Türkiye on radar of world giants in int'l investments

By Hulya Omur Uylas

While Türkiye has become the focus of foreign direct investments (FDI) thanks to steps it has taken in the economy and political stability, the world's prominent companies have headed to new investments.

According to information gathered by Anadolu from ​​the Investment Office of the Turkish Presidency, FDI recently posted a decline around the world, whereas Türkiye has differentiated itself positively with the economic reforms it has made and the opportunities it has provided.

Global FDI flows plunged 36% year-on-year in January-June, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data.

The figure plummeted 86% in the EU, 38% in the G20 and 42% in the OECD area in the same period.

In Türkiye, FDI flows dropped 33% in the first half of this year and down 13% in the second quarter of this year.

The country saw 93 new investment projects in the first nine months of this year.

The transportation and storage sector ranked first with 17 projects, and the industrial equipment sector followed with 9 projects.

The US, Germany, France, Italy, China (including Hong Kong), Japan, the Netherlands and the UAE were among the countries making those investments.

Besides, 17 new FDI projects in the fields of transportation and storage, software and informatics, communication, and electronics will be announced soon in Türkiye.

E-commerce giant Alibaba announced that it will invest more than $1 billion in the establishment of a logistics center at Istanbul Airport and a data center in the capital, Ankara.

Qatar Investment Authority and Turkish conglomerate Esas Holding's venture capital arm Esas Ventures will invest $105 million in Insider, one of the artificial intelligence marketing platforms.

World-famous courier firm DHL has bought Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo and its subsidiaries.

FedEx announced that it will build a new global air transit facility at Istanbul Airport.

Amazon opened its logistics center in Istanbul's Tuzla district this year with an investment of $100 million and employed 800 people in the center.

With an investment expected to hit a total value of 7 billion Turkish liras ($240 million), Japanese car maker Toyota's first battery and rechargeable hybrid vehicle production facility in Europe was established in the northwestern province of Sakarya.