Foreign investment in Turkey falls by more than one-third

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $900 million in March, a decline of 37 percent from March 2014’s $1.42 billion, the Economy Ministry reported on May 22.

Net FDI decreased by 19 percent to $3.45 billion during the first quarter of the year, down from $4.26 billion invested in the same period last year.

Turkey’s electricity, gas and water sectors, which were the largest recipients of international capital last year with $2.55 billion in 2013 and $809 million in 2014, saw $1.1 billion in foreign investment between January and March this year.

Nearly 40 percent of foreign investment, almost $1.5 billion, came from EU members, the ministry said. Thirty percent, close to $1 billion, was from Asia, an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the same period last year.

The data also showed fewer foreign companies were established in Turkey in the first quarter - 540 against the 1,127 firms registered in the same period last year.

Of the nearly 43,000 companies which operated with foreign capital, more than 25,000 were based in Istanbul, the report said. More than 6,000 were funded by German capital while U.K. investors financed 2,800.