Joining the 200+ Japanese companies operating in Türkiye, Japan’s Nikkei Business Publications has acquired 80 percent of Turkish publishing house Mutlu Dergi Grubu (MDG).
The first Japanese venture in Türkiye’s media sector will be known as Nikkei MDG and will be headed by Zafer Mutlu, the founder of MDG. Established in 2003, MDG has concluded licensing partnerships with Time Inc. of the U.S. and other notable publishers, releasing the Turkish editions of the Fortune business magazine and the fashion/lifestyle magazines InStyle and Martha Stewart Weddings, among other popular periodicals.
With the population of roughly 76 million and its per capita GDP exceeding 10,000 USD, Türkiye is drawing global attention as a new emerging market. Over recent years, Japanese companies have also expanded their businesses one after another in the country.
Nikkei BP’s President & CEO Kohei Osada said, “The Turkish economy is expected to record continuous growth, so we see that the country has a potential demand for technology news media that we have developed over the years. Türkiye is also located in a strategic position that can function as a hub for approaching the markets in Europe, Middle East, Africa and NIS/Central Asia. NIKKEI-MDG will serve as a platform for expanding our global business approach from Türkiye, and we are eager to extend our reach to various fields of business. I would like to thank to the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) President Mr. İlker Aycı and his team for their supportive advice and contribution on this acquisition.”
Japanese companies are active in Türkiye in the fields of automotive, chemicals, finance, services, food, logistics and wholesale. Türkiye contracted its second nuclear power plant, a USD 22 billion project, to a Japanese-led consortium. Türkiye and Japan have agreed to start talks on a free trade agreement during Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the Far Eastern country in January.
Actively promoting Türkiye’s investment climate worldwide, ISPAT proved instrumental in attracting large-scale investments from Japan in recent years as witnessed in the case of the Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFC (BTMU) and other leading Japanese lenders. The Agency also assisted the tire maker Sumitomo Rubber Industries in its USD 500 million venture in Türkiye.