To be attended by hundreds of high-level investors from around the world, another comprehensive investment summit is set to be held in Istanbul, from which Turkey expects to attract around $3 billion in foreign investment
Turkey is just days away from hosting another major investment summit, during which it will be welcoming hundreds of high-level investors from around the globe and expects to witness a number of major investment deals, with some of them already agreed upon during preliminary meetings even though the event has yet to take place. The most densely populated city in Turkey, Istanbul, is preparing to host the Badeer 1st Business World and Investment Opportunities Summit on Dec. 5-6, within the framework of which Turkey expects to attract $3 billion in foreign investment and launch a billion-dollar investment fund, according to information that Badeer Investment Platform executive board member Ali Ercoşkun, a former Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy, shared in an exclusive interview with Daily Sabah.
Turkey has particularly seen a significant rise in the purchase of real estate by foreigners this year. Property sales to foreign buyers hit 6,276 units in October, pointing to a 134.4 percent increase. The boost in sales was largely supported by expansive campaigns launched by the government and real estate sector as well as legislative amendments to citizenship law. Foreigners purchased a total of 30,431 housing units between January and October this year. This rise came after the Turkish government reduced the limits for foreigners to acquire Turkish citizenship to encourage investment, according to new regulations published in the country’s Official Gazette on Sept. 19.
Accordingly, foreigners who own real estate in Turkey worth a minimum of $250,000, instead of the previous limit of $1 million, can now apply for Turkish citizenship. Turkey’s housing sales to foreigners have presented an upward trend since 2012, the year when parliamentary law made it easier for foreign investors to purchase real estate in the country.
According to the new regulation, the lower limit of fixed capital investments to acquire Turkish citizenship for foreigners has been reduced to $500,000 from $2 million.
The two-day event seeks to make Turkey a center of attraction for medium- and high-level foreign investors, explain the business law in Turkey as well as introducing foreign investors to issues such as citizenship rights, he explained.
The event, which will be held under the auspices of the Trade Ministry and with the support of the Treasury and Finance Ministry, the Presidential Investment Office, the Industry and Technology Ministry and the Culture and Tourism Ministry, aims to bring together around 270 foreign investors from more than 40 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Russia, Japan, France, Qatar, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Turkish authorities, businessmen and business nongovernmental organizations.