Housing sector representatives set to host Gulf investors in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

People visit the model of Meydan One, a 25 billion dirhams, US$ 6.8bn development at Cityscape Global exhibition, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. AP Photo

Turkey’s Housing Developers and Investors Organization (KONUTDER) has announced it will hold a two-day event to introduce local projects to investors from the Gulf in cooperation with leading economic and trade organizations, in a written statement on Sept. 21. 

Some 20 Turkish companies will introduce their new projects to Gulf investors during the event, which will be held in Istanbul on Oct. 12-14, according to the statement. 

“Our aim is not to sell a couple of properties to foreigners. We want to increase our trade ties. Our meeting is supported by leading economic and trade organizations, including the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce [İTO], the Foreign Economic Relations Board [DEİK], the Exporters’ Assembly of Turkey [TİM] and the Independent Industrialists and Businesspeople Association [MÜSİAD],” said KONUTDER head Ömer Faruk Çelik. 

The event will be held once every six months if it proves to be successful, added Çelik. 

He noted around 600,000 houses are sold in Turkey annually and the share of houses sold to foreigners should be 10 percent at least. 

In 2014, the number of properties sold to foreigners reached 18,959 units, according to official numbers. 

Turkish companies also had the opportunity to meet investors from Gulf countries at the Cityscape Global 2015 Fair on Sept. 8-10.