The World Bank approved on December 16, a second Competitiveness and Employment Sector Development Policy Loan (CEDPL 2) for Turkey in the amount of € 342.8 million.

The CEDPL series of loans supports the Turkish Government’s program of legal, institutional, and structural reforms aimed at promoting growth and job creation. The second operation in the series, CEDPL 2 supports policies implemented since mid-2007 in three broad areas:

(i) Investment Climate—including the new research and development law, the reform of customs administration, the amendment of the Land Registry Law, and the further advancement of privatization;
(ii) Financial Sector—including the new Insurance Law as well as new regulations to improve corporate governance in the capital markets, which will help to mobilize domestic and foreign savings; and
(iii) Employment and Skills—including the first phase of the labor market reform, as part of a broader strategy to expand job opportunities in Turkey.

“Turkey’s program aims to improve international competitiveness and the conditions for private investment and the creation of jobs, particularly in the formal sector. The CEDPL 2 is a fixed-spread Euro-denominated loan, with a final maturity of 23.5 years, including a grace period of 12 years.

EBRD recently released the "Transtion Report 2008" on the main economic and reform developments in its member countries. The Report also includes an assessment of how the global financial crisis is affecting the transition region. The special theme this year is growth. Using various data sources, the Report looks at the roles that education, competition policy and export structure can play in shaping a country's long-term growth performance, and examines the experience and potential role of industrial policy in the region.

Brussels - Belgium, November 25

BUSINESSEUROPE and the Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation (AEB) organized a seminar entitled “EU Business in Russia: Trends and Challenges 2008/2009” on November 25 in Brussels. At the seminar, the AEB gave a presentation on the state of the Russian economy and the role the AEB. AEB representatives also elaborated on more specific policies and issues affecting European businesses in Russia such as investment, energy and customs, visa and migration, SPS measures and  automotive sector.
 

The First Black Sea Partnership Forum for Cereals and Cereal - based products will take place on November 12-13 in Kiev, Ukraine. The Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (BSTIP) is a joint initiative of the Government of the Hellenic Republic, of the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the United nations development Programme (UNDP) aiming at supporting the regional economic integration process in the Black Sea region through private sector driven initiatives.

FIFTH VIENNA ECONOMIC FORUM
Vienna - Austria, 10 - 11 November
 
The 5th Vienna Annual Economic Forum will take place in Vienna, Austria on November 10 - 11. This year the 5th VEF will concentrate on four main topics:
- Financing of Investments – Assistance from the EU and International Finance Institution’s
- Energy: Responsibility for the Future
- Connecting and Linking: Transport Corridors, Post, Telecommunication
- Corporate Responsibility in the field of Education – Challenges for the Investors in the Region

For more: www.vienna-economic-forum.com

The fourth annual “Competitiveness Congress,” organized by the Federation of Industrial Associations (SEDEFED), took place on November 6, 2008 in Istanbul. The TUSIAD and Sabanci University Competitiveness Forum (REF) organized the first “Competitiveness Congress” in 2005 in order to elevate dialogue between the business, public, academic, and civil society communities about the ability to continue and increase the strength of competitiveness in real sectors of the economy. This year’s event was about “Global Anticipation: Managing Scenarios for the Turkish Business World”.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM on EUROPE and CENTRAL ASIA
Istanbul, Turkey, Oct 30 – Nov 1

The World Economic Forum’s “Europe and Central Asia” meeting was held in Istanbul, Turkey between October 30 and November 1st. The meeting brought together international and regional business leaders, government representatives and media personnel, along with cultural and religious leaders from across Europe, Turkey, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East to “explore the common challenges faced by the regions and to map the path toward a common collaborative future.”

The meeting enjoyed participation from nine heads of states or governments, 21 ministers and over 40 other public figures. The heads of states or governments included Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey, Sali Berisha, PM of Albania, Igor Chudinov, PM of Kyrgyzstan, Milo Djukanovic, PM of Montenegro, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, PM of Pakistan, Vladimer Gurgenidze, PM of Georgia, Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, Hashim Thaci, PM of Kosovo and Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia.

The first World Economic Forum on Europe and Central Asia concluded on a note of cautious optimism. Although there was general acknowledgement that the financial crisis will have an impact on emerging markets, the enormous growth potential of the region is likely to soften the impact considerably. Improvements in transportation networks, telecommunications and regional cooperation are also powerful incentives that are likely to spur new investment. Turkey was singled out as having very strong potential, in part due to the strong growth of a dynamic middle class.

For more: www.weforum.org

 

GOING GLOBAL: THE WAY FORWARD
Brussels, Belgium, October 28

BUSINESSEUROPE hosted on October 28, a major conference on European companies standing in international markets and the role of EU policies in supporting them. The conference, which attracted well over 500 participants, was also an opportunity for BUSINESSEUROPE to present a study on the impact of EU policies on Europe’s export competitiveness. In addition to interventions from Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel and Commissioner for Education, Training and Culture Jan Figel, the conference heard the first public intervention of new Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton.

EBRD BOARD RECOMMENDS BANK INVEST IN TURKEY
 

Turkey joins the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a country of operations and will rank as the second largest economy in the EBRD region. Turkey has been a shareholder of the EBRD since the Bank was founded in 1991 and made a request in April this year for a change in its EBRD status to become a Country of Operations. EBRD decided to allocate €150 million to be invested in Turkey in 2009 and €300 million in 2010.
 

TRANSFORMATION of SMEs
Istanbul - Turkey, October 8

Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TURKONFED), representing 9 federations, 96 business associations and 9600 business people, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations of Turkey. Introducing the common issues of the business, developing solutions and influencing the government are among the goals of TURKONFED.

As in most economies, small and medium – sized enterprises (SMEs) of Turkey face many problems. However, some of these SMEs manage to tackle these problems, grow rapidly, especially by following innovative processes. Taking this statement as the reference point, TURKONFED started a project, aiming to analyze successful SMEs, finding common approaches and methods for improvement and prepare a report which will serve as a guide to SMEs of Turkey.

TURKONFED is also collaborating with Endeavor Turkey for the project. Together we are working on selecting TURKONFED - Endeavor Entrepreneurs and introducing SMEs of Anatolia to global networks.

As a major part of the project TURKONFED hosted a symposium titled “Transformation of SMEs” on October 8th 2008, in Istanbul. The opening speeches was given by Mr. Celal Beysel, the president of TURKONFED and Mr. Nazım Ekren, Cabinet Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey. After a brief summary of TURKONFED’s studies on SMEs, SME policies at national, European and international level was discussed. Symposium was proceed with a presentation of Endeavor on high impact entrepreneurship. The final discussion of the symposium was on innovative SMEs.

Symposium Programme
 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently published its World Economic Outlook 2008 on Financial Stress, Downturns and Recovers. According to the report the world economy is decelerating quickly—buffeted by an extraordinary financial shock and by still-high energy and commodity prices—and many advanced economies are close to or moving into recession.

The World Economic Outlook presents the IMF staff's analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups and in many individual countries. It focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects. It is usually prepared twice a year, as documentation for meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, and forms the main instrument of the IMF's global surveillance activities.

International Energy Agency (IEA) has recently published a review on European Union's energy policies. For the first time, the IEA has reviewed the energy policies of the EU which shape the energy use of almost 500 million citizens in 27 EU member countries. A unique entity governed under complex and almost constantly evolving structures, the EU constitutes a challenge for energy policy makers. Its energy policy has a global impact, not only because of its 16% share of world energy demand, but also because of the EU leadership in addressing climate change.