'Turkey has competitive advantage in fintech'

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey has a competitive advantage in financial technologies with its young population, a senior official said Tuesday.

Addressing the Turkish Capital Markets Summit 2019, Serkan Yuksel said the country has a dynamic business environment and Turkish people are open to adapt.

"I believe we have good coverage of production and trade and commerce and industry," said Yuksel, who is director of the Istanbul Finance Center Department at the Presidency.

Referring to the Istanbul Finance Center, he said: "We are working on the master action plan for the project."

Yousuf Al-Jaida, the CEO of Qatar Finance Center, said that his country aims to diversify the Qatari economy and attract foreign investors.

Farah Jaafar Crossby, the CEO of Malaysia's Labuan International Business and Finance Center, said international finance centers assume a significant role in providing financial services in the global area.

Tom Goodwin, the vice executive of Zenith Media, said Istanbul has always been at the crossroads geographically between the East and the West.

"Technology makes geography less important, the real crossroads now is the past versus the future," he added.

"I believe the city in this country is extremely well placed to make the most of that transition," he said, referring to Istanbul.

The two-day summit started Tuesday under the theme Transformation with support of the Turkish Presidency. Anadolu Agency is the event's global communication partner.