Foreign investments fall in Turkey, says minister

Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan attends the second meeting of Asia-Pacific Regional Commercial Advisers. Turkey’s direct foreign investments decreased last year, he said. AA photo

Turkey drew direct foreign investments worth $12.4 billion last year, a 20 percent decrease, said Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan at a meeting in Ankara yesterday.

Direct foreign investments showed a 20 percent decrease in 2012 from a year earlier, Çağlayan said during the second meeting of Asia-Pacific Regional Commercial Advisers. Also the international cumulative direct capital entrance to Turkey is worth $123.7 billion, he said. Çağlayan noted that direct capital flow tended to decrease in the world. 

He said direct foreign investments from Asia-Pacific countries to Turkey were worth $2.25 billion last year, but none of them had investments above $1 billion. Japan made investments worth a total of $787 billion and Malaysia invested $515 billion; they both had investments worth more than $500 million in Turkey.

Motor of economic growth

Çağlayan said the Asia-Pacific region was important as the motor of the world’s economic growth, while these countries made 30 percent of the world’s gross product at $20.6 trillion, had 55 percent of the world’s population with 3.8 billion people and conducted 30 percent of the world’s good and service exports with $7.8 trillion.

Turkey’s exports to the region rose to $6.6 billion, a 30 percent increase, in 2010, as it reached 47.7 billion, a 17 percent increase, in 2011, he said. “The exports rate remained the same last year,” he added.

However he pointed out the disparity that while the region does 30 percent of the world’s exports, Turkey’s export share in the region is just 0.13 percent. Also, Turkey’s exports to the region make only 5.5 percent of the country’s total exports. Turkey should compensate this loss, he said.
Meanwhile, Çağlayan remarked that Turkey’s exports to six members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization increased from $1.6 billion to $11.8 billion between 2002 and 2012. Also, the imports from these countries rose from $5.6 billion to $51 billion during the same period, he added. Turkey should develop its economic relationship with these countries, which make up 16 percent of its foreign trade volume, he said.