Milliyet – Türkiye’s appeal for foreign investments is highlighted once again by one of the biggest foreign investors that the emerging country has seen in recent years. Francisco Gonzalez , Head of the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA), 24.9 percent owner of Türkiye’s largest bank Garanti, said that the country was a very attractive destination for foreign investors with its successful economy and huge market, thanks to its remarkable economic and institutional achievements over the last decade.
Speaking at an event organized in Madrid for the visit of Türkiye’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gonzales said that Türkiye and Spain had a bright future ahead of them as they were having a significant growth potential . “Türkiye is a great economy with a capacity to attract substantial foreign direct investment and a very attractive market for exports," he said at the “Spanish-Turkish meeting on Investments and Opportunities in Türkiye” event organized by Türkiye’s Ministry of Economy, the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT), the Turkish Embassy in Madrid, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) and BBVA.
BBVA acquired 24.9 percent of Garanti Bank stakes in 2011 for over EUR 4 billion, becoming the biggest Spanish investor in Türkiye. A country with one of the youngest populations in Europe with a growing economy, Türkiye’s banking industry continued its growth even during the global financial crisis. Fitch Ratings recently raised the country’s credit rating to investment grade.