Real estate investors eye Turkey
09/01/2013
Turkey has made a large jump on the list of countries commercial investors want to put their money. Also in business news: two Serbian firms will provide electricity to Kosovo.
 Foreign commercial investments have increased this year in Turkey. [AFP] |
Turkey is ranked fourth on the list of places where global commercial real estate investors would prefer to put their money this year, according to an annual survey released by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate on Monday (January 7th). The country was ranked ninth on last year's list. Among emerging markets, Turkey moved up four places from last year.
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Bulgaria had the highest rate of illegal economic activity among the EU's 27 member states in 2012, according to a European Commission report, published on Monday (January 7th). The share of this type of activity in the country stands at 31.9 percent of GDP. Romania is also high on the list with 29.1 percent.
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Two Serbian energy companies have been selected through tender to supply electricity to Kosovo, Pristina-based daily Zeri reported. The firms, Gen and Rudnap, will be in charge of the supplies until May 2013, when control over Kosovo's Energy Corporation will be taken over by Turkey's Calik-Limak.
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Greece's Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation announced on Monday (January 7th) that its voluntary redundancy plan has been accepted by about 1,500 workers. This will allow the company to reduce its operating costs by about 80 million euros a year and boost its competitiveness, the company said.
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Turkey would like to see its trade volume with African countries reach $50 billion by 2015, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said prior to a six-day tour to Gabon, Niger and Senegal on Sunday (January 6th). Erdogan will meet local officials and businessmen and sign several agreements. Last year, Turkey's trade with Africa stood at $17 billion.
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A new factory to produce BMW and Mercedes car parts will be built near the Macedonian town of Veles, Vele Samak, minister without portfolio responsible for attracting foreign investments, said on Monday (January 7th). Samak said 20 million euros will be invested in the facility, which will create 600 jobs.
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Serbia will start building its section of the South Stream gas pipeline in the end of January, Minister of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning Milan Bacevic told Beta news agency. South Stream's Serbian section will be 470-kilometres long and will pass through 21 municipalities, 11 towns and 10 regions in the country.
(Various sources -- 02/01/13-09/01/13)
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