Be ready for a new world, top businesswoman says

The world will face a new economic model in the aftermath of the crisis and Turkey should be ready for change, according to Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ, chairwoman of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association, or TÜSİAD. Speaking at an event Wednesday where awards were presented to 250 of the largest companies in Anatolia, Yalçındağ also warned of possible problems to arise from this profound change.

Speaking at the award ceremony in Istanbul, organized by Fortis and weekly Economist magazine, Yalçındağ said government support became the key aspect of the current crisis. “Governments tried to control markets by increasing liquidity and solving the confidence problem," she said.

Reminding that the negative effects of the crisis are on the decrease, she said: "The U.S. economy saw a 3.5 percent growth in the third quarter. On the other hand, Turkey also managed to mitigate the effects of the crisis through government support.”

The problems are not over, she warned. “Private sector demand should be restored [for a real solution],” Yalçındağ said. "The main question is how far government incentives will last, as they also create risks, such as inflation,” she said.

"If countries do not adopt a sustainable exit strategy [from stimulus], the markets will face a risk of sluggish demand again," she said.

Approving the aggressive interest rate-cutting policy that the Central Bank has engaged in, Yalçındağ said this policy was not enough alone to spur private investment. “An appropriate investment environment has to be supported by credit supply,” she said.

Another major problem in Turkey is that the relationship between banks and small- and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, is “very weak,” Yalçındağ said. "In Turkey SMEs are having a hard time finding credit."

“Today the fire is under control and now it is time for damage assessment," she said, regarding the global crisis. “During this period, an active foreign policy will also be very important.”

Turkish companies should start preparing for profound changes to come, the TÜSİAD chairwoman said. “In the aftermath of the crisis, the engine of growth will move from the West to the East. Turkey has two advantages in the post-crisis period: First, economies around Turkey and Turkey itself are the ones that will grow faster.”

The second advantage of Turkey is its young population and strong, unsaturated market, according to Yalçındağ.

The unemployment problem

Noting that TÜSİAD predicts a 6 percent contraction in gross domestic product this year and less than 3 percent growth in 2010, Yalçındağ also mentioned the unemployment problem. "Growth can come to a halt due to [rising] unemployment. Turkey should solve this problem,” she said. Unemployment in Turkey jumped to 13.4 percent in the three months through September, according to official data. The figure is down from a record high of 16.1 percent in February.

Speaking after Yalçındağ, Yvan DeCock, chief executive officer of Fortis Bank Turkey, said the main worry was over sustainability. “Turkey will be one of the countries that will grow fast. Anatolian companies are supporting this growth," he said.

Kroman Çelik, a steel producer from Kocaeli; Nursan Çelik, a steel producer in Hatay; Er-Bakır, a copper company from Denizli; Kardemir, the steel giant of Karabük; and Yıldız Entegre Ağaç from Kocaeli were selected as “the five biggest companies of Anatolia.”

Selva Gıda, a food company based in Konya; Güney Çelik, a steel firm from Adana; Sunteks Dokuma, a textile firm in Bursa; Sanko Marketing from Gaziantep; and Kardemir Haddecilik, a steel roller from Denizli; were named as “the five most profitable Anatolian companies.”

Companies that increased their exports the most were Çimko Çimento, a cement firm from Gaziantep; Form Sünger&Yatak from Kayseri; Şenpiliç, a poultry company from Sakarya; Yörükoğlu, a milk company from Antalya; and Gemlik Gübre, a fertilizer producer from Bursa.

Companies that most increased their workforce were Şimşek, a biscuit maker from Karaman; Doğuş Çay, a tea company from Ordu; Turyağ Gıda, a food firm from Balıkesir; Özlem Tarım, an agricultural firm from Manisa; and Arbel Bakliyat, a pulse company from Mersin.