News Scan, 23rd Jan:Turkish Central Bank intervenes to lift lira from record lows

Turkish Central Bank intervenes to lift lira from record lows

The beleaguered Turkish lira recovered from alltime lows on Jan. 23 after the Central Bank intervened in foreign exchange markets directly for the first time in two years.

The lira tumbled to 3.1061 to the euro and 2.2909 to the dollar in early trade but recovered to 3.0994 and 2.2688 by midday after the central bank action.

The currency has plunged about 10 percent since mid-December – hitting new lows almost daily this year – battered by the political turmoil and concerns about its gaping currency account deficit.

The bank said in a statement it was intervening with direct foreign-exchange sales because of “unhealthy price developments”.

Bankers estimated it had spent between $1.5 billion and $2 billion to prop up the currency as it neared the key threshhold of 2.3 to the dollar.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Bill restructuring judicial body potential cause of concern for foreign investors, TÜSİAD chair says

A controversial judicial bill increasing the executive’s control on the judiciary could “raise questions” for foreign investors, the head of Turkey’s top business group has said, expressing concerns about the government’s handling of the ongoing corruption allegations.

“A picture that shows Turkey cannot deal with serious graft claims through the law will raise questions over ‘which world does Turkey belong to’ in countries investing here. Can you accept this?” Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) head Muharrem Yılmaz said on Jan. 23.

Speaking during TÜSİAD’s general assembly meeting, Yılmaz emphasized the efforts made to turn Turkey into a “prestigious country” were being seriously undermined by the new set of government-led draft bills, particularly citing the law that will reshape the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and the one that will curb internet freedoms.

“We feel much discomfort regarding the draft bill that will reshape the HSYK. The conflict that we have seen in recent days is an attempt to overcome [the crisis stemming from the graft probes] by increasing the influence of the executive over the judiciary,” Yılmaz said, urging the government to adopt new legislation in line with European criteria.

“The solution is for the independence of the judiciary and constitutional reform based on the Copenhagen criteria …. The problem has turned into a conflict between political organs. We cannot solve it by increasing pressure,” he added

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

EU parliament committee approves EU-Turkey readmission agreement

An agreement allowing EU countries to send illegal migrants who enter Europe via Turkey back to Turkey, when it comes into force in three years time, has been approved by the the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee.

The repatriation of illegal migrants is what Turkey has agreed to as part of a larger agreement which will also allow Turkish citizens to travel visa-free to EU countries. The agreement stipulates that Turkey will get financial and technical help from the EU to build up its border police and install border surveillance equipment.

“The readmission agreement will benefit Turkey as well as the European Union,” said rapporteur Renate Sommer. “Now it is up to Turkey to fulfil its obligations to implement the agreement in full.”

Sommer added that the agreement would make a significant contribution to curbing irregular immigration into the EU via Turkey and help combat cross-border crime. To come into force, the agreement still has to be approved by the European Parliament and then formally ratified by the EU and by Turkey. The committee endorsed the agreement by 34 votes to 7 with one abstention.

AA

Talks with Erdoğan fail to convince EU parliamentarians

Talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his Tuesday visit to Brussels were useful, yet his statements on the government’s attempts to pass a bill to restructure Turkey’s top judicial board did not convince members of the European Parliament, a European parliamentarian has said.

The statement by Helene Flautre, chair of the Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee, is indicative of lingering EU reservations about the government’s bid to restructure the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), despite talks with Erdoğan in Brussels on his first visit to the EU capital in five years.

“Prime Minister Erdoğan showed a willingness to listen to [members of the European Parliament] MEPs’ criticism. In fact, he interacted extensively with the MEPs present and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the EU. However, when faced with specific questions pinpointing the dramatic restructurings that recently occurred in the police and judiciary, Erdoğan’s responses failed to convince MEPs,” Flautre said in a statement released after Erdoğan’s talks with a delegation of MEPs. Sources close to the meeting on Tuesday reported that the participating parliamentarians were highly critical in their discussions with Erdoğan.

Erdoğan’s government purged the top echelons of the police and introduced the HSYK bill in Parliament in response to a corruption probe that shook the prime minister’s Cabinet. Four ministers involved in the investigation, which went public with a wave of detentions on Dec. 17, were replaced in a broader government reshuffle. But despite the resignations of implicated ministers, Erdoğan slammed the probe as a conspiracy against his government orchestrated by what he called a “parallel state” within the judiciary and the police — and this organization’s foreign collaborators.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Foreign investors in line for Turkey’s massive coal projects

Concentrating efforts on utilizing domestic resources to meet the soaring power demand of its growing economy, Turkey is in talks with global energy companies to develop the country’s Afsin-Elbistan coal fields in Southeastern Anatolia Region.

An agreement is expected within a month on the project which includes the development of coal mines and building several thermal power plants on the site, estimated to hold 4 billion tons of lignite, for an investment total of USD 10-12 billion.

An intergovernmental agreement between Turkey and Abu Dhabi was signed for the development of the Afsin-Elbistan coal fields in early 2013 but plans were shelved due to other spending priorities for TAQA, the Emirati company that was to undertake the project.

Turkey’s Ministry of Energy is also working to exploit another large deposit of coal located in Konya’s Karapinar district in Central Anatolia Region. Also arousing interest among foreign energy companies, the Karapinar site will cost USD 7-8 billion to develop.

The Turkish government has taken steps to bring the country’s vast coal reserves to the attention of foreign energy companies via changes to its investment incentives system, making the use of locally-sourced fossil fuels to fire thermal power plants more attractive.

With all of its domestic coal reserves tapped, Turkey plans to reach a total installed capacity of 120,000 MWs in 2023.

INVEST.GOV.TR

Fresh into the dairy industry, Abraaj eyes new opportunities in Turkey

Impressed by Turkey’s strong economic foundations, robust demographics, growing middle class and geostrategic location, Dubai-based private equity investor, the Abraaj Group, is set to continue investing in Turkey. The group has invested in eight Turkish companies to date in a number of sectors including healthcare, energy, yacht building and the food industry. Its latest acquisition of the majority stake in dairy products maker Yorsan has given the Dubai-based investor a solid foothold in Turkey’s growing food industry and a new opportunity to reach surrounding markets.

“The Yorsan acquisition shows Abraaj’s commitment to long-term investments in Turkey. The country has experienced rapid growth in the last decade and will continue to do so. The combination of favorable demographics, an expanding middle class with an increasing purchasing power and key geographic location equals an ideal investment location. Abraaj actively seeks new investment opportunities in Turkey” said the Abraaj Founder, Arif Naqvi, following the company’s latest investment in Turkey.

“Yorsan products will be made available in the Middle Eastern supermarket chain Spinney’s, also partnered by Abraaj. Spinney’s has stores in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, UAE and Qatar” said Abraaj Turkey Partner, Selcuk Yorgancioglu, laying out plans for the company’s new acquisition. “Abraaj will work towards making Yorsan a global brand, focusing on increasing brand recognition and marketing in the Middle East” he noted. Half-a-century-old Yorsan produces cheese, yoghurt and other dairy products. Its turnover reached USD 120 million in 2012.

INVEST.GOV.TR

23.01.2014

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.