Qatar-Turkiye Economic Partnership Growing, To Touch New Heights


(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fazeena Saleem | The Peninsula

Istanbul: Trade between Turkiye and Qatar has witnessed significant growth in recent years and it is expected to further increase, Turkish officials and businessmen have said.

Qatar is a main foreign investor in Turkiye with major stakes in the banking, shipping, retail, and financial sectors.

Speaking to a group of journalists who travelled from Doha to Istanbul recently, President of the investment Office at the Presidency of Turkiye, Ahmet Burak

Daglioglu said that Qatar has been the biggest investor from the GCC region in Turkiye in the past five years. 

According to him, the direct capital investment from Qatar in Turkiye was $10.3bn by the end of 2021, and the figure is subject to increase according to estimations.

“We highly value and appreciate this and work towards taking such excellent relations to higher levels,” Daglioglu said. 

Daglioglu also said that the Qatari investments in Turkiye reflect the strong brotherly relations between the two countries and peoples. He highlighted Qatar Investment Authority's investment in Borsa Istanbul and QNB's stake in QNB Finansbank as the outstanding examples of Qatari investment in the Turkiye's financial sector. 

He emphasised that Turkish government offers foreign investment friendly policies; the country is located in a strategic place and it offers skilled workers and many more facilities for the investors. 

He said, in 2021, Turkiye had been one of the fastest-recovering economies with more than 11 percent growth, and 44 percent of the growth is due to net exports. In the first half of 2022, there was a 7.6 percent growth.

Commenting on the present economic situation of his country, Daglioglu said:“Turkiye is always an resilient economy and it bonuses back from every shock.” He added that in the long term the investors will benefit positively.

The visit of journalists to Istanbul was organised by the Embassy of Turkiye in Doha. The journalists also visited several entities and institutions in which Qatar has a stake. 


President of the Investment Office at the Presidency of Turkiye, Ahmet Burak Daglioglu (second right), with other officials addressing a press meet in Istanbul.

Borsa Istanbul, in which Qatar has a 10 percent stake, is keen to attract more investors to Turkish capital markets. 

Borsa Istanbul Exchange Group is aiming to provide infrastructure and value-adding synergy that shall facilitate the ability of Turkish capital markets to fulfil their potential.

International Relations Director of Borsa Istanbul, Dr Mahamut Aydogmus said,“We invite Qatari investors to invest in the capital markets of our country. Our country's markets, which protect foreign investors and provide safe trading opportunities are extremely liquid, where trading can be done easily. There is no restriction on capital inflows and outflows, and which provide access to a wide variety of securities products traded in four different markets.”

Another entity that highlights Qatar's investment in Turkiye is QNB Finansbank, which was valued at $42bn earlier this year.

QNB Finansbank has a strong presence in Turkiye and is the fifth largest privately owned bank, said its Chief Executive Officer Omur Tan.

He said the takeover of the bank by QNB affected very positively and it is very convenient to work with a bank from Qatar, as both countries share friendly relations.

“We have seen many improvements in recent years, and today in terms of private banks, we are at number five.” 

He said the bank has about 3,330 Qatari customers and about one percent of the deposits in the bank are by Qatari clients.

In terms of attracting more Qatari customers he said,“We offer many products for Arabic-speaking customers and have assigned Arabic-speaking staff to mainly help bring deposits here and in buying property.” 

Another successful Qatari investment in Turkiye is Istinye Park, a luxury shopping centre in Istanbul. 

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has a stake of 30 percent and the shopping mall's 58 percent of title is owned by Orjin and 12 percent by Doğuş Group.

With 100 percent occupancy since the opening, the mall's potential new tenants are on the wait-list. It has received seven million visitors as of July this year.

Turkiye's largest manufacturer of commercial and military vehicles, BMC has also established strong ties with Qatar and has expressed it plans for expansion. 

The Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye — DEIK, too expects more collaboration with the Qatari businesses. 

DEIK is assigned to conduct the foreign economic relations of the Turkish private sector, comprising country-based 151 business councils, 97 Founding Institutions. And Turkiye-Qatar Business Council is one among them.

“We are proud of the deep bilateral relations between both countries in addition to the close coordination and cooperation at different levels and matters. Our business council comprises 55 active members in variety of sectors, working on constantly contributing to the Turkish-Qatari business activities,” said Chairman of the Turkiye-Qatar Business Council, Basar Arioglu.

“The relations between the countries are clearly reflected in our economic relations. The trade volume of the two countries reached $1.1bn in 2021 with an expectation to reach over $5bn by the end of 2025. As the Turkish business representatives, we aim to take these relations to an advanced level, with mutual benefits at several fields and sectors,” he added. 

Arioglu, who is also chairman of a construction company, said that Qatar has provided them with a unique opportunity to showcase work on a global scale.

He also emphasised that Qatar is a good investment environment provider especially in the free zone and also insisted on the importance of Turkish companies' industrial production and exporting from Qatar.

The MUSIAD EXPO, one of the most important mixed trade fairs in Turkiye and the region, is expecting to bring more Qatari participation in Istanbul from November 2-5. 

The biannual exhibition will bring together over 100,000 visitors and participants from 124 countries. It is organised by the Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association of Turkiye.

Also, the Property Expo Istanbul, which provides a real estate investment fairground experience continuously free of charge, expects to attract more Qatari customers. It brings the best quality and profitable projects of Istanbul together under one roof and provides management, banking, legal office, and architecture, along with the attractive offers of luxury waterfront mansions, car design, and land investment. 

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