The Middle East

After a brief dip following the onset of the global financial crisis, the telecoms sector has made a robust recovery, exceeding pre-crisis subscriber numbers in 2012. The domestic mobile network is now comparable to that of North America and Western Europe, in terms of penetration and services, with fixed-line services already reaching the majority of the population. A heavy tax regime is...

A favourable climate and proximity to affluent Europe and the dry Middle East make Turkey a global breadbasket and a natural destination for investors. Foreign direct investment is at unprecedented levels, reaching a total of $2.1bn by October 2012. Major government infrastructure projects are also set to boost the agriculture industry in the coming years. The sector is hampered by high levels...

Despite substantial roadway expansion in the last five years, the country has struggled to keep up with rapid growth of car ownership, often resulting in congestion. Much more investment is necessary, not least because economic progress is creating new infrastructure needs. The most ambitious of several proposed highway expansion plans is the North Marmara Highway, which would link Izmir and...

The construction sector is riding high on the back of a raft of major infrastructure projects, particularly in road and bridge development, and an ongoing urban regeneration plan that will see one-third of the country’s houses torn down and rebuilt. After shrinking in 2009 as the result of a financial crisis, the sector helped lead the economic recovery by growing by 18.3% and 11.5% in 2010 and...

Accounting for between a quarter and a third of GDP, Turkey’s industrial sector is a global player in areas as diverse as automotive, ready-to-wear, chemicals and retail. A major source of Europe’s industrial imports – as well as a destination for the continent’s exports – Turkey also carried out significant trade in industrial goods with the Middle East, Central Asia and beyond. Despite the...

Now ranked the world’s 17th biggest economy with a GDP of nearly $790bn, Turkey, the prime minister claims, will become the 10th largest in 10 years’ time. To fuel that kind of growth, the country needs energy. Situated between the hydrocarbons-rich Middle East and energy-hungry Europe, but with negligible reserves of its own, Turkey has long been viewed as a transit state. While that...