Saudi investors keen on Turkish real estate projects

Saudi interest in Turkey's various infrastructure and privatization projects has risen to a higher level and Saudi Arabia's prominent investors are eager to engage in projects in the fields of agriculture, food processing, real estate and infrastructure.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority is seen as an important institution that operates directly under Saudi King Abdullah. Amr Al-Dabbagh, Governor and Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) visited the Turkish capital of Ankara. He was also accompanied by Saudi Arabia's prominent investors looking for various projects in Turkey. Hotel chains, infrastructure projects like the third bridge over the Bosphorus and port projects are under the close consideration of Saudi investors.

Commenting on Dabbagh’s visit to Ankara, Alpaslan Korkmaz, President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) told that his Saudi counterpart’s visit was very productive and that they have agreed on establishing close contacts. "We will visit Saudi Arabia in a few months to better promote investment opportunities Turkey offers," Korkmaz added.

During his formal visit to Saudi Arabia in November last year, Nihat Ergun, Turkey's Industry and Trade Minister said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are looking into ways to increase their trade volume. He said that Turkey has tackled the global economic crisis successfully and managed to attract USD 18.8 billion of foreign direct investment in 2008 alone. "We are ready to assist Saudi investors. We will be glad to see Saudi businessmen in the Turkish market", he said.

In related news, Sadik Arslan, charge d' affaires at the Turkish Embassy said that Riyadh and Ankara are keen to explore a new cooperation agenda. Turkey has emerged today as one of the preferred destinations for Saudi investments in agriculture projects.

Izmir property market set to receive a major boost

Property market in the Turkish city of Izmir could be set to receive a major investment boost with the news that Petkim Petrokimya Holding, Turkey’s largest chemicals producer, is aiming to invest USD 5 billion in the region over the next three years.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey’s leading petrochemical producer Petkim invests A big portion of the USD 5 billion on establishing a refinery in Petkim’s Aliaga complex located in the Aegean province of Izmir. Petkim will use its own equity to meet 35 percent to 40 percent of the refinery’s total cost. The rest will be met through project funding.

Petkim is currently waiting for a license from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) to build the refinery. The refinery is expected to create 10,000 additional jobs. While announcing the company’s 2009 financial results and 2010 targets in a press meet in Istanbul, Hayati Ozturk, Managing Director of Petkim said that The refinery we are planning to establish is the most important investment of SOCAR & Turcas. It is expected to cost USD 4 billion.

In another major boost for property investors in Izmir, Italy's biggest bank Intesa, selected as the financial advisor for the Istanbul-Izmir highway project, has announced that they have reached agreements with Akbank and Citibank for the financing of the project. The advisor banks will manage the USD 4.8 billion portion of the total USD 6 billion highway project to connect Turkey's two major cities with a 421 km highway.

Tourism is on track to experience significant growth

Owners of rental accommodation in Turkey could be set to benefit from an influx of huge number of holidaymakers as Turkey's tourism industry is on track to experience significant growth over the coming years, according to a report released by global research company RNCOS.

Formed in 2002, RNCOS offers market research and information analysis to global companies.The group predicted that tourist arrivals in the country will top 33 million by 2012. RNCOS said that the sector was "slightly affected" by the economic downturn in 2008, however an "inevitable recovery" is expected this year. A number of trends were identified that could contribute to the success of the industry in the near future, including the rising popularity of health tourism, yachting, Golf holidays and cultural breaks.

Foreign tourists and owners of property in Turkey benefit from good airline connections to and from nearby areas of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the report also claims. The RNCOS findings are based on elements including tourist arrivals into Turkey, expenditure in hotels and restaurants and the average disposable income of Turkish residents.

The company's research follows the reports from propertywire.com, which predicted that tourist numbers are expected to "increase significantly" in the next two years as Istanbul is the European Capital of Culture in 2010.