressing structural bottlenecks through policy reform.

The €350.9 Million ($400 Million) Inclusion and Growth Development Policy Financing (RIGDPF) program supports nine priority actions structured around three pillars - and is grounded in both Turkey’s development program outlined in the Tenth Development Plan and the newly-

approved World Bank Group Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2018-2021.

Specifically, the policies, strategies, and reform actions supported under the program center on three strategic outcomes: The first pillar aims to increase domestic savings to help address external imbalances and reduce fiscal risks. Amendments to the Private Pension Savings and Investments Law introducing auto-enrollment will increase private savings and eventually reduce dependence on external financing. This pillar also aims to enhance fiscal discipline by including financial statements in the audit reports of all general budget institutions, thus promoting transparency of fiscal accounts and reducing fiscal risks.

The second pillar aims to support participation of women, youth, long-term unemployed, and Syrians under temporary protection in the labor market, by supporting flexible employment, increasing access to childcare and granting work permits to “foreigners under temporary protection”.

The third pillar aims to remove structural bottlenecks to sustainable growth. This will be achieved by enacting an appropriate legal framework for the protection of industrial property, improving allocation of capital by facilitating access to credit for small and medium enterprises, deregulating network industries through the liberalization of the railways sector, and supporting renewable energy zones to increase their share in total energy supply.

Arda Ermut The president of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey

Regained Momentum “Thanks to the recent reforms implemented and incentives introduced in Turkey, we have experienced a considerable amount of recovery in total FDI in 2016. In the first half of 2016, the FDI in Turkey declined almost 50 percent year-on-year, affected by global contraction,” said Arda Ermut, the president of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), to Daily Sabah. “We have regained momentum in foreign direct investments thanks to the measures taken and the confidence provided in the wake of the July 15 failed coup attempt. As a matter of fact, we have closed 2016 with an FDI amount of $12.1 billion. The $3.6 billion worth of investments in the last quarter played a key role in the overall FDI amount. Furthermore, we were expecting to close the year with only $10 billion of FDI due to the temporary shocks over the course of 2016, but the recovery was quicker than we had expected.”

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Cover / #CometoTurkey

Increasing Effect of Credit Guarantee Fund KGF is a joint-stock company founded in accordance with Turkish code of commerce.

Since its establishment by cabinet decree in 1993, KGF has been working to make SMEs’ access to finance easier by the provision of guarantees. KGF is a non-profit organization.

Our partnership structure includes TOBB, KOSGEB, TESK, TOSYÖV, MEKSA and numerous Turkish banks. KGF also benefits from counter-guarantees supported by the treasury and EIF. KGF seeks the elimination of insufficient collateral as an obstacle to SME access to finance by providing guarantees to those SMEs that don’t possess the assets bank require for collateral. To sum up, our goals are: 1) Efficient operation of the credit market 2) SMEs’ utilization of long term credits 3) Strengthening of SME competitiveness 4) Support of innovation 5) A better income distribution and increase of employment.

The regulatory amendments made in March have expanded the scope of the domestic Credit Guarantee Fund, which has provided TL 210 billion for Turkish real economy actors so far with the support of the Treasury, acting as the collateral guarantor. The fund has outperformed its major counterpart and world’s largest credit guarantor the South Korean fund.

Backed by the Turkish Treasury, the CGF reportedly provided some TL 201 billion so far this year for SMEs and non-SMEs which contribute to the real economy. Moreover, the size of the bailout has reached TL 179 billion.

These figures have placed the Turkish CGF at the top, outstripping the world’s largest CGF, South Korea’s KODIT fund. As Prime Minister Yıldırım put it, this successful system has set a good example for many countries.

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500

$

billion export target for the year of 2023.

YOİKK, The Coordination Council for the Improvement of Investment Environment Turkey developed its own structure for reforming the investment climate. In order to rationalize bureaucratic procedures and reduce red tape, a comprehensive reform program was launched in 2001 and renewed in 2012, by Council of Members Leading Decision.

Reform program is being implemented by two platforms which provide a channel to reflect views and priorities of the international and national private sector representatives.

CREDIT BOOM Turkish loan-to-deposit ratio hits record as lending surges 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30

PERCENT

Lira based Loan/ Deposit

Dec 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Apr 2002 2017 Source:BRSA

The Turkish Perspective

Johannes Zutt World Bank Country Director for Turkey

Bring Prosperity to All of Citizens “For Turkey to achieve higher income, it is important for it to sustain its impressive record of inclusive growth,” said Johannes Zutt, World Bank Country Director for Turkey. “Through this DPF, the World Bank is supporting structural reforms that will contribute to Turkey’s continued success in working with the private sector to raise incomes, create jobs, and build the infrastructure that a modern economy needs to bring prosperity to all of its citizens.”

GDP Growth Rate by Country Indonesia USA Turkey China India Netherlands Canada Spain Australia Euro Area

Last

Previous

Highest

4.00 3.00 2.10 1.70 1.50 1.50 1.10 0.90 0.80 0.60

-0.34 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.5 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.3 0.5

4.01 16.9 5.6 2.4 6.2 1.7 3.33 1.6 4.4 1.3

Source: tradingeconomics.com

World’s Biggest Producers Of Agricultural Products Turkey is classified as an emerging market economy. The country is one of the world’s biggest producers of agricultural products; textiles; motor vehicles, ships and other transportation equipment; construction materials; consumer electronics and home appliances. This page provides the latest reported value for - Turkey GDP Growth Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Turkey GDP Growth Rate - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2017.

The Coordination Council for the Improvement of the Investment Environment (YOIKK)?has become a key structure where private sector makes contributions in the process of improving investment climate.

The Council conducts its agenda through 10 Technical Committees working on specific issues with participation of both public and private institutions. YOIKK is described as a success story of public-private partnership on international platforms.

YOIKK aims to rationalize the regulations on investments in Turkey, develop policies by determining the necessary arrangements that will enhance the competitiveness of the investment environment, generate solutions to the administrative barriers encountered by the domestic and international investors in all phases of the investment process including the operating period.

The other platform is the Investment Advisory Council of Turkey (IAC) which is an international platform established to receive the recommendations of executives of high ranking multinational companies and international institutions regarding Turkish business environment. The recommendations stated in annual meetings by the Council members regarding business environment in Turkey are taken to the agenda of YOIKK Technical Committees and in the following Investment Advisory Council meeting.

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In Depth / Startup Istanbul

Making Th a Better

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

The Turkish Perspective

The World er Place

Istanbul is a magical seal which unites East and West since the ancient times. Without a doubt, Istanbul is certainly the most beautiful place of the world. Tech companies, executives, startups and investors from 65 countries got together in this lovely city.

