The newly inaugurated Istanbul Finance Center will attract foreign investment, experts attending the Istanbul Finance Center Summit at Turkuvaz Media Center in Istanbul said Thursday.
Noting that the new finance center will enhance competition and investment in banking, the General Manager of Garanti BBVA Recep Baştuğ told “The Future of Banking in the Heart of Finance” panel that it will also increase the number of foreign investors in the country.
“As one of the largest banks in Türkiye, our success and the satisfaction of our investors will serve as a reference for foreign investors to come here,” Baştuğ said, adding that they will strive to attract more foreign investors in Türkiye.
The General-Manager of Türkiye’s largest lender Ziraat Bank, Alpaslan Çakar said Türkiye aims to become one of the top 10 economies in the world.
“We’re in a serious state of development,” Çakar said, adding that economic and political stability are also crucial to become a top economy in the world.
“Taking into consideration its infrastructure, skilled labor force, economic potential, political and economic stability, Istanbul has the characteristics to become a financial center,” Çakar said, adding that capital flow is also necessary for this but it will take time.
Noting that technology has become a determinant factor in shaping the future of the world, Çakar said digitalization, climate and environmental factors and energy are also important factors to consider.
Çakar also said that while Türkiye cannot become a global finance hub in the near future, the country needs to aim for becoming a regional finance hub focusing especially on Islamic finance.
A ceremony led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marked the gradual launch of the Istanbul Finance Center (IFC), starting with the launch of the section hosting banks.
The IFC could help the metropolis form ties with financial markets in the world, said Erdoğan. “This center will create a new financial ecosystem in Istanbul, which is the meeting point of two continents,” he noted.
