Kingdom sees investment opportunities in Turkey

On Turkey’s side, there has been an increase in Turkish companies investing in Thailand. The education, jewellery, restaurant and hotel businesses appear to be the most popular.

“Turkey has a lot of machines [such as for marbling] used for manufacturing furniture…There is a mass market for furniture here. Much money is spent on furniture, provided in residences by construction companies,” Nevzat Kantar, secretary-general of the association, said last week.

This would be an opportunity for Thai businesses to invest in Turkey, he said.

In the middle of this month, the association will lead a mission of Thai businessmen to Istanbul.

Companies such as the Polichem carwash service provider and furniture makers would also be on the trip.

“We try to encourage them to invest here in Turkey,” he said.

Thai firm Charoen Pokphand Group, the world’s biggest animal food producer, has operated its first animal food factory in Turkey in Inegol since 1986. The company is now also engaged in poultry contract farming in Turkey.

Established five years ago with 16 members, the Thai-Turkish Business Association now counts almost 80 members. About 60 per cent are Thai, while the rest are businessmen in Turkey.

“We are the same as Thailand in terms of assembling automobiles. Turkey is a production base for pickup trucks and heavy cars. However, for passenger cars, we import them from European countries,” Kantar said.

Bursa is known as a city that houses a wide range of facilities in the automobile industry.
Condominiums in Istanbul cost an average of Bt1 million for a 100-square-metre unit, which is cheaper than Bangkok, he said.

Condos in Bangkok along mass-transit routes are priced from Bt50,000-Bt100,000 per sqm, depending on the area, according to offerings by deve-lopers focusing on the middle market.
Although Turkey is not part of the European Union as yet after spending much effort on it for years, it promises considerable domestic spending power with a population reaching about 75 million people.

Some businessmen in Turkey do not care much about the benefits from entering the EU, saying they should focus more on the markets in the Middle East and Central Asia.
However, inflation in Turkey is higher than 10 per cent while the unemployment rate there is 7-8 per cent.

The minimum wage for unskilled workers is about Bt480 per day. The monthly salary of low-ranking officials is about Bt30,000 and of those in high-ranking positions is up to Bt100,000.
Turkey ran a trade deficit of almost US$100 billion last year. Imports were $250 billion while exports were $140 billion.

Last year, Turkey imported from Thailand $1.5 billion worth of merchandise while shipping $300 million of exports to Thailand, mainly wheat flour and auto parts.

Turkey sends 50,000 tourists to Thailand last year, more than five times the number of Thais travelling to Turkey.

In Thailand, 15-20 Turks are operating jewellery shops in Bangkok. Some of them use |the Kingdom as a production |base for jewellery to be sold all |over the world, according to |businessmen in Turkey.

For the educational business, a member of the Thai-Turkish Business Association manages three bilingual schools in Thailand, owned by Turkey-based Marmara Co, which acquired the schools from local business owners.

Two of them are located in Bangkok – Jindamanee in Thapra and Siriwat Wittaya in Sai Mai district. The other one named Wichai Wittaya is in Chiang Mai.

The association member also manages an international school called |Pan Asia International School located on On Nut Road for a Thai Foundation. It is going to |add a bilingual school in Hat Yai soon.

Huseyin Candan, the owner of four kebab restaurants in Bursa called Efendioglu, said he is considering opening a kebab restaurant in Bangkok and plans to visit the city in two months to do market research.