By mustafa yiÄ&#x;it

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In Depth / Startup Istanbul

I

stanbul being the capital of some world’s greatest empires presents an amazing blend of history and modernity. With its key location situated between Europe and Asia, and its 18.000.000 habitants, Istanbul is an important center for many sectors. Today the city is visited each year by millions of travelers who come to catch a glimpse of its ancient city walls, enchanted churches, palaces and mosques, while savoring the delightful tastes of the city’s rich cuisine. Istanbul offers an unforgettable experience with its colorful daily life and dynamic nightlife.

Startup Istanbul is the leading startup event which brings together founders, investors and executives in the region. It’s a gathering of the leading startups, internet companies, business angels and venture capitalists from Asia and Europe.

The event is an exclusive gathering of the leading startups, internet companies, angel investors and venture capitalists from Europe, Africa and Asia.

This year, 500 startups, 500 investors and 4000 attendees will come to Istanbul to join the event.

“This event is made of networking. Every person you meet can give you inspiring ideas, valuable advices and opportunities for collaboration. You can find your investor, your mentor or the right startup to join or invest in. The only thing you need is energy and passion for entrepreneurship.” says the media information kit of the event.

Startup Turkey and Startup Istanbul events are organized by Etohum.

Who is Etohum?

Etohum is the leading startup accelerator and seed investor in Turkey. Every year, Etohum is selecting the most promising startups from thousands of applicants. These teams are trained and mentored for an acceleration period of 3 months. Etohum works with world class mentors, including advisors from Silicon Valley, the heart of entrepreneurship.

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4000+

Tech Executives, Entrepreneurs, Developers, Investors

500+ Startups

500+

VCs & Angels Investors

50+ Speakers

80+

Countries

Etohum organizes the biggest and most impactful entrepreneurship dedicated events in Turkey. Startup Istanbul and Startup Turkey are the two of them.

Every year in February, Startup Turkey meets thousands of people in Antalya for 3 days of networking, challenges, great foods and fun.

Startup Istanbul is the biggest final of the year for startups around the region.

Impact of the Event

Startup Istanbul has unique opportunities for journalists since hundreds of entrepreneurs and investors from USA, Europe, and Asia come together under the roof of this event and share their knowledge. Startup Istanbul calls all the tech journalists so that they could experience the new solutions for the further development of the ecosystem.

Steve Blank (born 1953) who is a Silicon Valley serial-entrepreneur and academician who is based in Pescadero, California says: “You know Startup Istanbul, it just feels like one of these great events in the United States... It has wonderful speakers, it has a great mix of entrepreneurs from not only around Turkey but around the entire region. It’s just an incredibly exciting place to be.”

Startup Istanbul is the leading startup Attenders of the Event event which brings Turkey is transforming into a prominent center together founders, in the world where entrepreneurs can easily find angel investors, accelerators and entrepreneurship investors and capital. Currently, angel investment networks executives in the are one of the most vital agents in the region. entrepreneurship ecosystem. The number of

entrepreneurships that took seed investments is increasing considerably.

According to the Individual Participation Capital (IPC) 2017 second-quarter report announced by the Prime Ministry’s Undersecretariat of the Treasury, 93 percent of angel investors invested in small businesses with less than 10 employees.

The number of investors who received an angel investment license in Istanbul increased to 334 in its fourth year.

The Turkish Perspective

Some Speakers of the Event

Tim Draper: Silicon Valley legend Tim Draper is one of the first investors in Skype, Hotmail and Tesla.

Adora Cheung: Adora Cheung is currently a partner at Y Combinator. She previously served as the CEO and CoFounder of Homejoy Inc. Mike Butcher: Mike Buthcer is Editor At Large of TechCrunch, the biggest breaking news site about the world’s hottest tech companies.

Robert Schwentker: Robert Schwentker is President and Co-Founder of Blockchain University. Sparks and cultivates new ideas leveraging blockchain Technologies.

Scott Hartley: Scott Hartley is a venture capitalist and author of the Fuzzie and the Techie, a Financial Times business book of the month.

Kaspar Korjus: Kaspar Korjus as managing director of e-residenct, is bıilding the first transnational digital identity platform in the world.

The report indicates that 93 percent of invested entrepreneurships consist of micro enterprises (businesses that operate with less than 10 employees). On the other hand, 7 percent of investments are in small-scale enterprises (with less than 50 employees). When the number of business partners in investor companies is examined, nearly half of the companies (48 percent) have less than five partners. The number of partners in 21 percent of the companies is between five and 10, while the remaining 31 percent of companies have more than 10 partners.

A considerable portion of investors with angel investor licenses consist of master’s degree holders (186) and doctorate degree holders (34). According to the report, accredited angel investor networks have 402 angel investors operating without a bachelor’s degree. The range of entrepreneurs evaluated by 13 angel investor networks changes monthly.

In Startup Istanbul 2017, only top 100 were selected and connected to the best mentors, investors, tech executives and media during Startup Istanbul. A special program for selected startup was prepared which includes mentorships, workshops, demo day, boat tour and much more.

Notemup

Notemup is a free mobile device app which refers to the sentence; “Note’ em up.”

Notemup is the new way of reminding and remembering daily todos. Users send and receive todos like buying milk for their mom or the presentation due date from their boss as note cards. Users can follow what they need to do with a clear list of cards. “Everything is always on sight clearly. Easily update status of the note so everyone will be informed instantly. No chat,no call. Easier than ever!” says the developer of the app Tamer Sarıtepe.

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In Depth / Startup Istanbul

Who is Tamer Sarıtepe?

Graduated from Koç University Electronic Engineering at 2011. Worked at Orange Business Services as network support engineer 20122014. Finansbank IT as system and network administrator 2014-2016.

Features of the App

- Receive todos as notes from others. No need to write them down. Let them know when you take action.

- Send what you need from others. Don’t make things fly away and forgetten. Learn status from them.

- No need to call or chat to remind. Just click remind or set future reminders.

- Everything on sight. Far better then searching chat histories, just what you need. No crowd.

Simularge

Notemup is the new way of reminding and remembering daily todos.

interactive video chat lessons with teachers from all around the world. By using Preplesson, usuers can learn one of the 40+ languages from the comfort of their home: simply choose a professional teacher or a casual teacher (native speaker) and book a video chat lesson with them.

Teachers of the platform are available 24/7 across different time zones and are able to give users one of the best language educations available online.

There are two different types of teachers at Preplesson: professional teachers and casual teachers.

