Business News Turkey January 2024
Business
Azelis acquires Oktrade
Belgium-based Azelis Group, a leading company in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, has acquired 100% of the shares of Turkish Oktrade Kimya A.Ş. A distributor of specialty personal care ingredients founded in 2017, Oktrade employs 12 people, and also runs an application laboratory. In recent years, Azelis had made further acquisitions in Turkey in its sector, namely Tunçkaya, Ekin Kimya and Tara Kimya.
Dec. 7, 2023
BluTV acquired by Warner Bros-Discovery
Warner Bros-Discovery, one of the world’s largest media groups, has purchased the entire shares of BluTV. Founded by the Doğan family in 2015, BluTV was the first of the streaming platforms established by domestic capital in Turkey, among which it also has the most subscribers. Warner Discovery had already acquired 35% of BluTV’s shares in 2021.
Dec. 7, 2023
Capacity of Sabiha Gökçen Airport to double
The 3,540-meter-long second runway of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport has been put into service. Speaking at the inauguration, President Erdoğan pointed out that the airport hosted 31 million passengers in 2022, and that this number is expected to exceed 37 million by the end of 2023. Completed with a total investment of USD 970 mn, the new runway is planned to double traffic capacity.
Dec. 26, 2023
Turkish contractors’ project volume surges in 2023
Turkish contractors have undertaken USD 27.4 bn worth of projects abroad in 2023, an increase of 39% compared to the previous year. With a project volume of USD 4.6 bn, Russia ranked first. Romania, where Turkish contractors have undertaken railway, metro and highway projects, with a project volume of USD 3.6 bn came second, followed by Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia. M. Erdal Eren, President of the Turkish Contractors Association, stated that they have identified Saudi Arabia as their most important target, offering a new business potential of USD 10 bn annually for the sector.
Jan. 3, 2024
Politics
Erdoğan visits Hungary
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has visited his counterpart Katalin Novák in Budapest before meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The two heads of government then signed the Joint Political Declaration on Upgrading the Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Turkey and Hungary to the Level of Enhanced Strategic Partnership. Subsequently, a 17-article cooperation agreement covering different areas was also concluded.
Dec. 19, 2023
Economy
Turkish Central Bank raises interest rate at a lower rate
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has raised its policy rate (the one-week repo auction rate) from 40.00% to 42.50%. The bank stated that it has reduced the pace of monetary tightening, assessing that the monetary tightness is significantly close to the level required to establish the disinflation course.
Dec. 21, 2023
Minimum wage increased by almost half
The competent commission has agreed on a regular increase of the minimum wage, as from January 2024, by 49.11% compared to the second half of 2023, or 99.87% compared to January 2023. The statutory minimum wage now amounts to TRY 20,002.50 gross – translating into TRY 17,002.12 net – with the cost to the employer being TRY 23,502.94. Unlike the last two years, the minimum wage will be valid for the full year until December, as had been the case since 2016.
Dec. 28, 2023
Exports up 5.2% in November
In November 2023, the Turkish economy registered an increase of exports by 5.2%, while imports decreased by 5.7% over the same month of the previous year (YOY). With exports amounting to USD 23.0 bn and imports of USD 28.9 bn, the trade deficit dropped by 32.6% to USD 5.9 bn during the same period. In November, Germany continued to be Turkey’s biggest export partner (USD 1.8 bn), followed by the UAE (USD 1.4 bn), and Iraq (USD 1.3 bn). China remained the country with the most imports to Turkey (USD 3.6 bn), ahead of the Russian Federation (USD 3.5 bn), and Germany (USD 2.4 bn).
Dec. 29, 2023
Inflation continues to rise
In December 2023, consumer prices in Turkey were 2.93% higher than in the previous month, with a CPI increase of 64.77% YOY. The biggest monthly price hike occurred in recreation and culture (5.30%), followed by housing (4.97%). Decreases among the main product groups were recorded in clothing and footwear (-1.33%) and transportation (-0.14%). As before, the highest annual price increase was in hotels, cafés, and restaurants (93.24%). The domestic producer price index (D-PPI) increased by 1.14% monthly, and by 44.22% YOY.
Jan. 3, 2024
Unemployment increases slightly
In November 2023, approximately 3,116,000 people in Turkey aged 15 and older were officially out of work. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 9.0% was 0.4 points up from the previous month, but 1.1 points down YOY. The labour force participation rate registered as 52.9% in total, and 35.5% for females.
Jan. 10, 2024
Minimal growth of industrial production
In November, Turkey’s industrial production index increased by 0.2% YOY, with the manufacturing industry recording a plus of only 0.1%. The largest increases in the manufacturing industry category were reported in the product groups “other transport equipment” (42.2%), “repair and installation of machinery and equipment” (31.8%), and “basic metals” (14.6%) while the highest decreases occurred in the product groups “computer, electronic and optical products” (-29.1%), “printing and reproduction of recorded media” (-23.5%), and “leather and related products” (-19.5%).
Jan. 10, 2024
Moody’s upgrades Turkey’s outlook
The credit rating agency Moody’s has kept Turkey’s credit rating at B3 while changing the country’s outlook from stable to positive. The agency reasoned that “While headline inflation is likely to rise further in the near term, there are signs that inflation dynamics are starting to turn, indicative of monetary policy regaining credibility and effectiveness.”
Jan. 13, 2024
Overview of Monthly Data
Growth Rates
Inflation
