US, Europe favorite destinations for Turkish investors: Survey

ISTANBUL

Europe, the U.S., Canada, and Eurasia are the main destinations for Turkish investors, a survey by PwC Türkiye has shown.

The survey asked a total of 95 Turkish executives about their existing investments and investment plans in the future.

It found that 30 percent of them prefer Europe for investment, while the Northern America’s (the U.S., and Canada) share is 18 percent.

Eurasian countries’ share (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan) is also 18 percent.

The share of Germany, Romania, the U.S, and Russia is 54 percent.

Among the factors affecting location selection for investments abroad, companies prioritize countries/regions with large market size and geographical potential and offer an investor-friendly environment, according to the study.

Low labor cost, tax advantages and incentives provided appear to be less decisive in investors’ decision to selecting the locations, it said.

Turkish residents’ investments in foreign countries averaged $3 billion per year between 2013 and 2022.

Those investments stood at around $300 million in 2002 and accelerated in the following years, reaching $5.2 billion in 2014 and 2015, which was mainly due to Yıldız Holding’s acquisition of United Biscuits for a consideration of $3 billion.

Investments abroad stood at $4.6 billion in 2021 and $4.9 billion in 2022.

From 2002 to 2023, investments in the mining and quarry sectors in foreign countries took the lead at $16 billion, accounting for 25 percent of all investments. The manufacturing sector’s share was 22 percent or $14 billion.

Finance and insurance investments ranked third at $12 billion, while investments in foreign countries’ real estate sector captured a 9 percent share, or $5 billion, in total. Investments in construction industry amounted to $2 billion, according to the survey.