Users can always teach and learn at the same time at Preplesson. The sign up system is the same for both teachers and students. Students select what they want to learn, and if a user want to teach, they just select what languages and what levels they can teach at their profile page.

The Founder

Simularge is a cloud-based engineering platform which serves an online software for engineering analysis & design purposes. It also contains a store that enables peers and engineering companies to share their in-house models with others.

Mehmet Ali Akça founder and CEO of the preplesson.com, studied Business Administration at Oxford University in England, did linguistic studies while he was there. He also has web developer knowledge. Combining his skills he founded preplesson.com

The Founder

Sinara Labs

Founder of the company Büryan Turan has BSc degree from Nuclear Eng. and MSc from Mechanical Eng. Her background includes coding experience to simulate engineering problems and also 5 years of industrial experience at GE Aviation as a Lead Thermal Systems Design Engineer.

PrepLesson

Preplesson is an online language learning platform which allows users to participate in OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Sinara Labs is a cyber security awareness and defense platform that provides a holistic approach to people, processes and technology in order to reduce breaches and data loss. Many institution assume technology is an adequate remedy to eliminate cyber threats, however people and processes are integral to a strong defensive posture.

Therefore, Sinara Labs is special in the sense that it focuses three diverse phenomenon: people, processes and technology.

The Turkish Perspective

Sinara Labs is special in the sense that it focuses three diverse phenomenon: people, processes and technology.

The Founder

Since 2006 Ozan Uรงar the founder of Sinara Labs have been involved in the research and development of cyber security in professional business life. What have I done?

In 2008, he developed a new generation security wall with the first company that he was co-founder partner, the Coslat Security systems, that detected and prevented network based attacks. After 2 years, he transferred his shares to perform his new venture, leaving Coslat active in business successfully with over 2000 customers.

He is the co-founder partner of BGA Information Security Academy and he have been continuing as a manager since 2010.

Uรงar reflected his experiences and sectoral needs, related to their own expertise in BGA, to the Normshield and Sinara Labs. projects.

He continues as the team member of the Normshield project, and founder and team leader of the Sinara Labs. project.

Air Jet Book

The Airjetbook aims to extend the sector by offering empty leg flights as an opportunity to its potential customers.

Sinara Labs aims to prepare different phishing test scenarios and increase security awareness of the company employees. It presents advanced reporting facilities to get detailed reports of endusers. The reports visualize the weak points and helps to identify the necessary education areas and audience.It also learns new age phishing scenarios and updates itself regularly. It enables to check if Anti- spam, Antivirus, Content Filter, Firewall and APT defense tools if they work properly. According to the result of this tests, vulnerable systems and security gaps can be detected and rearranged properly.

The Airjetbook users will have all the services they need for a unique aircraft rental and customer experience.

The Airjetbook, which aims to extend the sector by offering empty leg flights as an opportunity to its potential customers in such a way that while enabling the customers to make more economical flights ,and on the other hand by preventing empty leg flights thus making contributions to the sector,and also through the idea of bringing private jets together under the same roof thus enabling potential customers who want to hire private jet for their global scaled business or tourism purposes, to make more economical flights , due to the large aircraft inventory and competition,has set to work to provide for its customers to experience a transparent, easy and perfect aircraft charter services.

Despite the rapid expansion of the internet in all areas of life, the request for private aircraft rental services are made via telephone, fax, and non-transparent techniques, and unfortunately, only a limited number of aircraft and limited price options are achieved by these methods.

The Airjetbook, which was founded , consisting of a flight planning support specialist and aircraft broker, a computer engineer m.sc.; a professional aviation management and business school graduate , who came together and put their more than 10 -year knowledge and experience in the sector, together , brings private aircrafts and customers together on the same platform, and offers this extremely complicated rental process as more economical, fast, simple and transparent, and guarantees that users will have all the services they need for a unique aircraft rental and customer experience.

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In Depth / Balkans

The Rise of the Heritage Turkey has historical, cultural, religious and racial ties with Balkans, although certain factors had had a restricting effect on the trade and diplomatic relations between Balkan countries and Turkey, the last decade has witnessed an awakening in trade, business, investment, diplomacy and cultural terms.

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The Turkish Perspective

Balkan countries showed their support to Turkey after 15 July Failed Coup Attempt.

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In Depth / Balkans

T

oday, Turkey is an important economic partner, investor and diplomatic player for the region. Upon the cultural and historical infrastructure of the Ottoman era, Turkey has laid stones of cooperation and friendship, which is resulting in a win-win boom for all parties. Being Turkey’s gateway to Europe, the region is also geopolitically important; it is no surprise that Turkey steadily increases its activities in the region.

The word “Balkan” is of Turkic origin, meaning “cliff ” or “wooded mountain range”. Although the term was initially used for the mountain ranges north of Bulgaria, today its meaning expanded to referring whole “Balkan” peninsula, including Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and all countries emerged after dissolution of Yugoslavia.

The region has a history full of conflicts, which severely affected the development and modernization of the countries that emerged after the end of Ottoman rule and eventually, dissolution of Yugoslavia.

Moreover, socialist regimes that ruled Romania and Bulgaria during the cold war

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era and the integration process with the western world in 90s have been the most important milestones in the history of the region. Romania and Bulgaria are now the biggest economies in terms of GDP in the region, followed by Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania.

The youngest countries in the region, Montenegro and Kosovo are striving to increase the depth of their economies, as well as Serbia and Macedonia, in a quest to have a relatively more stable economy, infrastructure and cooperation to further develop their industries.

Joint Economic Commissions established with Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, further enhancing the effectiveness of trade activities in these countries.

Former Yugoslavian Countries and Albania

Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, several countries emerged: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia and most lately, Montenegro and Kosovo. Civil wars and conflicts during the dissolution of the federation have had a drastic effect on these economies, therefore the main policy of these countries has been attracting foreign investment to build up the infrastructure and catch up with the industrialization progress.

Turkey is the 9th biggest country of origin in total FDI, and since free-trade agreement between countries in 2002, Turkish goods are exported to Bosnia without customs tax, resulting in a steadily increasing amount of Turkish exports to this country, above yearly $250 million in last four years. Turkish companies are active in the country, Turkish Ziraat Bank Bosnia being the biggest with more than 20 branches in different cities. Republic of Macedonia and Kosovo are other countries in which Turkish companies and state are relatively active. Turkish companies sell various processed products and Turkey buys several types of natural resources. Turkey is also diplomatically and culturally active in these countries, several organizations construct bridges between peoples,

The Turkish Perspective

Being Turkey’s gateway to Europe, the region is also geopolitically important; it is no surprise that Turkey steadily increases its activities in the region.

million, and Bulgaria’s share is $530 million.

