A steep increase has been reported in Turkey’s technology-intensive exports to Germany, as the total trade volume between the two countries reached a historic high of USD 37 billion in 2011.

The Export Promotion Center of Turkey (IGEME) recorded a qualitative and quantitative rise in Turkish goods shipped to Germany, with technology-intensive product groups such as automotive spare parts and white goods taking the two top spots. Exports of engine parts used in the automotive industry increased by 56 percent compared to the previous year, while exports of mechanical parts for motor vehicles increased by 40 percent.

Exports of Turkish-made white goods to one of the most industrialized nations of the world also rose by a hefty 50 percent, according to IGEME’s country report for Germany.

Source : Deutsche Welle

Encouraged by fast growth and the positive outlook, British telecom operator Vodafone is intensifying its research and development (R&D) efforts in Turkey, while setting the stage for the next generation of mobile payment systems. Vodafone Turkey, one of the fastest growing subsidiaries of the Vodafone Group in Europe, has over 18 million subscribers, and is the second biggest operator in the countryby number of users.

Placing Turkey at the forefront of his presentation in this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said that Turkey is the leading country in the new products and services category in the Vodafone Group. Turkey is one of five countries in which Vodafone will start using the NFC – Near-Field Communications, touted as the next generation of payment systems, bringing credit card functionality to mobile phones. “The first launch of the new mobile payment system developed in partnership with Visa will take place in Britain, Germany, Spain, Holland and Turkey by April,” Colao told listeners in the congress. The Vodafone CEO also mentioned a special subscription package called the “Farmers Club” made available by Vodafone Turkey, which specifically suits farmers and agricultural workers.

Vodafone Turkey’s R&D unit Oksijen is developing software solutions for Vodafone’s global networks, as well as for Turkey. The company’s location-based services application, Vodafone Locate, is used in many of Vodafone’s European subsidiaries.

Source : Milliyet

Turkey has that most scarce, yet highly sought-after, attribute among European economies: growth. With this rising tide, is now the time for investors to be contemplating Turkey’s growing Internet economy?

Certainly the statistics look good. According to the European Union, Turkey’s real gross-domestic-product growth for 2010 was 9%, compared to just 2% for the 27 EU members. It is forecasting that growth for 2011 will be 7.5% against 1.9% for the EU.

Turkey has 35 million Internet users—out of a total population of around 77 million—70% of whom, according to research firm Comscore, are younger than 34. That makes the country the fifth-largest Internet audience in Europe. Those users are engaged, spending the third-longest time online in Europe, after the Netherlands and the UK.
Turkey has also embraced social media: It is one of the top five audiences on Facebook and top 10 on Twitter. Furthermore, Turkey’s infrastructure is well developed. Credit-card penetration, at some 60%, is higher than the European average of 50%. Online retail is strong and growing fast.

And unlike in Russia, logistics and physical infrastructure are good. Thanks to heavy investment, communication links are good. The third-generation network, at least in major urban areas, is often faster than that found in many other European countries.
Toss into the pot a couple of major exits for Turkish start-ups (South Africa’s Naspers acquired a majority stake in Markafoni, an e-commerce site; eBay Inc. snapped up online marketplace GittiGidiyor and Amazon.com Inc. took a stake in flower retailer Çiçek Sepeti), and the arrival of the Russian search engine giant, Yandex, and the picture is starting to look pretty good. Is an online Anatolian Tiger starting to stir?

Turkey has certainly caught the eye of the investment community. That leading venture-capital company Accel Partners, an investor in Facebook, Groupon, Etsy and Spotify, decided to send two people to attend a conference of 300 Turkish startups shows how seriously the country is taken.

With its impressive growth, its alignment with the European Union and its historic role as a bridge between east and west, Turkey is certainly a country of great opportunities. Fortune favors the brave, so for those willing to play a high-stakes game, get on the flight to Istanbul tomorrow. For everyone else, the tiger has just started to stir. Be there when it eventually wakes.

Source : The Wall Street Journal

Wind Turbines

Milliyet – Turkey’s new wind farms established last year added 470 MWs to the country’s installed wind power capacity, taking the total to 1,799 MW, according to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). The 36 percent increase means that Turkey is now among the top 10 European wind energy producers for the first time. Germany and Spain are the top two wind energy producers in Europe.

Turkey has increasingly turned to its renewable sources to drive its booming economy and the share of wind power in total installed capacity will exponentially increase over the next 10 years. The country aims to generate 20,000 MW from wind farms in 2023.