Wednesday, April 13, 2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
It is not likely for Turkish construction companies to restart business in Libya this year, a business representative tells the Hürriyet Daily News. Hardships in money transactions and insurance add to current security problems. Turkish businesses should focus on new markets to compensate for export losses in North Africa and the Middle East, says another
 Libyan rebel fighters gather aboard a fishing boat which was stocked up with weapons, munitions and food supplies in the eastern Libyan port city of Benghazi in this Tuesday photo. 'Turkey has to be in risky waters,' says Tahsin Öztiryaki, vice chairman of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly or TİM. AFP photo |
Turkish firms, particularly in the business of construction, with vast investments in Libya will need months to restart operations in the country, said a business representative.
“I do not think Turkish firms can restart operations again in Libya this year,” Hüseyin Ersin Takla, chairperson of Turkish-Libyan Business Council at Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, DEİK, told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Turkish businessmen have a total of $96 million savings in Libyan banks, he said.
The total volume of the guarantee letters for construction projects totaled nearly $1.5 billion at the end of last year.
Although employees and executives of Turkish firms have already left Libya due to protests and violence in the country, said Takla they are still facing serious problems with the operations, contracts, insurance, credit and payments for completed construction projects.
“Most of the contracts signed according to district laws vary from one to the other,” he said, adding that they might not be quite so binding.
Insurance policies of Turkish construction machinery are mostly at Libyan insurance companies, he said.
Due to the United Nations sanctions on Libya, money transactions are impossible, he said. “The only way the transactions could be done is through A&T, a joint-venture, 63.99 percent of which is owned by Arabs and 36.01 percent by Turks,” Takla said. “The remaining banks in Libya cannot make transactions.”
North African countries, mainly Libya, are crucial for the Turkish construction sector and building materials businesses, said Hüseyin Bilmaç, the chairperson of the Association of the Turkish Building Material Producers, or İMSAD, at the meeting.
“It is a market that we don’t want to lose. We consider this process as a short break,” said Bilmaç.
New focus: Africa
Libya has nearly a 2 percent share in Turkey’s total volume of current exports, said Tahsin Öztiryaki, vice chairman of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly or TİM. “Certainly we are not going to sit and cry for our export losses in Libya but look for new alternatives,” he said.
Öztiryaki told the Daily News that other African countries might well compensate the export loss triggered by the political turmoil spreading across North Africa and Middle East.
“We will focus on new markets,” he said. “Recently with a delegation of Turkish businessmen we have visited Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Gabon, and we were amazed with the trade and investment potential.”
Turkish construction companies inked deals for various projects worth of nearly $350 million during a group visit to Ecuador, he said.
Noting that India, Indonesia and Iraq have crucial importance for Turkish exporters, Öztiryaki said Turkey could compensate the loss in any of these other markets easily. “Northern Iraq is the top priority in trade relations and investment of Turkish firms,” he said.
Responding to a Daily News question on risks in Africa, he said, “Turkey has to be in risky waters.”
“I do not think Turkish firms can restart operations again in Libya this year,” Hüseyin Ersin Takla, chairperson of Turkish-Libyan Business Council at Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, DEİK, told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Turkish businessmen have a total of $96 million savings in Libyan banks, he said.
The total volume of the guarantee letters for construction projects totaled nearly $1.5 billion at the end of last year.
Although employees and executives of Turkish firms have already left Libya due to protests and violence in the country, said Takla they are still facing serious problems with the operations, contracts, insurance, credit and payments for completed construction projects.
“Most of the contracts signed according to district laws vary from one to the other,” he said, adding that they might not be quite so binding.
Insurance policies of Turkish construction machinery are mostly at Libyan insurance companies, he said.
Due to the United Nations sanctions on Libya, money transactions are impossible, he said. “The only way the transactions could be done is through A&T, a joint-venture, 63.99 percent of which is owned by Arabs and 36.01 percent by Turks,” Takla said. “The remaining banks in Libya cannot make transactions.”
North African countries, mainly Libya, are crucial for the Turkish construction sector and building materials businesses, said Hüseyin Bilmaç, the chairperson of the Association of the Turkish Building Material Producers, or İMSAD, at the meeting.
“It is a market that we don’t want to lose. We consider this process as a short break,” said Bilmaç.
New focus: Africa
Libya has nearly a 2 percent share in Turkey’s total volume of current exports, said Tahsin Öztiryaki, vice chairman of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly or TİM. “Certainly we are not going to sit and cry for our export losses in Libya but look for new alternatives,” he said.
Öztiryaki told the Daily News that other African countries might well compensate the export loss triggered by the political turmoil spreading across North Africa and Middle East.
“We will focus on new markets,” he said. “Recently with a delegation of Turkish businessmen we have visited Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya and Gabon, and we were amazed with the trade and investment potential.”
Turkish construction companies inked deals for various projects worth of nearly $350 million during a group visit to Ecuador, he said.
Noting that India, Indonesia and Iraq have crucial importance for Turkish exporters, Öztiryaki said Turkey could compensate the loss in any of these other markets easily. “Northern Iraq is the top priority in trade relations and investment of Turkish firms,” he said.
Responding to a Daily News question on risks in Africa, he said, “Turkey has to be in risky waters.”
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