Turkey News September 2023
Business
TeamSystem acquires 53% of Mikrogrup
Turkish enterprise business management software company Mikrogrup has announced that it has signed an agreement to sell a 53% stake to Italian technology company TeamSystem. Mikrogrup has been producing accounting and business solution software for over 34 years. It provides services to more than 150,000 businesses in Turkey through the Mikro, Zirve and Paraşüt product families. TeamSystem CEO Federico Leproux expressed confidence that this partnership will further strengthen his company’s position in the field of digital transformation.
Aug. 1, 2023
WEG inaugurates new facility in Turkey
Brazil-based motor and drive manufacturer WEG has inaugurated a new facility in Dilovası (Kocaeli province), expanding its operations to the Eastern European and Southwest Asian markets. The 7,000 sqm area will be used to provide technical support to customers and to assemble products. According to Marco Antonio Campos, WEG Turkey’s Executive Managing Director, Turkey is becoming a key player in the new geopolitical and economic scenario in the region, thus offering great opportunities to grow their client base.
Aug. 11, 2023
Qatar Post partners with Turkish Souq
Qatar Post, one of Qatar’s largest public subsidiaries, has bought 40% of Turkish Souq, an e-commerce platform marketing Turkish products worldwide. Turkish Souq enables SMEs to enter the world markets with furniture, decoration, accessories, clothing, food, beauty products, sports equipment, and many other categories, and has already made more than 300,000 products available in 50 countries of the world in a short time.
Aug. 13, 2023
BASF to double production in Dilovası
German chemical giant BASF has announced that it will double the production capacity for water-soluble dispersants based on acrylic acid at its facility in Dilovası. The investment is scheduled to become operational in the third quarter of 2023. As Soeren Hildebrandt, Senior Vice President Home Care, I&I and Industrial Formulators Europe at BASF, stated, the capacity expansion will especially benefit their European customers, supporting them in their growth and providing them with more flexible and reliable supply options.
Aug. 15, 2023
DP World forms strategic partnership with Evyap
UAE-based DP World and Turkish Evyap Group have agreed to establish a strategic capital partnership for DP World Yarımca Port and Evyap Port in Turkey. According to the agreement, DP World will hold 58% of the Evyap Port shares, while Evyap will hold 42% of the DP World Yarımca shares. The new entity, which aims to develop container ports and expand the trade infrastructure in the Marmara Region, will be named DP World Evyap.
Aug. 29, 2023
Politics
Erdoğan visits Putin in Sochi
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has travelled to the Russian resort city of Sochi to confer with Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation. Erdoğan pointed out that a new package of recommendations has been prepared with the United Nations which involves significant progress on the issue of grain shipments. Putin argued that while Russia wants to revive the Black Sea Grain Corridor, it can only return to the agreement if the promises made to Russia are fulfilled. Stating that work on the natural gas centre project in Turkey is continuing, Putin said that Gazprom has presented a road map to its counterpart BOTAŞ, the next step being the establishment of a joint working group.
Sep. 5, 2023
Erdoğan attends G20 Summit
Within the scope of the 2023 G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted by India, President Erdoğan has held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Germany, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. During his meeting with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the President of Egypt, Erdoğan pointed out that relations have entered a new era with the mutual appointments of ambassadors, emphasizing that both countries attach importance to reviving their cooperation in the fields of LNG, nuclear energy, culture and education.
Sep. 10, 2023
Economy
Turkish Central Bank raises interest rate again
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has substantially increased its policy rate (the one-week repo auction rate) – from 17.50% to 25.00%. The bank stated that “in addition to the increase in the policy rate, the Committee will continue to make decisions on quantitative tightening and selective credit tightening to support the monetary policy stance.”
Aug. 24, 2023
Both exports and imports increase in July
In July 2023, the exports and imports of the Turkish economy increased by 8.3% and 10.5%, respectively, versus the same month last year (YOY). With exports of USD 20.1 bn and imports of USD 32.3 bn, the trade deficit increased by 14.2% to USD 12.2 bn during the same period. In July, Germany remained Turkey’s biggest export partner (USD 1.7 bn), leading Italy (USD 1.1 bn) and the USA (USD 1.1 bn). China continued to be the country with the most imports to Turkey (USD 4.6 bn), followed by the Russian Federation (USD 3.7 bn), and Germany (USD 2.8 bn).
Aug. 29, 2023
3.8% economic growth in Q2/23
In the second quarter of 2023, Turkey’s GDP increased by 3.8% compared to the same period of the previous year. The quarterly GDP at current increased to TRY 5,502.2 bn, or to USD 271.5 bn in dollar terms. The services sector grew by 6.4%, the construction industry by 6.2%, and agriculture by 1.2%, while the manufacturing industry contracted by 1.9%.
Aug. 31, 2023
Inflation continues to increase
In August 2023, consumer prices in Turkey increased by 9.09% over the previous month, while the CPI went up by 58.94% YOY. The highest monthly price hike took place in transportation (16.61%), followed by furnishings and household equipment (9.36%). No price decrease occurred among the main product groups. The largest annual price increase was in hotels, cafés and restaurants (89.31%). The domestic producer price index (D-PPI) increased by 5.89% monthly, and by 49.41% YOY.
Sep. 4, 2023
New Medium-Term Programme announced
The Turkish government has announced its Medium-Term Programme for the years 2024 to 2026. According to the projections, the Turkish economy is expected to grow by 4.4% in 2023 and 4.0% in 2024. The inflation rate target has been revised as 65% for 2023 and 33% for 2024. The unemployment rate is anticipated to be 10.1% in 2023 and 10.3% in 2024.
Sep. 6, 2023
Fitch upgrades Turkey’s outlook
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Turkey’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating as B while upgrading the country’s outlook from negative to stable. The agency stated that “the revision reflects the return to a more conventional and consistent policy mix that reduces near-term macro-financial stability risks and eases balance of payments pressures.”
Sep. 8, 2023
Seasonally adjusted unemployment decreases to 9.4%
In July 2023, approximately 3,291,000 people in Turkey aged 15 and older were officially out of work. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 9.4% was 0.2 points lower than in the previous month, and 0.8 points lower YOY. The labour force participation rate amounted to 53.4% in total, and 36.1% for females.
Sep. 11, 2023
Industrial production increases
In July, Turkey’s industrial production index increased by 7.4% YOY, and the manufacturing industry grew at the same rate. The biggest increases in the manufacturing industry category occurred in the product groups “other transport equipment” (64.2%), “repair and installation of machinery and equipment” (36.1%), and “basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations” (30.4%). The highest decreases were reported in the product groups “chemicals and chemical products” (-13.2%), “printing and reproduction of recorded media” (-6.1%), and “wearing apparel” (-5.6%).
Sep. 11, 2023
Overview of Monthly Data
Growth Rates
Inflation
