Forum talks local but thinks global
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Betül Çal
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 27, 2008 00:00
ANTALYA - Businessmen from the southern cities of Turkey come together in Antalya to define the agenda of the forthcoming Commerce and Industry Forum. Discussions about regional problems and global economic crisis will be the main subjects at the fifth edition of the forum.
Several chairmen of various industries came together at the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry in order to reach a consensus about the current regional problems to be highlighted at the 5th Turkey Commerce and Industry Forum.
The chairmen, from the commerce and industry chambers and mercantile exchanges in Antalya, Burdur, Isparta and the surrounding districts in the Mediterranean region, agreed on five main topics.
The topics included financial incentives, increment of investment aid, employment, financing of the small-to-medium-size enterprises, or SMEs, and the foundation of a development agency, according to data obtained from the Isparta Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"In our previous meetings, we had come to agreement to discuss only the regional problems at the forum; with the economic crisis hitting the world markets, we changed our agenda so as to include the economic course of events," İlhami Kaplan, chairman of Antalya Union of Commodity Exchanges, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Crisis talk
"The points covered at the forum mainly included the effects of the current economic crisis on Turkey, full guarantee to the bank deposits by the state, credit support to the SMEs, precautions against any lay-off of workers by firms, and the possible options about payment of the value added tax."
With the new mission that Turkey has undertaken, the agricultural and animal husbandry sectors need special attention, noted Kaplan. "Within this scope, we, as the representatives of the Mediterranean region, asked for the allocation of new land for agricultural production, opening of exchange markets for products and professional assessment for product support suitable to the region".
The forum was important in that it questioned the general opinion of the state that the crisis was felt in Turkey, and proposed some immediate precautions for the agenda, he added.
"Feeding on the tourism sector by 95 percent, the Mediterranean economy needs drastic and immediate precautions such as low-interest credit, premium system for the agencies and direct flights to Antalya during the winter months, if we want to expand tourism into a 12 month season and provide more employment," said Şükrü Vural, chairman of Manavgat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hotels closed
"Some 60 percent of the hotels are closed during the winter in the Manavgat district. Despite this, we are not pessimistic about the 2009 tourism year. Apart from tourism, another leading sector in the region is agriculture. We need to develop green housing and controlled agriculture. For this, it is of urgent need to form cultivated areas," he said. "Regardless of the industry differences, we are in the same ship; if it is overturned, all of us will die."
"The primary problem in the private sector is the financing of the real economy," said Hasan Hüseyin Kaçıkoç, chairman of Isparta Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "At this point, the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance have duties such as providing long-term, low-cost finance, decreasing withholding tax."
He added, "It is important that we develop policies that will encourage consumption, increase production and care about employment."
The chairmen, from the commerce and industry chambers and mercantile exchanges in Antalya, Burdur, Isparta and the surrounding districts in the Mediterranean region, agreed on five main topics.
The topics included financial incentives, increment of investment aid, employment, financing of the small-to-medium-size enterprises, or SMEs, and the foundation of a development agency, according to data obtained from the Isparta Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"In our previous meetings, we had come to agreement to discuss only the regional problems at the forum; with the economic crisis hitting the world markets, we changed our agenda so as to include the economic course of events," İlhami Kaplan, chairman of Antalya Union of Commodity Exchanges, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
Crisis talk
"The points covered at the forum mainly included the effects of the current economic crisis on Turkey, full guarantee to the bank deposits by the state, credit support to the SMEs, precautions against any lay-off of workers by firms, and the possible options about payment of the value added tax."
With the new mission that Turkey has undertaken, the agricultural and animal husbandry sectors need special attention, noted Kaplan. "Within this scope, we, as the representatives of the Mediterranean region, asked for the allocation of new land for agricultural production, opening of exchange markets for products and professional assessment for product support suitable to the region".
The forum was important in that it questioned the general opinion of the state that the crisis was felt in Turkey, and proposed some immediate precautions for the agenda, he added.
"Feeding on the tourism sector by 95 percent, the Mediterranean economy needs drastic and immediate precautions such as low-interest credit, premium system for the agencies and direct flights to Antalya during the winter months, if we want to expand tourism into a 12 month season and provide more employment," said Şükrü Vural, chairman of Manavgat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Hotels closed
"Some 60 percent of the hotels are closed during the winter in the Manavgat district. Despite this, we are not pessimistic about the 2009 tourism year. Apart from tourism, another leading sector in the region is agriculture. We need to develop green housing and controlled agriculture. For this, it is of urgent need to form cultivated areas," he said. "Regardless of the industry differences, we are in the same ship; if it is overturned, all of us will die."
"The primary problem in the private sector is the financing of the real economy," said Hasan Hüseyin Kaçıkoç, chairman of Isparta Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "At this point, the Central Bank and Ministry of Finance have duties such as providing long-term, low-cost finance, decreasing withholding tax."
He added, "It is important that we develop policies that will encourage consumption, increase production and care about employment."