Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati on Thursday highlighted the increasing shift of the global financial center of gravity from the West to the East, focusing on the aim of making Istanbul one of the top 10 financial centers worldwide.
Accordingly, he emphasized on the significance of the Istanbul Finance Center (IFC) and how it represents more than its material value, with its symbolic value being just as important.
At the Istanbul Finance Center Summit organized by Turkuvaz Media Group, Nebati highlighted the importance of healthy and strong relations between financial markets and the real estate sector. He also stressed the need to develop the financial sector on solid foundations, which requires decisive action and continuous infrastructural improvement.
Türkiye most recently inaugurated the long-awaited vast business district that promises to place the Turkish metropolis among the world’s most important financial centers.
A ceremony led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 17 marked the gradual launch of the IFC, starting with the launch of the section hosting banks.
The IFC will boast most of the country’s most prominent institutions started in 2009 and is being developed in the Ümraniye district on the city’s Anatolian side.
It aims to make Istanbul a competitive destination for international financial institutions and investors and to support the growth of the Turkish economy.
Nebati further spoke on the center's potential to attract international investment and facilitate global capital flows. He expressed the will to elevate Istanbul as one of the top 10 financial centers in the world, given its strategic location within a four-hour flight from major European and Middle Eastern cities, a population of 16 million and a $30 trillion (TL 584.73 trillion) economy.
Despite the challenges of a potential global recession, Nebati noted Türkiye’s success in slowing down the rate of inflation while continuing to grow, produce and create employment. He emphasized the government's commitment to ensuring price stability in key products and preventing political exploitation of price hikes.
The IFC will be a new home to most of Türkiye’s most prominent financial institutions and authorities, including the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), the Banking Regulation and Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK).
Run by the Türkiye Wealth Fund and developed in coordination with the Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Ministry, the IFC will host participation finance companies, financial investment and portfolio management companies and insurance firms.
Build with an investment of about TL 65 billion, it is one of the country's most prestigious projects and is likely to be a hub for participation finance and fin-tech.