Türkiye, positioned as a regional production center, offers significant opportunities to investors on the way to achieving sustainability and digitalization goals and stands out as a "safe harbor" in this regard, a top official said on Saturday.
Answering the questions of the Anadolu Agency (AA) within the scope of the "6th Annual Private Equity Funds Meeting" organized by Globalturk Capital in cooperation with the Global Private Equity Association (GPCA), head of Presidency's Investment Office Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu stated that macroeconomic developments in Türkiye were evaluated at the event that brought together global investors from many parts of the world.
"This issue is a matter closely followed by international investors. We have been observing the results of the economic program implemented for about one and half years," he said.
"Price stability is a priority target. However, despite the negative developments in the world and inflation, Türkiye continues to grow," he added.
Dağlıoğlu emphasized that 1.1 million jobs were created in Türkiye in the last year and said that the unemployment rate decreased to 8.5%.
He also pointed out that Türkiye preserved its export power despite weak global demand and many negative geopolitical developments, and said, "When we look at net export and import data, we are going through a period where the current account deficit is decreasing, which is considered a positive indicator for international investors."
"When we look at the growth figures of the last two quarters in particular, we see a picture where net exports are positive and almost half of the average growth stems from net exports due to the decrease in imports. This is also considered healthy growth by investors," he explained.
Furthermore, Dağlıoğlu stated that Türkiye had a successful year in terms of attracting international direct investment, adding that this is actually a development "parallel to last year."
"Again, due to the shrinking investment environment in the world, we see that Türkiye is actually slightly below its long-term average. The last 12-month data in international direct investments is around $10.5 billion. Last year, this figure was $10.6 billion, and we are exhibiting a parallel performance this year as well," he noted.
Dağlıoğlu also drew attention to the large-scale investments that have been signed recently, touching upon deals such as BYD's $1 billion plant in Türkiye.
"BYD announced electric car production in Türkiye, while Nordex announced a 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) investment plan in the energy sector. Bosch plans to invest around $500 million on green hydrogen systems in its Bursa facilities," he said.
"In addition, the Abu Dhabi Development Authority (ADQ) is taking over Odeabank. Kazakhstan-based investors purchased Hepsiburada shares. Such investments reveal Türkiye's potential to become a technology and production center," he added.
Daglıoğlu, pointing to increasing investments in the defense and aviation sectors, said that events such as the SAHA EXPO introduce Türkiye's success in this field to investors around the world.
He also remarked that technology entrepreneurship continues to be a striking area for investors and said, "Investments related to technology and technology entrepreneurship always attract the attention of investors."
Dağlıoğlu also revealed that another area that investors focus on in Türkiye is technology and manufacturing, adding: "We observe that R&D center, innovation center projects, regional management and training centers that provide high-quality employment, and projects that include regional functions such as purchasing offices are increasing in Türkiye."
"Investors are interested in this area," he said. "When we look at the developments in the world, with the reshaping of the global value chain and global supply chains, people are looking for a safe harbor where they can access a wide geography, and Türkiye offers them a safe harbor opportunity in this sense."