Turkey

Proposed changes to European Commission (EC) regulations governing the scrapping of ships look set to give Turkey’s ship-breaking and metal-processing industries a significant boost by shutting out rivals in Asia from part of this lucrative trade.

New spectrum allocations and a fourth mobile licence offering are expected to provide a fillip for Turkey's telecoms sector, which has benefitted in recent years from rising mobile and internet penetration, driven by its young, tech-savvy population.  

Rising demand for fuel and oil derivatives, combined with an expanding petrochemicals sector, is driving growth in Turkey’s refining industry, with competition set to heat up over the next few years for the increasingly lucrative market. 

As part of an overhaul of the financial markets in Turkey, plans for the Istanbul stock exchange to be floated early next year are gathering pace with Borsa Istanbul (BIST) management looking to offload some of its shares in the bourse ahead of the listing.  

For a regular star-performer among emerging markets, the Turkish economy had a modest year in 2014, with the rate of growth easing and the lira tumbling, though exporters managed to post record earnings despite weaker demand from some key markets. 

Consumer sentiment in Turkey is weakening as the pace of economic growth slows and consumers tighten their purse strings, potentially slowing the retail sector’s stellar performance in recent years.