Iranians Registered the Most Foreign Investment Companies in Turkey
According to statistics published in Turkey, Iranians broke the record for registering the most foreign investment companies in Turkey during the first ten months of 2019. An expert based in Istanbul explained the reasons for this development in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
According to statistics from the “General Assembly of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges” (Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birliği) for the first ten months of the current calendar year, from January to October, 10,682 foreign investment companies were established in Turkey. Among these, Iranian citizens ranked first with 49 joint-stock companies and 772 limited liability companies registered.
According to these statistics, the number of registered companies in Turkish major cities has increased, with the highest number of joint-stock companies registered in Istanbul, followed by Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and Muğla in subsequent rankings.
Data from the General Assembly of Turkish Chambers and Commodity Exchanges shows that in establishing joint-stock companies, Iranians ranked at the top with 49 companies founded. Germany followed with 45 companies, Azerbaijan with 31 companies, the United States with 22 companies, the Netherlands with 19 companies, and the United Arab Emirates with 17 companies respectively in the subsequent rankings.
Iranian citizens also secured the first place in establishing limited liability companies and founded the most companies in Turkey during the first ten months of the year with 772 companies. After Iran, Syrian investors with 684 companies, Saudi Arabia with 362 companies, Jordan with 288 companies, Iraqis with 274 companies, and Egyptians with 260 companies ranked in subsequent positions.
But what was the reason for establishing these companies by Iranians and what factors have attracted Iranian citizens more to Turkey’s market?
Deutsche Welle posed this question to Mohammad Saleh Khatemii, an expert on Iran-Turkey affairs. In response to this question, he explained that the record set in establishing companies by Iranians was “not an entirely unexpected matter” and given the problems that Iranian companies face in the Emirates as well as the diversity of this country’s market, the establishment of Iranian companies in Turkey seems natural.
According to this Istanbul-based expert, one of the most important reasons for registering companies in Turkey by Iran and Iranian nationals is the attempt to circumvent Iran’s sanctions. He further added: “Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, has repeatedly expressed his strong opposition to Iran’s sanctions by the United States and even in November 2018 at a meeting of the ruling “Justice and Development” party stated that Turkey would never comply with American sanctions against Iran.”
Capital Flight of Iranian Investors
Saleh Khatemii continued his explanation by pointing to several other factors that have caused Iranian investors to increasingly turn toward Turkey’s market.
He emphasized: “In addition to the sanctions issue, some Iranian investors, given the uncertain economic outlook of Iran and the relative stability of the Turkish lira, prefer to invest their assets in Turkey rather than witness a decline in the value of their property, and in addition to investing, they also seek to obtain Turkish residency if possible.”
According to this expert, the purchase of real estate and properties by Iranians in Turkey is another manifestation of this investment. While pointing to the conditions of easy company registration in Turkey, he noted that unlike Iran, registering a company in Turkey is done very easily and companies registered in Turkey have various tax exemptions, and these advantages have turned Turkey into a reliable ground for investment.
Source: DW
