Turkey

A total land of 783.562 km2 (13,930 km2 water), 7.200 coastline, 509 cities, about 82 million population, 57 airports, 206 universities,  54 container terminals and sea-ports, linking Europe with Asia, bordering 8 countries, and a home to more than 3.000 ancient cities, Turkey is the cradle of civilizations.

Turkey have a robust economy that boosted its global ranking from 18th place to 13th globally. With a 5,5% annual growth, Turkey is outperforming its peer countries. The overall economy have increased from USD 236 billion in 2002 to USD 784 billion in 2018; and, with a 10% annual export growth Turkey has outperformed the world performance by increasing its export volume from USD 36 billion to USD 168 billion over the past 16 years.

Turkey provides a strategic location for local and international businesses, with a close proximity to markets in Europe, Central-Asia, and the MENA region and a 4 hours travel radius, businesses setup in Turkey can extend to over 1.5 billion consumer markets worth about 24 Trillion of GDP in the region.

Turkey provide one of the most important business assets for investors, and that is a fully energetic, educated and dynamic work force. Something that is currently representing a challenge for business in other competitive countries in where aging and shrinking populations in presence.

With almost half of the 82 million population under the age of 32 years, Turkey has the largest youth population among the EU member countries; and, with the age-dependency ration maintaining  a down-word trend, government expenditure on healthcare, education and social security are now more flexible.

Turkey is the 3rd largest labor force in Europe with over 32.7 million people, and has the highest growth rate among Europe.

Turkey has transformed young population into a highly competitive and skilled labor force through the rapid expansion of university and high budget spending on education.

• More than 6.7 million students are enrolled in higher education currently
• Over 800,000 university graduates annually
• World-class engineering education

All the above investment in human resource and according to the World Competitiveness Executive Opinion Survey, Turkey is now on the top level of the OECD countries in terms of Availability of Skilled Labor, Competent Senior Managers, and Qualified Engineers.

A country that is rapidly developing requires rapid ongoing reforms in laws, bylaws and legal codes.

Turkey is continuing the reform processes to cope with and surpass the investment requirements. A substantial process development has already been implemented and still ongoing.

Among the major development that has-been witnessed is the establishment of Coordination Council for the Improvement of the Investment Environment.

Areas of ongoing reforms include:

• Foreign Direct Investment Laws (FDI)
• The improvement in Establishment and Operating Licenses
• New Banking Laws
• Tax Reform (Corporate Tax cut from 33% to 20%)
• New Insurance Laws
• Overhaul of the Social Security Systems
• R&D and Innovation Incentives
• Upgrading Investment Incentives
• Commercial Code
• Code of Obligations
• Capital Market Law
• Removing Restrictions on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Foreigners
• Unifying All Exchanges under Istanbul Borsa
• Establishment of Istanbul Arbitration Center
• Personal Data Protection Law
• Industrial Property Law
• Production Reform Package
• New Labor Courts Code
• The presentation of Law No. 7099 Amendments to Certain Laws for Improvement of Investment Environment.

Turkey is on of the top leading countries in the world in attracting Foreign Direct Investment. Easing the investment laws in compliance with international standards while simplifying the legislation and providing equal treatment for all investors, Turkey was able to attract in excess of US$ 10 billion yearly.

The liberalization of Turkey’s investment climate was implemented through the presentation of the Encouragement of Investments and Employment Law No. 5084, Foreign Direct Investment Law No. 4875. In addition, various multilateral and bilateral investment treaties has been conducted as well as various laws and regulations being issued for the promotion of sectorial investments.

As of 2018, Turkey has concluded Bilateral Investment Treaties with 81 countries, Double Taxation Prevention Treaties with 85 countries, and Social Security Agreements with 30 countries.

In order to accelerate the returns on investments, Turkey is presenting a lucrative incentive programs through a wide range of instruments for both international and local investors.

• VAT Exemption
• Customs Duty Exemption
• Corporate Tax Reduction
• Social Security Premium Support (Employee’s Share)
• Income Tax Withholding Support
• Finance Rate Support
• Land Allocation
• VAT Refund
• Infrastructure Support
• Energy Support
• Capital Contribution Support
• Purchasing Guarantee
• Facilitation of Authorization/Permit License Procedures
• Training Support
• R&D/Design Discount
• Corporate Tax Exemption
• Cash Support
• Credit Support
• Special Consumption Tax Exemption
• Stamp Duty Exemption

And all of the Turkish Government incentive programs are being provided for both greenfield and brownfield projects.