Business leaders meet in Istanbul to debate prospects for Turkey’s international trade and economic growth

Senior representatives from Turkey’s leading banks, companies and business organisations gathered with their international counterparts in Istanbul on 25th – 26th March, 2014, at the 8th Annual Turkey Trade & Export Finance Conference, which took place at The Swissotel the Bosphorus. Organised by Global Trade Review, the international trade finance industry’s primary news and events provider, the latest instalment in this long running series welcomed record-breaking attendance of over 370 delegates.

Though situated in one of the globe’s primary international trade hubs, Turkey’s corporate and finance sectors face a new raft of commercial challenges in the current climate. While stability in emerging markets is threatened by tightening global financial liquidity conditions, the ambitious government targets for export growth aimed to combat the country’s trade deficit look likely to combine with hardening domestic fiscal policy to exert pressure on the domestic trade finance sector’s capacity to facilitate cross-border business. Furthermore, the country faces an 18 month period of intense domestic political activity which began with local elections on Sunday 30th March, and was cited by both speakers and delegates at the conference who see potential for the reaction to resulting appointments to significantly impact on Turkey’s future economic and international trade performance.

The two day gathering saw extensive discussion on the key concerns held by the region’s business leaders, with particular emphasis on the trade opportunities available across markets in Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Mena and the potential of international banking networks to open new markets to Turkish exports.

“We’re currently seeing a fundamental swing in the Turkish economy towards export-led economic growth”, said conference speaker Mehmet Habbab, who sits as Chairman of Delta Petrol and Board Member at the Government’s Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK). “It has been hugely interesting to hear the views of key industry stakeholders on how Turkish businesses are adapting to this change, and what role is to be played by the local and international finance sectors. GTR’s annual Turkey conference always provides the best venue for such multilateral discussions.”

Welcoming official support from the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK), the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and the ICC, alongside numerous domestic and international institutions, the event featured speakers from an array of companies including Sabanci Group, Vestel Group, Ozbal Boru and Arçelik, who provided insight on the primary financing priorities of Turkey’s leading corporates. Despite a nascent global economic recovery, the majority of companies participating saw risk management as the overriding priority when conducting international trade, while the domestic banking sector received criticism in some quarters for failing to supply sufficient support for those Turkish companies diversifying their export destinations across new markets.

The two day conference, which included an evening reception on Day One, concluded with a networking lunch where delegates continued discussions in a more informal setting.