TUSKON's Meral tells Turkish firms in Germany to open to world

Turkish-owned businesses in Germany should exert more effort to branch out into different world markets, a top Turkish union told entrepreneurs in Frankfurt on Thursday.

Addressing a panel organized by the Frankfurt Businessmen Union (Frankfurter Unternehmen Verein-FUV), Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) Chairman Rızanur Meral said Turkish investors in Germany have achieved success in adapting to European markets and now it is time to seek investment opportunities in the remaining part of the global markets. “Germany and Europe are developed markets where risk is very little, but the chances are also limited to boost your profits. … I would suggest that Turkish-owned firms in the developed world should turn their attention to developing markets,” Meral said.

Unofficial data shows more than 100,000 small, medium and large-sized Turkish-owned firms in Germany provide jobs for thousands of people and generate billions of euros in returns. The country is home to Europe's largest Turkish minority, estimated at more than 3.5 million.

Meral asserted that Turkish companies based in Europe will find it easier to find investment opportunities in emerging markets where Turkey-based entrepreneurs have cultivated good relations over the past decade. The TUSKON head also highlighted that Turkish companies in Europe and Germany should also place emphasis on sharing expertise with local firms in each country and join powers with them to invest in emerging markets.

Also speaking at the event, FUV Secretary-General Metin Cavlak said they would organize more trade fairs and meetings abroad to encourage Germany-based Turkish firms to open to promising emerging markets.

A nongovernmental and non-profit umbrella organization for seven business federations, 211 business associations and more than 55,000 entrepreneurs from all over the country, TUSKON is the most effective business group representing Turkey abroad. It was set up in 2005 and has concentrated on the economic and social development of Turkey. It has four foreign representation offices, in Brussels, Washington, Moscow and Beijing, and partner organizations in a further 140 different countries. It now boasts the strongest domestic and international business network in Turkey.

Published on Today's Zaman, 04 April 2014, Friday