The winds have changed in foreign investment that was cut off during the economic crisis. After Oyak Renault; Hyundai, China's DFM, and South Korea's POSCO have decided to make a total of $520 million of investment.

Recent foreign investment flows to Turkey are an important indication of overcoming the crisis.  Oyak Renault initiated a successive flow with its $100 million of investment in the first days of the week. Hyundai made its final decision to manufacture i20 model in Turkey. $75 million of investment will be made for the production of this model. China's automotive giant DFM announced that they would be making $250 million of new investment.

POSCO, on the other hand, will invest $24 million dollars to build a plant in Bursa to manufacture flat steel for automotive giants. With Total's 9 million Euros of investment in construction chemicals business, the total amount of investments announced in the last three days reaches $520 million. The authorities point out that foreign interest in Turkey is a result of the government's new Stimulus Package.

Smart Investors Prefer Turkey

Announcing POSCO and DMF's investments in Turkey, Alpaslan Korkmaz, President of Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency, said that Turkey will carry out its success with the help of the Stimulus Package eagerly awaited by domestic investors.  Korkmaz stated: "Smart investors prefer Turkey."

Turkey gets the i20 Project

Hyundai finally made its decision about i20 project. The manufacturing will start in İzmit by May 2010. The project will cost $75 million.

Successive investment news comes from Turkey's biggest exportation sector, automotive sector. After Renault's declaration that they will be manufacturing Megane Sedan's replacement Fluence in Turkey, Hyundai announced that i20 model will enter into production in our country. $75 million of investment will be made for i20, mass production of which will start in May 2010. Hyundai plans to produce 80,000 cars per year, 70,000 of which will be exported. The project will provide supplementary employment opportunities for 500 people. Kwang-Heum Um, CEO of Hyundai Assan, stated that the plant in İzmit is the first overseas plant the company has built and he added that building a plant in Turkey is "the best decision" ever made by the company.

Um expressed that a large part of the i20 model production will be exported to Europe and he emphasized that $1 billion worth of export will be directed to Turkey.  Um stated that up to the present, they have made $500 million of investment in Turkey. He also added that i20 will create supplementary employment for 500 employees and they are planning to expand their indirect business volume to 5,000 employees. It was announced that Megane Sedan's replacement Fluence would be manufactured in Bursa Oyak Renault plant. $250 million of investment will be made for Fluence, the latest and the most important manufacturing of Renault-Nissan joint venture, $110 million of which will be made by Oyak Renault.

China's DFM, distributed by MGY, builds a facility worth of $250 million

China's third biggest automotive manufacturer Dong Feng Motor (DFM) is investing in a production unit in Turkey with a new investment worth $250 million. DFM, with an annual production capacity of 1.3 million units -above Turkey's total capacity of 1.1 million units- is planning to produce 52.000 vehicles per annum, providing employment opportunities for 1,000 people. While the feasibility studies on the site will continue, DFM aims to start construction works in the first quarter of 2010. The production plan consists of mini Pick-Up, double-cab LCV and passenger cars. As of 2008, DFM employs 12,000 people, the global turnover of the company is $15 billion. DFM manufactures military vehicles for Chinese army and is the official manufacturer of Honda, Nissan, Citroen, Peugeot, and KIA in China. Alpaslan Korkmaz, President of Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency stated that they have been negotiating for this investment for 1.5 years. The negotiations were carried on by MGY, the Turkish distributor of DFM.

The Cheapest Vehicle in Turkey

MGY is DFM's distributor in Turkey since 2008. The marketing price of DFM trucks in Turkey is 12.690 TL and DFM Van is 14.690 TL.

Turkey Becomes Manufacturing Base of Bostik

French petroleum company Total will make Turkey their production base for East Europe, Middle East and North Africa with its investment in construction chemicals industry under the brand of Bostik. The company's statement says: "Once completed, the production facility will be Turkey's third facility in construction chemicals field and Bostik will make Turkey its regional production base." It is informed that the company will invest 9 million Euros for 26.000 square meter plant which will start operation in 2011.

POSCO Builds Flat Steel Manufacturing Facility in Bursa

World's fourth largest steel manufacturer, South Korea's Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) will invest $24 million to construct a flat steel manufacture plant in Bursa.  President of Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency, Alpaslan Korkmaz said that POSCO aim to achieve an annual production capacity of 170.000 meter that will focus on automotive industry. The construction of POSCO's new facility will start by the end of the year. POSCO has 35 plants worldwide with 18,000 employees.

Giant Hotel Chains Follow Turkey

International hotel chains follow Turkey closely. While Hilton plans to open 13 new hotels by 2011, Akfen Group partnering with Accor Group wants to open 60 hotels in Turkey by the end of 2019. Marriott carries on negotiations for 12 to 13 new hotels.

Işıl Dinçer, General Manager of TSKB Real Estate Appraisal pointed out that hotels generally stood out in their appraisals for the last month and said: "The investors are in search of hotels, especially in Anatolian side of Istanbul." President of International Association of Travel and Tourism,  Hülya Aslantaş said that hotel chains that do not currently operate in Turkey are keeping a close eye for investment opportunities.

Source: www.stargazete.com