Automotive Exports December 2019

Turkey rises in World Bank’s
business index
Turkey has jumped up 10 places to be
33rd among 190 nations in the World
Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index
released on Oct. 24, the country’s vice
president said.
In a statement, Fuat Oktay, Vice
President of Turkey said that Turkey
has gained an important achievement
in the economic field as well, along
with the achievements gained both on
the ground and at the table, referring
to the country’s counter-terrorism
operation in northern Syria and recent
agreements with the U.S. and Russia.
“There is an improvement of 27 places
compared to the index of two years ago,
when Turkey ranked 60th on the index,”
Oktay said.
He said the achievement was gained
despite “manipulation attempts and
attacks on the Turkish economy.”
Stating that the recent gain is “never
enough” for Turkey, he added: “Our
primary goal is to be ranked 20th on the
index.”
Under the leadership of President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey will
continue its works to encourage both
domestic and foreign investors to
do direct investment furthermore in
Turkey, the vice president added.
Turkey’s doing business score was
76.8 in the report, while New Zealand
ranked first with 86.8 and Somalia
scored the worst, 20, to come last.
New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong
Kong took the first three places in the
report’s 2020 edition.
Turkey was 69th in 2017, 60th in 2018,
and 43rd in the 2019 editions of the
report.
The report said: “Turkey made
property registration less expensive by
temporarily reducing mortar charges
to transfer property, and faster by
reducing the time to obtain a tax
assessment.”
It added that the country eased taxes by
granting a value-added tax exemption
for some capital investments.
Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry
said in a press release that Turkey
jumped in the list thanks to reform
studies under the leadership of the
ministry.
“Reforms increased efficiency and
activity in the Turkish business life by
reducing costs and processing times,”
it said. Berat Albayrak, the treasury
and finance minister, also tweeted that
Turkey will continue to make reforms.
“We will move up Turkey’s investment
climate to the top level by providing
productivity in business life and
reducing costs more,” he said.
Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, the head of the
Union of Chambers and Commodity
Exchanges of Turkey, said the report
will be a reference point for foreign
investors.
“This breakthrough, in our economic
conditions, is an indicator for showing
that Turkey continues to make needed
reforms to boost investments and
employment,” he added.
December 2019
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