Turkey News June 2022
Business
CS Wind opens second plant in Turkey
South Korean company CS Wind has commissioned its second wind tower production plant in Izmir. Together with its first plant established in 2018, CS Wind has invested USD 60 mn in Turkey so far, creating jobs for 500 people.
May 13, 2022
Rize-Artvin Airport commissioned
Turkey’s second and the world’s fifth airport built on a reclaimed land off the coastline has been commissioned in an official ceremony attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. The airport, which is designed for an annual capacity of 3 million passengers, was built over the course of five years with an investment of TRY 4.4 bn. Consequently, the total number of airports in Turkey has reached 57.
May 14, 2022
Turkish defence industry’s turnover exceeds USD 10 bn
İsmail Demir, the President of the Defence Industry Agency, declared that the turnover of the Turkish defence and aerospace industry exceeded USD 10 bn in 2021, recovering to pre-pandemic levels. The volume of new orders increased by 40%, reaching almost USD 9 bn. R&D expenditures, on the other hand, increased by 32%, exceeding USD 1.6 bn.
May 18, 2022
Wavin to expand its capacity in Turkey
Wavin, a leading supplier of plastic pipe systems headquartered in the Netherlands, is making a machinery investment in its plant in Adana. Following an investment of EUR 6 mn by the end of 2022, the existing annual production capacity of 40,000 tons is expected to increase by 8%. The plant already employs more than 400 people.
May 20, 2022
Ukrainian Ajax to produce in Turkey
Ajax, a Ukrainian producer of security systems, has decided to start production in Istanbul, creating jobs for 400 people. It will be the company’s first plant outside of Ukraine, and is planned to produce 150,000 security system devices per month.
May 23, 2022
Qatar Investment Authority acquires shares in d.ream
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has acquired 20% of d.ream, a subsidiary of Turkish Doğuş Holding which operates several restaurant chains, including Nusr-et, Günaydın, and Zuma. The acquisition value has been reported as USD 300 mn.
May 31, 2022
Evergreen Line forms entity in Turkey
Taiwanese container transport giant Evergreen Line has established a partnership with its Turkish agent Bosphorus Gemi Acenteliği, forming a new entity in Turkey to carry out its agency activities. As reason for its decision, the company cited the increasing maritime trade potential in Turkey. With its transport capacity of 1.5 mn TEU, Evergreen is the world’s sixth largest shipowner company.
June 3, 2022
German companies complain about exchange rate hike
According to a survey carried out among the members of the German-Turkish Chamber of Trade and Industry (AHK), German companies in Turkey see the deteriorating exchange rate as the biggest obstacle in doing business. The rate of companies expecting business to improve has decreased to 34%, down from 57% in the survey last autumn. On the other hand, the percentage of companies which think that their current business is good has increased from 70 to 73%.
June 7, 2022
Residential rent increases capped
According to a bill approved by the Turkish parliament, residential rent increases have been limited to 25% per year until July 1, 2023. Previously, the rate of increase had been indexed to the inflation rate.
June 8, 2022
Politics
Turkey lifts PCR obligation on borders
The obligation to submit a negative PCR test result when entering Turkey has been lifted by a circular of the Turkish Ministry of Interior. As the number of daily Covid-19 cases has decreased below 1,000, the mask mandate in mass transportation has also been lifted.
June 1, 2022
Shehbaz Sharif visits Turkey
President Erdoğan has received Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s new Prime Minister, in Ankara for his first official visit to Turkey. Following their meeting, Erdoğan announced that the two countries are aiming to increase their mutual trade volume to USD 5 bn, up from the current level of USD 1 bn. Seven agreements to enhance cooperation between the ministries and institutions of the brother nations have been signed.
June 1, 2022
Erdoğan receives Maduro
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has visited Ankara at the invitation of President Erdoğan. As a result of the bilateral talks, Turkey and Venezuela entered into several economic cooperation agreements in the areas of tourism, agriculture, and banking. Maduro promised to provide support for Turkish investors from all sectors.
June 9, 2022
Economy
Turkish Central Bank keeps interest rate constant
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has kept its policy rate (the one-week repo auction rate) constant at 14.00%. The bank again stated that it “expects the disinflation process to start on the back of strengthened measures for sustainable price and financial stability along with the decline in inflation owing to the base effect and the resolution of the ongoing regional conflict.”
May 26, 2022
7.3% economic growth in Q1 2022
Turkey’s GDP in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 7.3% over the same period of the previous year. The quarterly GDP at current prices reached TRY 2,496.3 bn, while decreasing to USD 179.8 bn in dollar terms. The services sector grew by 14.9%, the manufacturing industry by 7.6%, and agriculture by 0.9%, whereas the construction industry contracted by 7.2%.
May 31, 2022
35.0% import hike in April
In April 2022, the exports of the Turkish economy increased by 24.6%, while imports were up 35.0% compared to the same month of the previous year (YOY). With exports of USD 23.4 bn, and imports of USD 29.5 bn, the trade deficit increased by 98.5% to USD 6.1 bn. In April, Germany was again Turkey’s primary export partner (USD 2.0 bn), leading the USA (USD 1.8 bn) and the UK (USD 1.2 bn). Russia remained the country accounting for the most imports to Turkey (USD 5.5 bn), ahead of China (USD 3.3 bn) and Germany (USD 2.0 bn).
May 31, 2022
Inflation continues to rise
In May 2022, consumer prices in Turkey increased by 2.98% in comparison to the previous month, and the CPI went up by 73.5% YOY. The highest monthly increment took place in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (6.53%), followed by recreation and culture (6.15%). No decrease occurred among the main product groups. The biggest annual price increase was in transportation (107.62%). The domestic producer price index (D-PPI) rose by 8.76% monthly, and by 132.16% YOY.
June 3, 2022
Unemployment drops to 10.6% in April
In April 2022, some 3,588,000 people in Turkey aged 15 and older were officially out of work. The non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased by 2.3 points YOY to 10.6%. The labour force participation rate increased to 52.3% in total, and to 34.4% for females.
June 10, 2022
Industrial production increases further
In April, Turkey’s industrial production index went up by 10.8% YOY, with the manufacturing industry recording an increment of 11.9%. The highest increases in the manufacturing industry category occurred in the product groups “wearing apparel” (43.9%), “leather and related products” (40.0%), and “other transport equipment” (36.2%). No decreases were reported in the main product groups.
June 13, 2022
Overview of Monthly Data
Growth Rates
Inflation