As these countries are new members of European Union, and has strong trade ties with Turkey, their strategic value as being Turkey’s gateway to western EU increased. This increase in trade and business was enhanced by trade missions and Joint Economic Commissions as well, but an important move was Turkish Banks entering Balkans, especially Romania: The more financial infrastructure is integrated, easier the transactions are made, creating a convenient environment for companies that must use financial instruments to operate properly.

Balkans Becoming a Strategic Region for the West

and Kosovo has officially recognized Turkish as a state language. From student exchange agreements to international bodies that encompass several countries, the cooperation between Turkey and Balkan countries is gaining strength steadily. Albania is also an important trade partner for Turkey, as total exports to Albania worth $320 million according to data by Foreign Economic Relations Board.

The Seventh Sarajevo Business Forum in the Bosnian capital was a key summit that indicates Balkan countries need to increase the cooperation and attract foreign investment. “There is no country which is able to stand alone, especially in our region,” Montenegro’s economy minister Vladimir Kavaric told the forum, “The countries of the Balkans need to see each other as partners facing international competition, rather than competing against each other,” he continued,

adding that this was especially true when it comes to developing a regional infrastructure network according to the article by Balkan Insight. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek attended the event, representing Turkey, indicating the importance of Balkans in the eyes of Turkish government and decision makers. Şimşek underlined the strong ties between Turkey and BosniaHerzegovina, and stated that stability and unity in the country as well as the region is very important for Turkey.

Romania and Bulgaria

According to the data by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Turkey invested more than $500 million in Romania and more than $200 million in Bulgaria; total investment in these two countries is many times greater than investment in other Balkan countries in total. Of $1.7 billion total trade volume with the region, Romania’s share is $670

Growth in the post-crisis period in the Western Balkan countries has been lackluster. The external environment has been weak, but it is the incomplete reform process that is holding back convergence to income levels of richer European Union economies. And faster growth, in itself, may not be enough. The Western Balkan countries also need to generate jobs to reverse the weak labor market outcomes that are leaving so many behind, states a report by IMF on Western Balkans.

Today, Balkans is gaining strategic importance, besides their long struggle to develop their economies and integrate with the west: The Balkan corridor for NATO is more important as it has never been before. Montenegro is about to become fully-pledged member of NATO, Albania and Croatia already members, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia are on their way to become members.

As NATO’s influence do not only rely on military power, but more on public diplomacy and economic strength. In this regard, Balkans’ gaining importance means Turkey will play a key role, as a NATO member, its ties with the region are far beyond than that of any other NATO member’s. As Mr. Şimşek indicated at the latest Forum in Sarajevo, Turkey plans to invest even more in the region and will retain its close partner status. These strong ties with Balkan countries, combined with Turkey’s status within Middle East, will surely strengthen NATO, EU and benefit Turkey.

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Depth//Lorem The Turkish InInDepth IpsumRed Crescent

BRING ASSISTANCE WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION:

TURKISH RED CRESCENT

From the time of its establishment in 1868, the Turkish Red Crescent, besides contributing to the development of social welfare has been providing, presenting and offering various and important services for social solidarity.

By Ramazan güzyurdu

T

housands of he International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

were born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield. Turkish Red Crescent Association that was founded on 11 June 1868 with the name “Society for Aiding the Wounded and Ailing Ottoman Soldiers”, later took on the names “Ottoman Red Crescent Society” in 1877, “Turkey’s Red Crescent Community” in 1923, “Turkish Red Crescent Community” in 1935 and “Turkish Red Crescent Society” in 1947.

It was the great leader Ataturk who lent the name “KIZILAY” (Red Crescent) to the institution.

The Red Crescent emblem is the red crescent on white background facing left. The open side of the crescent faces the opposite direction from the flagpole.

The Red Crescent emblem, as stipulated in the relevant provisions OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

of the Law of Nations, is the accepted “protective and defining symbol” for the medical services of the armed forces at the time of war, as well as for individuals and institutions as defined in these provisions. No other individuals, committees or institutions can use this sign, which symbolizes immunity and neutrality at war.

From the Ottoman-Russian war in 1876 to the Cyprus Peace Operation in 1974, Turkish Red Crescent Society provided medical response to ten thousands of Turkish and enemy soldiers in all battlefields in which Turkey was present, through mobile and fixed hospitals, patient transportation services, hospital vessels, trained nurses and volunteering care givers; provided humanitarian care to war slaves regardless of their nationality; brought care and protection to all civilians affected by war; provided healthcare, shelter and nutrition of the disaster victims in all natural disasters in the country dating back to the great cholera epidemic in Istanbul following the declaration of the 1st Reformation

The Turkish Perspective

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In Depth / The Turkish Red Crescent

Period; participated in international relief and response activities; led initiatives in nurse training, first aid and blood services and provided social aid and services to all Turkish citizens in need of such aid.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavors, in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples.

Red Crescent is the symbol of solidarity at the time of need, of equality at the time of suffering, of humanitarianism, neutrality and peace at the heat of the war.

Turkish Red Crescent Society shares the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement that are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteer service, unity and universality.

The Society is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based social service institution providing unconditional aid and service and do special legal provisions govern a corporate body.

The organization is comprised of the general headquarters and branches. The duties and responsibilities undertaken in all levels of the Organization, other than the Headquarters, are honorary.

From the time of its establishment in 1868, the Turkish Red Crescent, besides contributing to the development of social welfare has been providing, presenting and offering various and important services for social solidarity such as shelter and protection to the poor and needy, aids for nourishment and health care, blood, disaster operations, international aids, social services, health, first aid, education and youth, housing, immigration and refugee protection as well as operating mineral water facilities.

Disaster Management

The Turkish Red Crescent has one of the best disaster organizations of the world with its disaster response and disaster logistic system that it has extended nation wide.

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Red Crescent is the symbol of solidarity at the time of need, of equality at the time of suffering, of humanitarianism, neutrality and peace at the heat of the war.

The Turkish Red Crescent gives urgent nourishment services to the disaster victims after the natural disasters occurring in the country and assists the government institutions regarding providing urgent shelters. With this web of disaster response and disaster logistics system extending nation wide, the Turkish Red Crescent has one of the best organizations of the world in this field and it reaches the disaster areas in the shortest time by means of its 8 Regional and 25 Local Disaster Response and Logistics Centers. According to needs after disaster in the region, by setting tents and distributing blankets, sleeping bags, heating stoves, catalytic and kitchen equipment, the Turkish Red Crescent meets the needs of the disaster victims in the field of nourishment with its Mobile Bakery Oven, Mobile Kitchen and Mobile Catering Vehicles

providing good quality and fast service.

