News Scan, 21st Jan: Foreign investments inflow falls with deepening of political crisis

Foreign investments inflow falls with deepening of political crisis

The month of May in 2013 was a critical month both for the world and the Turkish economy.

After Dec. 17, 2013, the Turkish economy, in addition to the external winds, came under the effect of the political crisis that erupted with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Gülen Community clash.

In such a case, how did the foreign investment inflow which has a vital importance for the Turkish economy, develop, what was the attitude of the foreigner who has short term investments and which direction did this affect the foreign currency prices, how will it affect them in the future? These questions are being asked and discussed almost every day.

The speech of FED Chairman Ben S. Bernanke in May 2013 on the “exit” plan of the United States, his indication that they would reduce monthly buying of bonds caused all the foreigners who had parked on “emerging” countries, in which Turkey is also included, to suddenly turn their faces to the United States.

HDN Starting from May 2013, foreign investment inflow to countries such as Turkey, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia started decreasing. It did not stop but its pace slowed down. This was immediately reflected in foreign currency prices and the dollar and the euro started gaining value rapidly.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Booting Iran out of Syria talks ‘mistake’ but ‘not disaster’: Russia

Russia said on Jan. 21 that an unprecedented decision by the United Nations to bar Iran from taking part in this week’s Syria peace conference was a “mistake” that cast a shadow on the reputation of the global body.

At the same time the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov downplayed the move, saying the conference in the Swiss town of Montreux on Jan. 22 was a “one-day event.”

“Of course this is a mistake,” Lavrov told reporters. “But no disaster has happened,” he added.

“In any case we are talking about a one-day event on January 22 to which some 40 foreign ministers of various states including from the most remote regions have been invited.” “Of course, despite the largely ceremonial nature of this event, Iran’s absence from a list of 40 states cannot but cause questions.” “The symbolism is still important,” he added.

“I am just sorry that this whole story did not boost the authority of the United Nations.” In an abrupt reversal, the U.N. barred Iran Jan. 20 from the peace conference after it refused to back calls for a transitional government to end the three-year war in Syria.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Turkish PM urges international community to raise their voice against Syrian massacre

Erdogan said that the whole world watched how tens of thousands of people were massacred by the Assad regime. “Will we remain silent about the situation in Syria where 150,000 people were killed? We need to stand together against this atrocity. The whole western world needs to raise their voice,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday referring to images and a report by a team of senior war crimes prosecutors obtained by Anadolu Agency that show the systematic killing of nearly 11,000 detainees at the hands of Syrian regime forces.

Addressing a crowded group of Turks at the Stephanie Square in front of his hotel, who came to welcome the Turkish PM to Brussels, Erdogan said that the whole world watched on TV how tens of thousands of people from all ages, including women and children were massacred by the Assad regime.

“The Geneva II conference is starting tomorrow (on Wednesday). … We are calling on them ( Geneva II participants) to raise their voice against thismassacre in Syria,” Erdogan said.

AA

Erdoğan gov’t abusing regulatory agencies to punish opponents

Pressuring state regulators to abuse their powers, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has mounted an aggressive campaign to punish groups and companies that are critical of the government’s handling of a massive corruption investigation, which has led to questions about the credibility and independence of regulatory agencies in Turkey.
As the government intensifies its efforts to disparage the judiciary for deliberately working to undermine the AK Party’s power and has sought refuge in a discourse of a “parallel state” on the one hand, on the other it uses regulatory agencies to come down on certain media outlets, people, firms and banks which it perceives as “traitors” and the voluntary instruments of foreigners aiming to destabilize the country.

“In the absence of the rule of law, the government, which has seized all power, has exploited all state [regulatory] institutions for the sake of its interests,” Mehmet Altan, a professor at İstanbul University’s department of political economy, told Today’s Zaman.

Stressing that although the manipulation of state agencies has always been a fact in politics, Altan said the exploitation of those agencies by the government today has reached an unprecedented level. One of the most offensive attacks by the government after the corruption scandal became public was found to have been on the banking front. The government started a defamation campaign to deliberately bankrupt Bank Asya using Turkey’s banking watchdog as a means to this end.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Turkish-manufactured Fiat Doblo to enter North American market

Turkish-Italian JV Tofas, established by Turkey’s Koc Group and Italian Fiat, is preparing to ship the first batch of the Fiat Doblo-based commercial vehicle to the North American market late this year. The Doblo model, already being exported to more than 80 countries worldwide from Tofas plant in Bursa, Turkey, has undergone a significant redesign for the North American market at an investment cost of USD 360 million.

Having acquired the Ram ProMaster City name, the Doblo-based vehicle will compete in the small van category, becoming the second Turkish-manufactured motor vehicle to hit the streets in North America following Ford’s Transit Connect. Ford Otosan, also partnered by Koc Group, shipped Transit Connects to Ford’s home country between 2009 and 2013 until production of the model shifted to another Ford plant. Ford Otosan remains the parts supplier for 176,000 Transit Connects sold in the North American market.

Tofas plans to export 175,000 of Doblo-based light commercial vehicles to the North American market in the 2014-2020 period. The model is perfectly suited for small businesses and taxi fleets. The Ram brand belongs to US auto maker Chrysler which is wholly owned by Fiat.

Home to manufacturing plants of global brands such as Fiat, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Renault and Hyundai, Turkey is a major manufacturer of motor vehicles in Europe with over 1 million vehicles produced annually.

SABAH

21.01.2014

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.