ISTANBUL
As predictability has increased, Türkiye is now back on international investors’ radar, says Murat Özyeğin, the head of the Türkiye-U.S. Business Council (TAİK).
Speaking at the GO! Global Türkiye Summit in Istanbul, Özyeğin said that steps taken by the government are yielding results, noting that Türkiye’s credit default swaps (CDS) have fallen from around 800 basis points to 250 basis points, while the Central Bank’s reserves have swollen.
Türkiye was also the only country in the world to receive a rating upgrade from three major rating agencies this year, he recalled.
“All this is important…I think, rating agencies might upgrade Türkiye to investment grade in the next 12 to 18 months,” Özyeğin said.
The implementation of monetary and fiscal policy steps in the Turkish economy, in line with the government’s medium-term program, has increased predictability, according to Özyeğin.
“We see very clearly that both foreign direct investors and venture capital funds have Türkiye back on their radar,” he said.
Twenty-five of the world’s 50 largest venture capital funds met with entrepreneurs at the summit, he added.
Renewable energy and e-commerce sectors could be the ones to lure new foreign investments, according to Özyeğin.
Foreign companies eyeing opportunities
U.S. retailer Walmart will open an office in Türkiye, announced Tankut Turnaoğlu, chair of AmCham Türkiye at the AmChams Eurasian Economic Summit held earlier this week in Istanbul.
The American retailer giant will start procurements from Turkish suppliers, including furniture and frozen foods, he added.
“They [Walmart] view Türkiye as supply center for certain products,” Turnaoğlu said.
Mergers and acquisitions consultancy companies are also confirming the growing interest in Türkiye.
They discussed investment opportunities in Türkiye with investment banks at a summit organized by Oaklinks in Paris, said Levent Bosut, managing partner at Hera Capital.
Foreign investors are showing interest in various sectors in Türkiye, including packaging, infrastructure, energy, food, retail, automotive, media and software, according to Bosut.
Foreign investors’ interest has shifted from Turkish exporting companies a year ago to consumer goods companies, he added.
Companies from Egypt and the U.K. are holding talks regarding new investments in the health industry, said Ufuk Eren, CEO of Volitan Global, without providing details.
The FDI inflows for the first eight months of 2024 amounted to $6.41 billion, marking a 2 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, showed the latest data from the Central Bank. Türkiye’s total FDI inflow totaled $497 million in August alone.
Since 2002, Türkiye has attracted nearly $270 billion in foreign direct investments.