The Turkish Red Crescent actualizes the production of high quality disaster tents that can be used in all seasons as shelters that are waterproof and non-flammable.

The Turkish Red Crescent having tent production facilities in Ankara and Erzincan produces long-term disaster tents that can be used in national and international relief works besides special tents to meet needs.

Blood Services

The Turkish Red Crescent aims to meet all the blood needs of our country from safe and continuous donators with its Regional Blood Centers, Blood Donation Centers and mobile blood donation vehicles.

Nationwide, it gives blood services through its 17 Regional Blood Centers, 65 Blood Donation Centers with more than 150 mobile blood donation vehicles.

Thousands of qualified personnel are employed in these centers and units.

For patient safety reasons, The Turkish Red Crescent have all the donated blood go through tests in the laboratories and it transfers them to the hospitals to be given to persons needing blood. The Turkish Red Crescent that expanded its success in providing safe blood to the fields of marrow transplant and stem cell therapy carries out the TURKOK Project jointly held with the Ministry of Health.

The Turkish Perspective

The Turkish Red Crescent that expanded its success in providing safe blood to the fields of marrow transplant and stem cell therapy carries out the TURKOK Project jointly held with the Ministry of Health.

International Services

The Turkish Red Crescent has lent a hand to 137 countries from its establishment to the present and in the last 10 years it had disaster operations in 78 different countries in times of natural and human related disasters.

The Turkish Red Crescent working regardless of religion, language and racial discrimination lends a hand to millions of people in different regions of the world. Increasing the capacity of its works every passing day in the field of humanitarian aid, the Turkish Red Crescent has attained a very important role globally. The Turkish Red Crescent had disaster operations in 78 different countries in natural and human related disasters in the last 10 years and has met shelter, nourishment and basic needs of needers in 137 countries to the present.

The Turkish Red Crescent, besides providing humanitarian aid in countries like Palestine, Sudan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kirghizia, Kosovo, Somali, Pakistan, put its signature under important successes in its permanent projects for welfare. It has concentrated its activities on projects related to construction of houses, schools, community centers, house of prayers, public facilities and providing and supporting means of living and in the fields of health, education, social aids, agriculture and irrigation in the countries needing help.

Social Services

The Turkish Red Crescent is with the people needing help not only in times of disaster but in 365 days a year.

The Turkish Red Crescent is besides the people in need not only in times of disasters but in 365 days of the year with its pilot projects carrying out social aid works without hurting the pride of the people.

With Campaigns for Sacrificing Animals for religious purposes with proxy, Sacrificing Animals for Alms and Votive purposes, Endearment Bundle, Special Education Classes Project, cooperation with big chain markets, charitable giving of food packages and with its Branches, the Turkish Red Crescent is besides the people in need all throughout the year. It solves the problems of the needy nationwide with its active 13 public soup kitchens, 3 nursing homes, 8 dormitories, 5 clothing aid centers and orphanages.

Health Group

The Turkish Red Crescent solves diversified health problems with its qualified health personnel in the hospitals and medical centers with modern technology.

Giving health services from the time of its establishment to the present, the Turkish Red Crescent provides health services with suitable prices to the citizens with its hospitals in Konya and Kayseri, 3 Medical Centers in Istanbul with high quality medical devices and experienced health personnel.

137

the number of countries that Turkish Red Crescent has lent

The Turkish Red Crescent works to provide post-disaster health services through medical centers and hospitals.

First Aid

The Turkish Red Crescent targets the first aid awareness to become widespread in the community with the educational programs it arranges and organizes in First Aid Centers within its body.

The Turkish Red Crescent aims to educate people so that they can give first aid treatment in cases of emergency with right knowledge and skills. Within this scope, it organizes educational programs with 33 First Aid Centers within the body of its Branches. The Turkish Red Crescent with having given first aid education to more than 100.000 people to the present carries projects for the first aid awareness to become widespread in the community.

Education and Youth Services EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

The Turkish Red Crescent carries out educational works for the development of being a Red Crescent person and the concept and culture of people helping each other to develop in early ages.

The Turkish Red Crescent carrying out educational activities for becoming a Red Crescent person and the culture of having people help each other to develop and become widespread, it actualizes educational programs to increase the community and institutional awareness in many subjects such as decreasing disaster damages, protection from disasters and personal and community health. It carries out the “I’m learning Safe Living with

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In Depth / The Turkish Red Crescent

the Red Crescent Project” with the aim of increasing the community awareness regarding disasters, safe living and methods of protection from the disaster damages to the students in primary schools and teachers.

YOUTH SERVICES The Turkish Red Crescent encourages the youth to become Red Crescent volunteers through Turkish Red Crescent branches, Youth Organizations, University Libraries and Communities.

The Turkish Red Crescent starting its youth services with establishing the “Youth Organization” in 1933 carries out projects for the youth within this scope.

The Turkish Red Crescent by giving free scholarships to successful students through its branches aids the students to continue their educations. On the other hand, the Turkish Red Crescent organizes “Youth Camps” in various cities of the country for students with limited means. It encourages the youth to become Red Crescent volunteers with Youth Organizations, University libraries, Communities within its branches.

Immigration and Refugee Services

The Turkish Red Crescent’s Immigration and Refugee Services Directorate provides services to the refugees who take shelter in our country in their entrances and exits and housing and shelters and at the stage of their deportation.

The Turkish Red Crescent, with the addition of Immigration and Refugee Services Directorate to its body, provides, in its centers, the services in the foreigners’ entrances to Turkey, shelters and housing and sending them OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

back. In addition to these, it assists the related public authorities in meeting the needs of the refugees taking shelter in Turkey, their shelters, nourishment, health, education and other needs.

Especially during the last five years, due to the chaos in Syria, the Turkish Red Crescent assists the public institutions in meeting the needs of the Syrians who have taken shelter in Turkey and are guests in 23 camps today, in their housing and shelters, nourishment and other needs. Besides, projects are being developed with the aids and donations of the sharers and donators to improve the living conditions of the refugees in the camps.

SERVICE TO whole WORLD The Turkish Red Crescent presents and offers various social services for needers.

78 23

COUNTRIES THAT IT HAD DISASTER OPERATIONS

REFUGEE CAMPS IN SYRIA

100 33

THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVING GIVEN FIRST AID EDUCATION

First Aid Centers within the body of its Branches

The Turkish Red Crescent has one of the best disaster organizations of the world with its disaster response and disaster logistic system.

