The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey
(TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu received the European Free
Trade Association (EFTA) Parliament Committee Delegation at his
office. During the meeting focus was on strengthening economic
relations between EFTA and Turkey. Providing a briefing on TOBB,
Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the need to take advantage of the
opportunities and remove obstacles in order to strengthen relations
between EFTA and Turkey. Stating that they support the expansion of
the EFTA Agreement in order to cover the service sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu
underlined the fact that there are significant opportunities in regards to
the healthcare sector as well.
A new era has
begun for EU citizens
as of the 1st of
January, 2015, in
regards to energy
efficiency. With this,
the labeling of cooking
appliances and the mandatory addition of standby
mode for coffee makers, modems and receivers in
addition to bringing changes in regards to appliances
used in business places and in homes. A savings of 45
Euros per household in the EU is predicted.
According to the European Commission’s
estimates, all eco design and energy labeling efforts
will result in yearly savings equal to 166 million tons of
petroleum or the equivalent of Italy’s primary energy
consumption. With regards to the environmental
impact, the new legislation which entered into effect
as of the 1st of January, 2015, carbon emissions will
have dropped to 15 million tons by 2020.
EKONOMİK
FORUM
129
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Mehmet Baybulat AŞETEY
TOBB Bilgi Erişim Uzman Yardımcısı
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A new age
in retail
Small home appliances
under the lens for austerity
in 2015
Until recently,
the retail sector
was considered
simple, quiet and,
for the most part,
off the record. In the
last 30-40 years, it has become one of the sectors
which drives the growth of Turkey’s economy. The
development trend of the retail sector is leaning
towards development in the Organized Retail
Sector (Malls). There is a significant consumer
transformation towards this trend in Turkey,
especially in the urbanized population.
As of the end of 2014, there are 338 malls active
in Turkey. Of these, 112 are in İstanbul while the
number of newly opened malls in 2014 was 13; the
total number of visitors to all malls was 1.7 billion.
Retail trade volume conducted in malls totaled 75
billion TRY. The highest turnover increase for 2014
was the clothing category with 11.9%. During the
year, the average employment provided by malls was
approximately 400,000.
The law much anticipated and requested by the
retail sector brings important changes to the sector
as well as changes and obligations for the Organized
Retail Sector. The law will bring a unified structure
to the retail sector in Turkey.
A new age
in retail
Turkey’s global pride:
Maritime transportation
and ship construction sector
TOBB İMEAK Maritime Chambers of Commerce (DTO) Council Meeting
was hosted by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu at the TOBB Union Center
with the attendances of the Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and
Communication Lütfi Elvan and Council members.
In his speech at the opening of the meeting, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that
the maritime sector is one of the star sectors of Turkey. Stating that the ship
construction industry has become a brand name throughout the world,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the sector has become able to construction any type of
ship and went on:
“57% of the 407 billion foreign trade volume is transported via ship. The
shipping cost of this is approximately 12 billion USD. Only 12% of this is carried by
the Turkish fleet. This creates a deficit of 8 billion USD in maritime transportation.
These figures, carried on to 2023 would bring the share of the transportation
of foreign trade goods by the maritime sector up to 65-70%. Considering we will
have a foreign trade volume of 1.2 trillion USD, the deficit we encounter today will
increase up to 30 billion USD. We must take precautions against this presently and
strengthen our fleet.”
