From Russia to Turkey.. International companies move their commercial activity

International companies, affected by the Russian war on Ukraine, began to move their headquarters from Russia to Turkey, as it is a safe haven in the region and an important base for trade.

In particular, American companies, which occupy the second place in international capital investments, focused on conducting business visits to Turkey in order to learn about cooperation possibilities and evaluate investment opportunities in the country.

According to Anadolu Agency, the outbreak of the Corona epidemic and the war launched by Russia against Ukraine have affected a number of Western investment companies operating in Russia.

The information indicated that a group of the mentioned companies began shifting their investment weight from Russia to Turkey, taking into account the presence of opportunities, energy prices, transportation fees and manpower.

She pointed out that the Corona pandemic and the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war cast a heavy shadow on the activity of Western companies in Russia and their investment plans.

The world's leading companies - which support the sanctions of many countries and international organizations against Russia - have preferred to stop their activities there, withdraw from this market and look for alternatives.

After stopping their activities in Russia, international companies, looking for a secure and stable environment, began to coordinate their regional operations and investments through new headquarters opened in Turkey.

High Level Visits

During the last period, the Americans have emerged at the forefront of international investors who pay attention to visiting Turkey and studying its investment potential.

In response to the invitation of Washington's ambassador to Ankara, Jeff Flake, regarding 5,000 American companies that were preparing to leave Russia and come to Turkey, major American investors began conducting visits to this country in order to see investment potential and cooperation opportunities.

In this context, the President of the American Chamber of Commerce, Myron Brilliant, visited Turkey, accompanied by a delegation of investors, in order to hold talks with Turkish counterparts regarding the possibilities of cooperation and the development of economic relations.

During the meetings, Am Cham Turkey - which represents 110 US-based companies operating in Turkey with investments of nearly $50 billion - will explain and explain investment opportunities in Turkey, and provide Brilliant and American businessmen in the accompanying delegation with the necessary information.

Anatolia also indicated that the American delegation intends - during its visit to Turkey - to meet with some ministers and representatives of the business world to discuss topics related to a list of American investments that aim to reach the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to $100 billion, and to organize many activities that focus on supporting investments. mutual.

A Turkish delegation comprising senior officials, parliamentarians and businessmen went to the United States as part of the "commercial diplomacy activities" being organized in Washington and New York, in coordination with the Turkish Presidency's Liaison Office and the Turkish Exporters Association.

As part of the visit, which is scheduled to last until March 18, the Turkish delegation began conducting commercial and diplomatic contacts in Washington, DC and New York City, in addition to holding talks with counterparts in the United States dealing with various aspects of economic relations, in an initiative that would strengthen and consolidate economic ties. Between the two countries, especially the export and investment sectors.

international investments

According to the information collected by the Anatolia correspondent from the data of the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic, the value of direct international investments in the country was 15 billion dollars in 2002, while it exceeded 240 billion by the end of 2021.

Until the end of last year, the flow of international capital investment to Turkey amounted to 174 billion and 212 million dollars, while the value of investments by American companies in Turkey amounted to 14 billion and 97 million dollars, equivalent to 8.1% of the value of foreign investments.

In 2021, American companies ranked second after the Netherlands, whose companies' investments in Turkey amounted to $27.4 billion.

The number of foreign companies operating in Turkey reached 76,737 by the end of 2021, of which 2030 are American companies.

After the start of the Russian war against Ukraine, American companies announced their withdrawal from the Russian market, led by Ford, Boeing, General Motors, ExxonMobil, FedEx and Nike. adidas, McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Airbnb.

The list of American companies withdrawing from the Russian markets also included: Netflix, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Apple and others, while a group of these companies conducted assessments of investment opportunities in Russia. Turkey and a number of countries in the region.

Earlier, several international companies - led by Swedish Ikea for furniture, Polish LLP for ready-made clothes, German Boehringer Ingelheim for pharmaceuticals, and Belgian DW Reusables for packaging - announced plans to transfer their investments to Turkey, in order to reduce the damage caused to it during the Corona pandemic stage.