Turkey’s booming energy sector received more foreign direct investment, or FDI, then any other sector, despite an overall decrease in FDI figures, according to official data.
According to the official bulletin on international FDI data, Turkey received $1.4 billion in foreign capital in the first five months of the year. Between January and May, electricity, gas and water topped the list of attractions for foreign investors, followed by manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail, real estate rental, transportation, communication and warehousing.
Nearly $383 million in foreign capital flew to electricity, gas and water, while manufacturing attracted $336 million and construction received $197 million, Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
Foreign investors put $148 million in financial intermediary institutions, $109 million in wholesale and retail trade and $109 million in real estate rentals. Transportation, communication and warehousing received $132 million, according to official data.
A total of 80.5 percent of all FDI inflows were from European Union member countries. France topped the list with $236 million, followed by the Netherlands with $132 million and the United Kingdom with $131 million. FDI inflows from Germany were at $66 million, while inflows from Italy were at $13 million. Non-EU European countries accounted for $48 million of FDI inflows.
FDI inflows from the United States in the first five months of the year were at $55 million, according to the data. Canada, which accounted for no FDI inflows in the same period last year, followed the U.S. with $54 million this year.
Inflows from peers
Foreign capital inflows from emerging markets were at higher levels than the inflows from many Western countries. In the first five months of the year, $123 million came from Asian nations, while Near Eastern and Middle Eastern countries accounted for $98 million. The FDI inflow only from the Gulf economies was at $82 million.
In the period, 1,252 companies that had foreign capital were set up. A total of 1,026 companies were newly founded, while 193 were partnerships and 33 were subsidiaries.
Thus, the number of foreign-capital companies in Turkey reached 24,924.
Every three foreign-capital companies in 10 in Turkey deal with trade, while two are active in manufacturing and one is active in real estate rentals.
According to data from investment house İş Investment, the number of procedures to start a business in Turkey stands at six, compared to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, average of 5.7. The number of days to start a business in Turkey is at six, compared to the OECD average of 13.
