Italy, Turkey assess annual trade volume
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Anatolia News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 18, 2009 00:00
İZMİR - There was a sharp decline in the amount of foreign investment Turkey received last year as the global economic crisis sank its teeth deep into each country around the world. But Italian investors did not rush out of the market, according to the chairman of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in İzmir.
"On the contrary, Italian companies’ investments in Turkey increased 196 percent in 2008 compared to a year earlier and reached $219 million," Rebii Akdurak said at a meeting held in İzmir yesterday to inform Aegean companies that conduct business with Italian firms of the services provided by SACE SpA. A Rome-based company that was founded in 1998, SACE insures Italian companies in foreign markets. It offers insurance, financing and credit-management products, including credit insurance, financial guarantees, investment protection, surety bond and bank products. The company also offers advisory, credit opinion, training, investment initiatives and opportunities support, and environmental guidelines services.
Reminding attendees that Italy is Turkey’s third largest trade partner, Akdurak said trade volume between Turkey and Italy reached $18.8 billion last year. That was an increase of 7.5 percent compared with a year earlier, he added. Some $11 billion of that amount was Turkey’s imports from Italy, he said during the meeting organized jointly by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in İzmir and PFS Finance, a Turkish consulting firm specializing in export credit and structured finance. SACE signed an deal with PSF Finance late last year to cooperate on Turkish financing. Currently there are 696 Italian investments in Turkey. The value of all those investments totals $4.7 billion, Akdurak said.
Trade relations between Italy and the companies operating in Turkey’s Aegean region have always been well above average, said Simon Carta, the Italian consul in İzmir. "However, the global climate in 2008 did not allow the trade figures to near their usual levels. The trade volume between the two countries dropped 12 percent due to the global crisis," he said. The Aegean region has always been a key location for many Italian firms, he said, adding that the investments implemented by Italian brands such Carta, Indesit, Eldor, Faber and Luxottica were proof of that.
Reminding attendees that Italy is Turkey’s third largest trade partner, Akdurak said trade volume between Turkey and Italy reached $18.8 billion last year. That was an increase of 7.5 percent compared with a year earlier, he added. Some $11 billion of that amount was Turkey’s imports from Italy, he said during the meeting organized jointly by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in İzmir and PFS Finance, a Turkish consulting firm specializing in export credit and structured finance. SACE signed an deal with PSF Finance late last year to cooperate on Turkish financing. Currently there are 696 Italian investments in Turkey. The value of all those investments totals $4.7 billion, Akdurak said.
Trade relations between Italy and the companies operating in Turkey’s Aegean region have always been well above average, said Simon Carta, the Italian consul in İzmir. "However, the global climate in 2008 did not allow the trade figures to near their usual levels. The trade volume between the two countries dropped 12 percent due to the global crisis," he said. The Aegean region has always been a key location for many Italian firms, he said, adding that the investments implemented by Italian brands such Carta, Indesit, Eldor, Faber and Luxottica were proof of that.