Turkey offers abundant opportunities in a variety of sectors. In this article, we will discuss Turkey, which is a favorite of investors with its growing economy in Automotive, Machinery, Defense, Aviation, Energy, Agriculture, Finance and many other sectors, in terms of sectors.
AUTOMOTIVE
The foundation of Turkey’s automotive industry dates back to the early 1960s. During a period of rapid industrialization and progress, this key sector transformed itself from assembly-based partnerships to a full-fledged industry with design capability and massive production capacity. Since 2000, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) have invested over USD 15 billion in their operations in Turkey. These investments significantly expanded their manufacturing capabilities, which in turn led Turkey to become an important part of the global value chain of international OEMs. Meeting and exceeding international quality and safety standards, today’s Turkish automotive industry is highly efficient and competitive thanks to value-added production.
MACHINERY
Machinery manufacturing continues to be one of the key growth drivers of the Turkish economy. This sector plays a crucial role in the development of Turkey’s greater manufacturing industry due in no small part to its capability to produce intermediate goods and to provide inputs to key sectors such as chemicals, construction, automotive, energy, textiles, agriculture, and mining. The machinery manufacturing sector in Turkey is known for being R&D intensive — Turkey graduates over 35,000 engineers every year in mechanical fields — and for creating high value.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
The Turkish defense and aerospace industry has been undergoing a profound transformation over the past decades. Having achieved unparalleled success in the industry in recent years, today Turkey has one of the fastest developing defense and aerospace sectors in the world. The experience and emphasis on quality is evident among Turkish defense and aerospace companies as they undertake numerous endeavors, create products that are competitive worldwide, and assume important roles in international projects. With their qualified human resources and state-of-the-art technology infrastructure, Turkish companies bring global solutions to satisfy many countries’ local requirements. These Turkish companies conduct activities in many critical areas of the defense and aerospace sector, from original design development to domestic production, from modernization to modification, and from R&D to international projects.
ENERGY
Demand for energy and natural resources has been increasing due to the economic and population growth in Turkey. It has posted the fastest growth in the OECD, with an annual growth rate of 5.5 percent since 2002. Since then, Turkey’s primary energy supply has increased from 78.4 Mtoe to 155 Mtoe, a two-fold increase within 17 years. Turkey’s growing economic performance has also been reflected on the country’s electricity generation infrastructure given the dramatic rise in the total installed capacity from 31.8 GW to 88.5 GW, and in the electricity consumption from 132.6 TWh to 305.5 TWh as of end-2018. To satisfy the increasing needs of the country, the current capacity is expected to reach 110 GW by 2023 through further investments to be commissioned by the private sector as underlined in the 11th Development Plan for 2019-2023.
AGROFOOD
Home to the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Turkey’s agricultural sector today is echoing the prosperity of ancient Mesopotamia. With its favorable geographical conditions and climate, large arable lands, and abundant water supplies, Turkey is considered to be one of the leading countries in the world in the field of agriculture and food.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Turkey’s developing economy offers lucrative investment opportunities in infrastructure across a wide variety of sectors including transportation, healthcare, and energy. According to the World Bank, Turkey ranks 3rd globally in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, with a total contract value of USD 165 billion from 1990 to 2015. With a successful track record of over 220 PPP implementations across a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets, Turkey has been able to realize around 80 percent of those projects over the past decade.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
The Turkish financial sector proved resilient during the global financial turmoil in 2009 as well as the ensuing economic crisis thanks to the regulatory reforms and structural overhaul that the government implemented in the wake of the country’s own financial meltdown in the early 2000’s. In fact, the reforms in the sector boosted investor confidence so much that the industry has become the most preferred sector for FDI, attracting USD 52 billion since 2005.
