Hürriyet – Türkiye’s growing economy, huge potential of its domestic market and influential status in its region fostered by growing trade ties with surrounding countries are driving Spanish companies to invest in the country, the head of Türkiye’s official investment agency said on a visit to Spain.
Hit by an economic crisis that severely affects growth and employment at home, Spanish investors keep a keen eye on Türkiye, especially after Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria’s (BBVA) acquisition of Türkiye’s Garanti Bank in 2011 that made the lender the largest Spanish investor in Türkiye, Ilker Ayci, the President of the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT), told reporters at a press meeting during his visit to the Spanish capital Madrid. “BBVA’s success in Türkiye strengthens our appeal in view of other Spanish companies looking for growth markets. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Spain last November, is also bearing fruit in this sense as we observe increased interest from Spanish investors towards Türkiye.”, the ISPAT President noted.
Promoting Türkiye’s investment climate at the highest level to Spanish companies, ISPAT also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of the key associations of Spain’s business community, Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) during Ayci’s visit to Spain. “Türkiye’s growing ties with Asia, the Middle East and particularly Africa is attracting Spanish companies. Most are looking for joint projects with Turkish companies in third countries.”, the ISPAT head said.
“Under the terms of the MoU signed with CEOE, both sides are to meet regularly to discuss cooperation opportunities in specific sectors. Spanish companies want to know more about Turkish companies based in rapidly developing Anatolian cities and looking for doing business with such growing companies.”, he remarked, adding that Spanish investments into Türkiye may easily reach USD 500 million level annually with the adaption of a sector specific approach.
ISPAT President also held talks with Banco Santander, one of the world’s largest banks, during his visit. “Banco Santander expressed interest in Türkiye’s large scale infrastructure projects.”, he said about the meeting, drawing attention to the USD 400 billion worth of infrastructure projects Türkiye has in planning for the next 10 years.