CAPE TOWN - Turkish businessmen have started projects world-wide. Businessmen from Turkey have traveled to distant corners of Africa and have made investments there.
To this day, Turkish businessmen have been heavily involved in trade in Europe, the Balkans and Turkish Republics of Central Asia. Nowadays, ''Turkish businessmen have also started investing in South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana,'' said one trade source. In South Africa, where about two thousand Turkish citizens live, nearly 100 Turkish firms have made investments worth approximately 60 million U.S. Dollars. Investments in South Africa were mainly in industries such as textiles, electrical home appliances and coal.
The offices of Turkish Trade Attaches in Africa have determined areas in which Turkish businessmen can be successful: automobiles and spare parts, paper products, home and kitchen appliances, marble, yarns, textiles, clothes, carpets and rugs, leather goods, cosmetics, bath-room equipment, construction materials, electrical home appliances, cables, home and office furniture, olives, olive oil, sunflower oil, butter, dried beans, hazelnuts, sun-dried fruits, spaghetti and macaroni, sugar products, spices and security systems.
''South Africa has to realize various giant projects before the 2010 Football World Cup. Turkish businessmen may be able to participate in major construction projects in South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia,'' said a trade source.
According to Turkish authorities, blankets have been the most sold item in Africa. ''Africans put blankets around individuals who have died of AIDS. Thousands of Africans die of AIDS annually, thus increasing the sales of blankets,'' told a Turkish source. Ahlesa Blanket, founded and owned by Turkish Levent Senol, have become the biggest manufacturer of blankets in the region. ''We manufacture three million blankets every year. We hold 70 percent of the South African blanket market,'' stated Senol.
During his recent visit to South Africa, State Minister Kursad Tuzmen stopped by the factory of Levent Senol. ''Turkish businessmen are investing throughout the world. We are proud of Turkish businessmen who see no boundaries and limits for their investments. The share of Turkish businessmen, who have invested abroad, in Turkey's overall international trade volume of 150 billion U.S. Dollars is considerable,'' remarked Tuzmen.
(ES-ULG) 01.11.2004