Chinese firms seek investment in Turkey

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Economy Minister Çağlayan (L) seen with PM Erdoğan (R) in China. AA photo

Turkey’s Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan said yesterday that Chinese companies were interested in nuclear energy, highway, high-speed train, railway, port and bridge projects in Turkey given the country’s strategic location and investment incentives.

Çağlayan said that the Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) of 27 Chinese companies attended meetings held in Shanghai China under the chairmanship of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his four-day visit to the country.

“Chinese companies said that they are interested in nuclear energy, highway, high-speed train, railway and port projects and they can build the third bridge on the Bosphorus,” Çağlayan said in a written statement.

In particular, he noted that Chinese companies were interested in energy tenders, such as the Başkent Gaz natural gas tender and that there were even companies interested in the jewelry trade in Turkey as well as the tourism sector.

Çağlayan said Chinese companies were willing to make use of the advantages of the new incentive system in Turkey and that the new incentive system was the highlight of the meetings.

He added that Erdoğan’s visit would boost Turkish-Chinese economic relations and increase investments. The companies that held talks with Erdoğan have an overall turnover of around $465 million and employ 961,000 people.