The "2025 Outlook for Private Equity Investments in Turkey and Its Surroundings - London" Conference Was Held

The "2025 Outlook for Private Equity Investments in Turkey and Its Surroundings - London" Conference Was Held
The '2025 Outlook for Private Equity Investments in Turkey and Its Surroundings - London' conference, organized by Globalturk Capital in collaboration with the London Stock Exchange, took place in London, the capital of the United Kingdom.

With the support of the Presidential Investment Office and the Global Private Capital Alliance (GPCA), whose members manage $2 trillion in assets globally, the conference featured senior representatives from private equity funds as strategic partners. During the event, which included six panels and sessions, important topics were discussed, including Turkey's attractiveness in terms of private equity, cross-border investments in Turkey and its surrounding regions, and exits through IPOs on the Istanbul Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. The journeys of Turkey's growing large brands abroad were also shared.

In his opening speech, the UK Turkey Trade Ambassador, Member of Parliament Afzal Khan, drew attention to the trade and investment opportunities between Turkey and the UK, highlighting that the trade volume between the two countries reached record levels in the last five years, and there was a noticeable increase in reciprocal direct investments. During the opening, Charlie Walker, Deputy CEO of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and Tom Attenborough, Head of LSE International IPO Markets Business Development, gave a special presentation on "Exit Opportunities for Private Equity at the London Stock Exchange."

Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the Presidential Investment Office, also spoke on the topic "Why You Should Invest in Turkey and Turkey's International Direct Investment Strategy," explaining investment opportunities in Turkey and inviting international fund managers to invest. He said, "While the global investment climate saw an 8% decrease in 2024 compared to the previous year, Turkey managed to attract $11.3 billion in investments with a 5.6% increase. This positive divergence of Turkey is a strong indicator of investor confidence. The recovery in the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is another sign of this confidence. In 2024, M&A transaction volume increased by 5% year-on-year, reaching $8.5 billion. At the same time, Turkey's dynamic technology ecosystem also became a focal point for investors. Early-stage technology investments reached $1.1 billion with 469 transactions in 2024, demonstrating remarkable performance. Our efforts to improve the investment environment continue resolutely. The Investment Advisory Council meeting we held in September under the leadership of our President was one of the most concrete signs of this determination. By continuing our structural reforms, we aim to strengthen Turkey's position as a global hub."

Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology, shared Turkey's progress and goals in the industry and technology sectors, stating, "With a young, talented, and highly competitive workforce, incentives specifically designed to attract high-tech investments, and a strategic position opening up a market of one billion consumers, Turkey stands out as a strong, resilient, and future-oriented investment partner. We greatly value the trust of investors who prefer our country by recognizing Turkey's potential, strength, and bright future. This trust further affirms our commitment to creating a dynamic business environment that fosters innovation and sustainable growth. In this sense, I would like to emphasize that we are ready to strengthen and expand our cooperation with our partners in the United Kingdom. We see great opportunities to work together in shaping the future of high-tech sectors, green transformation, and digital innovation."

Barış Öney, Founder and Managing Partner of Globalturk Capital, GPCA Central and Eastern Europe Leadership Council Member, and Turkey Representative, spoke at the conference, noting that Turkey has consistently been an investable and exit-oriented market for private equity funds. He said, "The Turkish business community and the private equity funds operating in Turkey have maintained their resilience against uncertain, turbulent, and unpredictable global and local conditions over the years. Turkey's experience in overcoming national and international crises makes it a reliable reference point for investors. Turkey has over 1.2 million registered companies with TOBB, and this vast ecosystem offers significant opportunities for private equity funds. In the last 20 years, Turkey has attracted over $260 billion in direct foreign investment, including private equity funds, while Turkish companies have made direct investments exceeding $70 billion abroad. In the first 10 months of 2024 alone, direct investments abroad surpassed $5.4 billion, showing a 17% increase compared to the same period last year. This two-way capital flow creates important investment and exit opportunities for global private equity funds. Export-driven industries, technology, consumer goods, healthcare, and green energy sectors continue to stand out for investors. The Istanbul Stock Exchange raised a total of $8.8 billion through 184 IPOs, almost all of which were from domestic investors, between 2021 and 2024, providing a significant exit opportunity for private equity funds. We expect growing interest from international institutional investors in IPOs in the second half of this year. In this period, where private equity flows are shifting, Turkey and the surrounding regions offer an attractive investment alternative with their strong and resilient business environments, considering China's declining investment appeal, the unpredictability of the US, and the unprecedented uncertainties in Europe. However, to sustain Turkey's potential, strengthening the capital-friendly investment environment and maintaining macroeconomic balance and the rule of law consistently is of critical importance. Turkey is recognized as having the second-largest military force within NATO. In such a global environment, it would be a wise strategy to trust private equity funds and the business community operating in Turkey when making investment decisions."

The conference concluded with a speech by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, titled "Turkey’s 2025 Outlook and Beyond: Macroeconomic Strategy and Policies." Cevdet Yılmaz emphasized that Turkey is implementing policies and measures that support growth and stated, "We anticipate that economic growth in 2024 will be close to our target of 3.5% in the Medium-Term Program. We expect national income to reach $1.3 trillion in 2024, with per capita income surpassing $15,000. Annual inflation decreased by 33 percentage points and is expected to be around 42% as of January 2025. The main contributor to inflation is the services sector. Therefore, we will focus more on the services side in our program."

Pointing out the importance of foreign investors for Turkey's economic growth, Cevdet Yılmaz said, "Today, Turkey, with its competitive business environment, deep talent pool, geo-strategic location, attractive incentives, strong financial system, and macroeconomic structure, is a profitable and safe haven for international investors." He concluded by stating, "Turkey will continue to be one of the leading economies where international investors prefer and grow their investments."

Following the conference, a roundtable meeting generated great interest, with a total of 35 global fund and investment bank executives meeting with Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz.

Source: Yatırımlar