Mineral Water

The Red Crescent Mineral Water that is bottled and sold by the Turkish Red Crescent was donated by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to the Turkish Red Crescent in October 1926 for providing income to be used for the public benefit. In 1932, The Red Crescent Mineral Water has won the “Gold Medal” in a London contest for its mineral content and high quality.

The Afyon Mineral Water Factory, being the first and the most modern mineral water factory in Turkey, produces Classical Mineral Water, Fruit Flavored Mineral Water and Mineral Water with Fruit. With the mineral water factory that the Turkish Red Crescent established in Erzincan in 2014, the Turkish Red Crescent is expanding and developing its export web every passing day.

The extra income gained from the Red Crescent Mineral Water sales makes a great contribution to providing social aid and disaster operations. The Afyon and Erzincan Mineral Water Factories have an annual capacity of 1-billion bottle production.

Brands / Lorem

The Turkish Perspective

Content: Innovatıve Brand In The Sector: Seramiksan P55 Sinemia Ranks Among The Hottest Startups Of Europe P58 Clarity, Efficiency And Sustainability P60 Editor: Ramazan Güzyurdu

ceramıc, culture, archtect...

Ceramıc

INNOVATIVE BRAND IN THE SECTOR: SERAMİKSAN

Combining the technology required for quality living with aesthetic designs, Seramiksan offers a wide range of products for all life and public spaces.

By Alperen çevikaslan

F

ounded in 1990 by the partners of Bloksan A.Ş., one of the leading companies of Manisa Turgutlu industry, Seramiksan started production of ceramics with 1.5 million m2 in 1994.

Having started the business on the vision of being a world brand, Seramiksan’s factory is located in Turgutlu Organized Industry Zone, which is established on 500.000-m2 open area and 150.000 m2

closed area.

Seramiksan, which has taken its place among the producers in Turkey and the world with its high production capacity, produces flooring tiles, wall tiles, glazed granite, technical granite, exterior cladding, vitrified tile products and building chemical products.

Seramiksan started its production in 1994 with flooring tiles, and in 2005, it

established Dekosan to serve the domestic and foreign ceramic producers in design, product development and decoration.

Seramiksan Rondine Became A Partner Of The Group Seramiksan, which invested in the vitrified plant that is matchless in the world in terms of technical level, technological optimization and energy saving, added

55

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Brands / Seramiksan

its vitrified products to its product range in 2013.

With the Rondine brand, Seramiksan produces in three different facilities in Italy, the center of ceramics.

World’s Most Modern Vitrification Production Plant Seramiksan, which invested in the vitrified plant that is matchless in the world in terms of technical level, technological optimization and energy saving, added its vitrified products to its product range in 2013.

Seramiksan, which has the most modern vitrified production facility in the world, can produce vitrified products untouched by human hands.

Seramiksan Vitrification Plant will reach an annual capacity of 2,000,000 pieces when the investment is completely finished.

Giant Investment From Seramiksan In 2016, Seramiksan launched Turkey’s most modern and one of the world’s few porcelain tile production facilities with 5.5 million-m2 capacity and put it into operation.

With this investment that was realized in an area of 90 thousand m2, unglazed porcelain tile production started in 60x60 and 120x120 large sizes for the first time in Turkey.

Seramiksan, which has the most modern vitrified production facility in the world, can produce vitrified products untouched by human hands.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

These products are specifically designed for use in airports, stations, metro systems and shopping malls with very high pedestrian traffic. Produced in high quality standards, these tiles maintain their stability and first day appearance for many years.

Seramiksan, The Banner Bearer Of Pioneers And Innovations In 2011, it produced ceramics that do not contain stains and which are bacteriafree, characterized by nanotechnology for the first time in Turkey. In addition, Lappato and fulllappato porcelain tiles have been produced with SolubleSalt technology. Seramiksan has also actualized the high glossy technique to get products with high gloss properties.

For the first time in industry, Seramiksan produced digital tiles with 3D digital printing technology in the Digi-art tiles with Roto-digit Technology.

Many objects found in nature are applied to the floor and wall tiles with their patterns that cannot be distinguished from the real ones with Roto-digit technology.

“The Best Design For Everyone” Seramiksan acts with unconditional customer satisfaction by combining the initials of the industry and cutting-edge technology with innovative designs.

Seramiksan, one of the pioneers of the ceramics industry in Turkey, continues to make progress in Turkey and in the world. We also conducted an interview with Seramiksan Turkey Sales Manager M. Süreyya Çağlar on sector and brand.

How do you evaluate the development of the ceramic industry in Turkey?

Today, our country is the third largest manufacturer of ceramics and porcelain in Europe, after Italy and Spain, and the 9th largest producer in the world. With the machine park of our country, trained workforce and backward knowledge, there is no lack of world leader Italy and Spain.

It is one of the reasons that the leading manufacturers of our industry are preferred all over the world that ceramic brands start to offer advanced technology and design together. However, despite the fact that the sector has been developed so much in recent years, the biggest problem with the branding in the world is the antagonism. By taking the right steps towards branding, it is necessary to allocate more time and budget to R&D activities and create a style that will reveal the accumulation of thousands of years of Turkish people and Anatolia.

What kind of work do you do as Seramiksan to advance this sector?

In order to promote the Turkish ceramics industry on all kinds of international platforms, we closely follow and evaluate the opportunities. As a wellestablished and innovative brand of the sector, we display our products in important fairs of the sector in accordance with the latest trends in the world.

At Unicera, ISH and Cersaie Fairs we participated in 2017, we exhibited both sector professionals and products to consumers.

As Seramiksan, we always work to design and present products that will make a difference in the sector. We are working hard to renew ourselves, to differentiate

The Turkish Perspective

ourselves and to be one of the leading brands of the sector by carrying out serious studies in R&D activities. As Seramiksan, for the first time in our country, we produced polished granites that are produced with NANO technology, non-staining.

In addition to this, we also reflected the technological superiority of our products by using wooden, marble and stone patterned products in production of ceramic and granite tiles which cannot be differentiated with Roto-digit digital printing technology.

We now have the world’s most modern glassware production facility. Here we are experiencing the advantages of having the most advanced production technology in the world. Standards that we have achieved in terms of quality are pleasing to us in terms of customer satisfaction.

Seramiksan sanitary ware products, which are produced in the field of vitrification with the most advanced technology in the world, are also noteworthy with their different designs and water saving products. Focusing on production, we reached 1 million pieces in 2017 in the glassware group. In the coming years we will reach a production capacity of 2 million large pieces.

Since its foundation, you have exported your network to 57 countries. What do you see as steps that bring success here? How was this point reached?

