Government to reveal R&D incentives in IT

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Minister Binali Yıldırım hosts a child in his office within the scope of the April 23 ceremonies. The government plans to boost investments in IT researches, Yıldırım says. AA photo

Research and development (R&D) projects in the information technology (IT) industry will receive incentives between 100,000 to 3 million Turkish Liras, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım said yesterday.

“Individual and institutional projects will be supported. The amount of the research and development support will vary between 100,000 and 3 million liras, leaving the field clear for young entrepreneurs. We are targeting as many entrepreneurs and institutions as possible to make the most [of this incentive],” he said, adding that related regulation is being finalized.

Noting that internet had become a new member of the nuclear family consisting of mother, father and child, Yıldırım said the emergence of information technologies had led to new cultural and business fields. Investment in this industry creates new jobs and has a strategic significance, he said.

Individual or institutional entrepreneurs in the electronic communication field, will receive research and development support of 50 to 100 percent of projects, particularly for the aeronautics and space industry.

Yıldırım said around 7 or 8 billion liras of research and development support is planned to be allocated in the medium term.

“If 10 in 100 projects are [proved to be profitable], then everyone in all our country will win. We will mind what we earn, not what we loose. In no industry can one earn millions of dollars with very little or no capital, except for information technology,” he said.

The size of the industry in Turkey is currently about $34-35 billion, he said, adding that some 2.5 billion people use the Internet, with a total economic size of $2.3 trillion.

“The number of Internet users will exceed 3 billion and the economic size will be over $4.2 trillion by 2016, according to estimates. You cannot just remain static in such an active and fast growing industry.”