Why Turkish businessmen invest abroad

I received several messages from my readers commenting on our prime minister's latest comments in which he claims that he is "Marketing Turkey," and I'd like to share them with you.

"Ayşe Hanım. Our prime minister keeps insisting he is marketing our country and that he will turn the city of Istanbul into a recognizable brand. To this end, he is constantly traveling all over the world attempting to lure investors. He was recently in Yemen and I'd like to know who from Yemen could invest here when their country is in such a needy state? Then there is the story of the Dubai Towers, which are two close buildings that swing around each other and reach for the sky like two screwdrivers! Are these buildings going to turn us into a brand name? What is the government doing with regards to developing the eastern and southeastern part of our country? What is being done to facilitate finding jobs for the unemployed? Shouldn't our government feel the need to do more important things than turn Istanbul into a brand?” (A.M.Y. from İzmir)

My answer to the above would be that our prime minister prefers to view the glass as being half full. As our own Treasury is deeply in debt, the government surely is unable to invest in the areas mentioned by you and is therefore searching for foreign investors to come and invest here, which will create new jobs for the unemployed. Turning Istanbul into a brand name will bring in more tourists and hence, more money. Dwelling on the negative has never ushered in a positive atmosphere. So I say, let's wait and see.

"Please do not mention my name in your column. I am a Turkish exporter. With the present strength of the Turkish lira, I was almost ready to close shop due to low income and high taxes when I noticed that we could prevent this if we moved our operations to Jordan. We immediately realized the move and are now enjoying reasonable profits because Jordan is a favored nation by the United States. One unqualified Turkish worker costs me over $700 with all the proper taxes paid and I pay much less for them in Jordan. If our government does not discover a way to collect taxes from everyone in this country and not rely on the registered companies and raise their taxes all the time, should we be surprised that the Turkish businessman goes abroad to invest?"

So here we have an effort to bring in foreign investment into Turkey while the local investor chooses to invest abroad. This must be what they call globalization. With regards to Turkish workers wages running over $700 per month to the employer, I am certain that if this operation were set up in our eastern or southeastern regions, the workers there would be more than happy to work for $100-$150 per month. I join in my two readers' anxieties in the need to develop all corners of our country as soon as possible and trust that our government will come up with some sound and reliable plans very soon.