The Hindu Business Line : ‘Indian cos exploring opportunities in Turkey’

New Delhi, July 13A host of Indian companies, including State-owned companies, are eyeing opportunities in Turkey, according to the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of the Republic of Turkey (ISPAT).

While public sector undertakings Ircon International and Rail India Technical and Economic Services are bidding for certain rail projects in Turkey, exploration major ONGC is scouting for oil and gas assets in the Central Asian country, said Mr Ravi Chaudhry, India Representative of ISPAT.

Live Bidding

“The bidding for Government projects in Turkey is absolutely transparent with the final stages of the process shown live on television,” added Mr Chaudhry.

GMR Infra has just bagged a Rs 11,000-crore contract to upgrade the second airport in the Turkish capital Istanbul.

A lot of pharmaceutical companies are also looking for opportunities in Turkey as the country offers a gateway to Europe, Africa, West Asia and Russia among others. Mining too is attracting the Indian corporate sector.

“A lot of companies are trying to acquire licences to mine copper and iron apart from other minerals,” said Mr Alpaslan Korkmaz, President and CEO, ISPAT.

The country has also declared ‘Free Zones’ that offer several concessions including waiver of Value Added Tax. “Indian plastic film maker Polyplex took advantage of the Free Zones and set up its business in the country,” said Mr Korkmaz.

Turkey has Free Trade Agreements with 14 countries and 10 more agreements are expected to be signed soon. The GDP of the country doubled in the last four years from about $200 billion in 2002 to about $400 billion in 2006.