TRADE and FINANCE - OIC - TOBB head urges Muslim countries to increase economic cooperation

www.todayszaman.com - Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized on Wednesday the importance of taking concrete steps to increase economic cooperation and investments between Muslim countries.

Speaking to participants at the 28th General Assembly meeting of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in İstanbul, Hisarcıklıoğlu described the transformation taking place in global politics and economics, as well as developments in the Middle East and North Africa. “As private sector representatives from our countries, we have a major role to take on. Our countries are full of entrepreneurs who are looking for investment opportunities,” he said. (source)

TRADE - OIC - Turkey welcomes large number of Iranian firms

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - The number of Iranian firms established in Turkey registered a record increase last year, according to Anatolia news agency.

Some 590 Iranian firms were established while the number of Iranian joint ventures hit a total of 2,140. Iran was also the number-one country in terms of the increase in the number of firms in Turkey, hitting 41 percent in 2011. (source)

BANKING - Global bank hub SWIFT ready to cut off Iran

www.cbsnews.com - BRUSSELS - An international banking clearinghouse crucial to Iran's oil sales said Friday that it is preparing to discontinue services to Iranian financial institutions, an unprecedented and potentially devastating blow to Tehran as the West ramps up a campaign to stop its nuclear program.
The statement by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, known as SWIFT, suggests that the European Union — under pressure from Washington — is close to approving regulations that will require the Brussels-based hub to evict Iranian institutions from its ranks. (source)

FINANCE - Turkish Bank in Spotlight for Iran Deals as Sanctions Tighten

www.wsj.com - ISTANBUL—Amid tightening U.S. and European Union sanctions against Iran, almost all of Turkey's banks have stopped handling trade deals with the Islamic Republic, leaving one Turkish lender to rake in all that business: state-owned Halkbank.

Washington passed sanctions in January threatening to penalize financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank, forcing Turkey's private lenders to halt transactions with Tehran for fear of being frozen out of international markets. U.S. Treasury officials visited Turkey several times last year to advise financial institutions that doing business with proscribed Iranian entities runs the risk of being frozen out of the U.S. financial system. (source)

TRADE - OIC - PTA - Turkey Expects Bilateral Trade With Malaysia To Increase To US$2 Billion

www.bernama.com - KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Turkey expects its bilateral trade with Malaysia to increase to US$2 billion this year from US$1.75 billion last year, driven by the huge potential in the construction sector and the signing of the free trade agreement (FTA) expected by mid-year.

Commercial counsellor of Turkish Embassy here, Hasan Onal, said from the total, imports from Malaysia were expected to be US$1.8 billion while exports to Malaysia US$225 million.  (source)

CAPITAL MARKETS - TRADE - FINANCE - Turkey offers Gulf ‘perfect match-up’

www.hurriyetdailynews.com - Trade between Turkey and the Gulf offer more than the energy business, say Turkish ministers. Turkey’s plans include restoring a historic rail line to the Gulf

TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu (R) presents Finance Minister Şimşek (C) with a gift at the Turkey-Gulf Business Forum. AA photo (source)

OIC - TRADE - Pakistan not interested in PTA with Turkey

Pakistan is reportedly not interested in Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Turkey as the latter's offered list is not beneficial to the former, well informed sources told Business Recorder.

An official delegation led by Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood is leaving for Turkey on Tuesday (today) to attend Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting in which different economic issues and future economic ties will come under discussion, the sources added.  (source)

FINANCE - TRADE - Turkey, Iran Agree To Raise Bilateral Trade To $30 Billion

www.rttnews.com - Turkey seeks to double bilateral trade with neighboring Iran to $30 billion by 2015, a move aimed at strengthening ties with the Islamic Republic despite the new round of Western sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear defiance.

"Iran and Turkey's relations saw a 70 percent rise in 2011 and I hope that new steps will be taken within the framework of the Joint Commission to help increase the trade volume to $30 billion in 2015," Turkey's Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdogan Bayraktar told a joint economic meeting held in capital Ankara on Thursday. (source)

OIC - WORLD - TRADE - Inter-Islamic countries trades booming

International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) inter-Islamic countries trade has risen to 17 pc.

Members of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are aimed at increasing the trade to 20 pc by 2015, reported Taqrib News Agency (TNA).

Latest surveys announced by the Center for International Islamic Trade Development, affiliated to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) shows that the trade between Islamic countries has risen to 17pc while the members of OIC are aimed at increasing the number to 20 pc. (source)

GENERAL - Turkey's PM tells businessmen to boost Iran trade

ISTANBUL, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Turkey wants to triple its trade volume with Iran within five years, Turkey's prime minister told businessmen on Thursday, at a time when sanctions are scaring off Western investors from the Islamic Republic.