Foreign investment in Turkey fell by more than one-third in March year-on-year, the government has said.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $900 million in March, a decline of 37 percent from March 2014’s $1.42 billion, the Economy Ministry reported on May 22, Anadolu Agency reported.
Net FDI decreased by 19 percent to $3.45 billion during the first quarter of the year, down from $4.26 billion invested in the same period last year.
Turkey’s electricity, gas and water sectors, which were the largest recipients of international capital last year with $2.55 billion in 2013 and $809 million in 2014, saw $1.1 billion in foreign investment between January and March this year.
Nearly 40 percent of foreign investment, almost $1.5 billion, came from EU members, the ministry said. Thirty percent, close to $1 billion, was from Asia, an increase of more than 200 percent compared to the same period last year.
The data also showed fewer foreign companies were established in Turkey in the first quarter - 540 against the 1,127 firms registered in the same period last year.
Of the nearly 43,000 companies which operated with foreign capital, more than 25,000 were based in Istanbul, the report said. More than 6,000 were funded by German capital while UK investors financed 2,800.
Takeover
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC), the world’s largest bank, has completed a takeover of some 75.5 percent of the stakes in Turkey’s Tekstilbank.
“As of the date of this announcement, some 75.5 percent of Tekstilbank is held by the ICBC. After completion of the transaction, the ICBC will make a tender offer for the remaining shares of Tekstilbank, held by public shareholders, in accordance with Turkish regulatory requirements,” said the board of the ICBC in a written statement on May 22.
Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) approved the sale of the stakes that local company GSD owns in Tekstilbank to the ICBC at the beginning of April 2015.
The sale was finished after all procedures had been completed at the end of April.
The ICBC said last year that it had agreed to buy a GSD Holding’s stake in Tekstilbank for $316 million. The acquisition would enable ICBC to explore new business opportunities with high growth potential, the Chinese lender had said then.
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