The second International Investment Summit held in Istanbul between April 29-30 gathered international investment funds and investors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, in total managing about 1.5 trillion dollars of Gulf investment funds.
Making the inauguration speech of the summit, Turkey’s Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık stated that Turkey is making huge efforts to facilitate foreign investments over the last decade, both for encouraging them to make joint ventures with the domestic firms and also investing jointly in third countries.
“Not a single foreign company has lost money in making long-term investments in Turkey,” Işık said, asking Gulf investors to consider also manufacturing based on R&D and innovation.
During the Summit, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Bassam Group and Saudi Sumou Holding announced their plan to jointly set up a new fund of about one billion dollars for Turkey’s real estate market, in cooperation with Turkish state companies active in the construction sector.
Besides that, in a move to get in Turkey’s education sector, Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO) recently announced its decision to buy 50% stake in a company running 63 private schools in Turkey under the name of Mektebim Koleji.
Last year, Turkey has attracted about six billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment, while the country aims to reach 80 billion U.S. dollars annually and to rank among the 10 biggest economies by 2023, the centennial of the foundation of the republic.
Foreign investments from Gulf countries are reported to go beyond 30 billion dollars over the last decade.
Experts interviewed by Al Arabiya News underline the importance of having a stable climate with proper rule of law in attracting Gulf investment in Turkey.
Having an average of 5% of economic growth between 2003-2014, Turkey improved its macroeconomic stability under the AKP government over the last twelve years, with structural reforms in banking sectors, healthcare system, public finances, as well as a legislation on foreign direct investment harmonized with global standards.