Seramiksan was founded in 1990 by Demirdöver family, one of the leading industrialists of Manisa, and started production in 1994.

With the technology that has been developed since the day it was established, it is increasing its production with new investments and understanding of growth. We have a wide range of products for all living spaces and public spaces. As one of the biggest ceramic producers in Turkey, we export to 57 countries today. We continue our work on the international scene by acting as a world brand vision. With our increased capacity, we are increasing our sales channels every year.

In 2013, we have partnered with Rondine Group, one of Italy’s leading companies, one of the most important ceramic producer countries in the world. Today we are producing not only in Turkey, but also in Italy and in three different production facilities with Rondine brand. At the same time, we are carrying out strong R&D studies for a product portfolio that will make a difference to our

“We continue to increase the capacity and production capabilities of our existing facilities.”

competitors in Turkey and in the world. We are working with a wide range of foreign customer portfolio consisting of big wholesalers, retailers, building market chains and construction companies carrying out projects abroad today with our innovative products we produce with our environmental production philosophy.

We came to the end of 2017.

How was 2017 so far for you?

We can say that we made a rapid entry in 2017.

We presented our 2017 collection to industry professionals and visitors at important fairs of the sector.

We were very happy that our products were appreciated by the visitors and that they received a full grade. In 2016, we have realized one of the most important granite investments in Turkey by commissioning a porcelain tile facility with a capacity

of approximately 5.5 million m2. We started to produce marble and granite patterns that are indistinguishable from nature. We are working to make a product portfolio that will make a difference according to our competitions in Turkey and in the world in our factory, which is designed to give the best answer to students with increasing sizes and porcelain piles.

We plan to close 2017 with a turnover increase of over 30% compared to the previous year. In addition to this, Seramiksan ‘s brand awareness is getting more and more popular every day, leading to being preferred in many projects and chain stores and it is the most important factors that suggest our perfect products and delivering products in history.

What are your goals / expectations for the coming years?

We are also closely following all the opportunities available to our projects. Seramiksan, acting with the awareness of the importance of production and employment for our country, is progressing by adopting the principle of self-investing knowledge, experience and capital for these purposes. We distribute our products to over 200 dealers spread over almost every corner of Turkey and our products which we provide all the necessary technology for high quality life with over 1000 dealers.

Dealer continues to expand our network without slowing down We closely follow the interest of Turkish people to quality and service. We continue to increase the capacity and production capabilities of our existing facilities.

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Brands / Sinemia

CULTURE

Sinemia ranks among the hottest startups of Europe

The private movie club Sinemia has made its way to the list of the hottest startups of Europe by the ever-prestigious Wired magazine.

About Sinemia

By İLHAN ALPAY OGAN

T

his year, Sinemia has been included in the annual list of hottest startups of Europe, a list published by the UK edition of Wired, a magazine focusing on new technologies and their impact on culture, economy and politics.

The magazine included details of each startup making it to the list that covers 10 cities such as Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, Barcelona, Helsinki, London, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, Lisbon and Stockholm. As explained

by Sinemia founder Rıfat Oguz, these details included the company’s goal to attract more people to theaters and the Premium Membership, a system in which people can see a movie every day throughout the month in return for the fee of two tickets. Oguz also discussed the company’s investments and his big plans for globalization.

technologies and debit card infrastructure, our system once again proved that we make a difference,” he said.

Aiming to become a global brand

“Our technology is a first both in Turkey and Europe” Sinemia Founder Rıfat Oğuz expressed Sinemia’s pride of being featured in the list, on behalf of himself and his team, while emphasizing that the company is a pioneer in terms of technology as well: “Wired editors emphasize that, in addition to being a global trade capital, Istanbul is also drawing attention with its growing technology scene.

We are delighted to see that OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Currently, Sinemia continues to work on introducing its application to 20 countries.

Sinemia is featured on a list which is created based on this type of an approach. As a first in Turkey and Europe, combining location-based

Claiming its position among the best startups of the year upon being featured in the list of Europe’s 100 Hottest Startups, Sinemia gained its recognition in Europe as it came into prominence in UK last year. At the beginning of this year, it has entered into the US market as well, accelerating its efforts to become a global brand. Most recently, Founder Rıfat Oğuz was entitled to an award by Finance Monthly, a prominent publication on investment and finance, as part of the 2017 CEO Awards.

You can visit www.sinemia. com to sign up for the private cinema club Sinemia and access up-to-date pleasurable cinema content by Sinemia Social.

Sinemia is a social movie club platform for cinema enthusiasts to experience the passion for cinema to the bits without any limitations.

Sinemia Premium members can see unlimited number of films per month, in any theater in Turkey throughout their membership. Moreover, they can be a part of a prestigious social lifestyle offered through sneak previews, artist talks and special organizations. Sinemia is the first Turkish technology startup to combine debit card infrastructure and locationbased technology.

Currently operating in Turkey, the UK and USA, Sinemia enjoyed its first investment in December 2015 from Aslanoba Capital, the investor for great many successful startups. It enjoyed the second investment in July 2016 with investments from Ali Çebi and Burak Örücü, members from Aslanoba Capital and Istanbul Startup Angels. As part of the first investment, it collaborated with 500 Silicon-Valley-based venture capital startups the same year, which was followed by the Revo Capital investment in the first month of 2017. It opened two offices in the USA in 2017, namely in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Currently, Sinemia continues to work on introducing its application to 20 countries with options such as user-tailored movie suggestions, lists and news feed on the cinema world, together with the option to like and share posts.

TURKEY EXPORTS CERAMIC TO 159 COUNTRIES

TURKEY EXPORTS WOMEN’S SUIT TO 58 COUNTRIES

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Brands / GMW MIMARLIK

clarity, efficiency andsustainability ARCHITECT

GMW MIMARLIK’s design for Terminal 5 at Riyadh King Khaled International Airport has won the “Transportation Project of the Year” award in “MEED Quality Awards for Projects” organized in Dubai.

T

erminal 5 at Riyadh King Khaled International Airport designed

by GMW MIMARLIK, the Turkish firm of architects who are one of the leading brands in the transportation sector, was awarded “The Transportation Project of the Year” in “MEED Quality Awards for Projects” organized

by MEED, one of the sector’s most distinguished publications.

GMW MIMARLIK stated that they are delighted to win this award for the second year running having also won last year for their Medina Airport project.

King Khaled International Airport is located 35 kilometers north of Riyadh city center. Before Terminal 5 became operational in 2016, the airport catered for 13 million domestic and international passengers

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

per year with its existing 4 terminals and 4,200 m long two parallel runways. The 106,000sqm new terminal, located on a 400,000sqm site along the main approach road, was designed to serve either 7 wide-body or 16 narrow-body aircraft simultaneously, and has doubled the passenger capacity of the airport. The new development also included a new car park for 2400 cars, and other support facilities such as a fire station and an administrative complex.

GMW MIMARLIK’s initial concept design for Terminal 5 aimed to create a progressive landmark building with a strong architectural identity but the airport authority requested this to be modified in order to more closely follow

the external appearance of the existing terminal structures.

The general arrangement of the terminal has been designed to maximize passenger comfort by keeping walking distances and level changes to minimum as well as making efficient use of natural light. The modular structure will enable the

GMW MIMARLIK has been responsible for several international terminal projects such as in Istanbul, Vnukovo, Cairo, Skopje, Ohrid, Rome, Medina, Riyadh, and Kuwait International Airports.

operators to adapt and expand the terminal to respond to possible future developments and demands. Although no application was made, the building has been designed to achieve LEED certification.

Since its formation 17 years ago, the Istanbul based GMW MIMARLIK has been responsible for several international terminal projects such as in Istanbul Ataturk, Vnukovo, Cairo, Skopje, Ohrid, Rome, Medina, Riyadh, and Kuwait International Airports. GMW MIMARLIK designs have always given top priority to the critical issues of clarity, efficiency and sustainability in order to achieve high levels of passenger comfort and long-term operational success.

GMWM has now become one of the leading brands in transportation sector both in Turkey and abroad.

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Agenda

FAIRS, EXHIBITIONS, SUMMITS AND MEETINGS IN THE NEXT MONTH

OCTOBEr

03-08

04-09 OCTOBER

Boat Show Eurasia

Çukurova Furniture Decoration Fair

Viaport Tuzla Marine-İSTANBUL

The Boat Show Eurasia Fair will be the right address for internationally renowned brands to see their new boat models and order them for 2018, as well as find the latest models, campaigns and special prices on the equipment side. More than 250 boats will be exhibited in the fauid and activities that are specially arranged for these dates will also add to the fuir color.

Boat Show Eurasia, where all the innovations are introduced in boat equipment and accessories, amateur maritime clubs and sail clubs are training and the boat and boat equipment for every budget are presented.

Adana International Fair and Congress Center In this year’s 11th Cukurova Furniture and Decoration Fair, you can find many kinds of products from classical to special design. Furniture Sector Opened to the World Çukurova Furniture Decoration Fair, TUYAP brings together industry pioneers in Adana International Fair and Congress Center on 3-8 October 2017.

OCTOBER INTERMOB 2017 Tuyap Fair Convention and Congress Center/Istanbul 14-18 october

Food-Tech Eurasia

TURKIYE - Tuyap IST 25-28 OCTOBER

05-07

ALUEXPO 2017 5th International Aluminium Technologies, Machinery and Products Trade Fair” IFM (Istanbul Expo Center)

Being the most important trade fair of the furniture subsidiary industry in Turkey, Intermob offers an extensive range of products such as wood and forestry products, furniture accessories, chemicals, manufacturing tools and equipment and brings together local and international companies that operate in different branches of the industry. Intermob International Furniture Side Industry, Accessories, Forestry Products and Wood Technology Fair will be held on October 14-18, 2017 at Tuyap Fair Convention and Congress Center/Istanbul.

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

Bringing together over 1.114 exhibitors from 37 countries and more than 55.000 qualified visitors from 94 countries, Food-Tech Eurasia and co-located Eurasia Packaging Fairs provide an opportunity to develop new business relationships and to strengthen existing partnerships.For the entire food and beverage production chain, Food-Tech Eurasia is where manufacturers find innovative, reliable, cost effective and high quality solutions to take their products to market.

Hannover-Messe Ankiros Fuarcılık brings the leading companies of global aluminium sector together for the 5th time. ALUEXPO2017 will be organized in Istanbul Expo Center October 05 – 07, 2017.

Being the most valuable fair of the aluminium sector in Eurasia and one of the most important fairs of the world, “ALUEXPO” provides a large business volume to the aluminium and related industry branches and it will also bring all the sector members including producers, suppliers, importers and exporters together.

Figures

63

CONTINUE TO RISE AS EXPECTED

Turkey’s export is growing continuously among these countries and try to increase the volume of export for coming months and years.

COUNTRY (Thousand $)

1.310.468 773.272 762.451 740.489 558.490 515.832 478.710 321.543 310.401 307.

835 Data: TİM

GERMANY IRAQ UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES SPAIN ITALY FRANCE NETHERLANDS ISRAEL CHINA

UNSTOPPABLE RISING

LEADING PROVINCES OF EXPORT

The top 10 sectors that increased exports the highest rate are maintaining their performance compared to the same month of the last year.

According to Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) data, the most successful provinces in export are increasing their value compared to the same month of 2016.

(Thousand $)

VALUE (%)

Ship and Yacht Olive and Olive Oil

1 - 31 AUGUST (2016)

179,4% 60.904 70,5%

14.111

1 - 31 AUGUST (2017)

170.162 24.057

PROVINCE (Thousand $) İSTANBUL BURSA KOCAELI İZMIR

Jewellery

39,9% 232.009 324.545

GAZIANTEP ANKARA

Mining Products

29,1% 344.706 444.900

MANISA

Machine and Accessories

25,5% 450.227 565.105

SAKARYA

Data: TİM

DENIZLI

ADANA

1 - 31 AUGUST ( 2017 )

VALUE ( % )

5.739.491 1.003.805 841.413 781.451 604.905 590.934 356.262 283.762 275.122 171.526

12,3% 5,7% 13,0% 12,5% 5,5% 22,5% 15,8% 7,1% 48,3% 26,5% Data: TİM

COUNTRY ( GERMANY IRAQ UNITED KIN UNITED ST SPAIN ITALY FRANCE NETHERLA ISRAEL PEOPLE'S R

64 Figures

GERMANY

1.31

BELGIUM

0.25

NETHERLANDS

0.32

FRANCE

0.48

UK

0.76 USA

0.74

SPAIN

0.56

share of tOP 20 COuNTRIES ın turkey’s total export (bıllıon $) Turkey exports to most prominent 20 markets in the globe enjoyed a favourable month in August 2017.

poland

0.24

ROMANIA

0.25

RUSsıa

0.24

ITALY

0.51 BULGARIA

0.24

china

0.31

IRAN

ıraq

0.77 Algerıa

0.15

Data: TİM

OCTOBER 2017 ISSUE 51

saudı arabıa

0.21

ISRAEL

0.31

0.28

EGYPT

0.19

UAE

0.30