The country now enters an international grade pool that includes Hungary and Spain, ahead of a group of Eurozone countries, which includes Cyprus, Portugal, Ireland and Greece, all of which have non-investment grade ratings.

Julian Walker, director at Turkey property specialist Spot Blue, commented: “The investment upgrade is one consequence of the government’s overall strategy to create the right environment to attract foreign investors. The bigger, longer term goal of Prime Minister Erdogan and his government is to grow from being the world’s 16^th largest economy, in terms of GDP, to being one of the world’s 10 largest economies.”

A direct consequence of Turkey’s investment grade rating could be a boost to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to the International Investors Association of Turkey (YASED), which means the country could exceed its predicted FDI total for 2013 of $15-20billion.

“Complementing its GDP target, YASED this month announced its aim of being in the world’s top ten countries for FDI,” added Julian Walker at Spot Blue. “The country currently in tenth place in terms of global share of FDI annually attracts around $40-50billion worth of FDI. Turkey aims to match this and increase its current one per cent share to three per cent by 2023.”

Statistics from YASED show that total international capital stock in Turkey grew tenfold to $180billion in 2012 from $18billion in 2002, and that the number of companies with international capital in Turkey exceeded 30,000 in 2012 from 10,000 in 2005. International companies now make up 140 of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s (ISO) 500 listed companies, but account for 44 per cent of all 500 companies’ total exports, 30 per cent of their production sales and 28 per cent of their employment figures.

Initially, Istanbul is expected to benefit most from any rise in FDI in Turkey, as its status as an international financial hub grows. As well as commercial real estate opportunities, the effect on the property market there is an increasing demand for quality residential projects in the city’s expanding suburbs, on both the European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus.

Historic exchange rates show that movement has been considerably less volatile between Sterling and the Turkish lira than between Sterling and the Euro during the last six years, an especially turbulent period for the economies of the UK and Eurozone.

British people living in the Eurozone saw the local value of their Sterling-based income slashed by 33 per cent between January 2007 and December 2008, when the exchange rate plummeted from £1/€1.53 to £1/€1.02. Meanwhile, for the same period in Turkey, Sterling’s value against the lira fell by a comparatively low 21 per cent. And today, while Sterling’s value against the Euro is still around 23 per cent lower than pre-credit crisis levels, it has returned to its former value against the Turkish lira – good news for expats there.

Said Julian Walker at Turkey property specialist Spot Blue: “While the Eurozone has been in economic turmoil and the £/€ rate has been yo-yoing all over the place, Turkey has been busy becoming Europe’s fastest growing economy, transforming from an emerging market into a developed one. Positive outcomes for the country include a big reduction in inflation, a stronger, more stable currency and an increasing appeal to foreign investors.”

Turkey’s central bank this month slashed its key interest rates by 50 basis points as part of measures to curb the lira’s anticipated appreciation, a potential consequence of the country’s second investment grade rating by Moody’s, it’s first coming from Fitch’s last November. The lira has strengthened recently as foreign capital has flowed into Turkey, attracted by signs that the country’s economic growth will continue, helped by global easing.

Below illustrates how the £/€ and £/lira exchange rates (interbank rates) have compared at some of the high and low points since the credit crisis:

Sterling / Euro
January 22^nd 2007:               £1=€1.53
December 29^th 2008:           £1=€1.02
August 23^rd 2010:                 £1=€1.23
July 1^st 2011:                          £1=€1.11
July 20^th 2012:                      £1=€1.28
February 25^th 2013:             £1=€1.15

Sterling / Lira
January 22^nd 2007:               £1=2.79lira
December 29^th 2008:           £1=2.21lira
August 23^rd 2010:                 £1=2.37lira
July 1^st 2011:                          £1=2.58lira
July 20^th 2012:                      £1=2.83lira
February 25^th 2013:             £1=2.73lira

Historic exchange rates show that movement has been considerably less volatile between Sterling and the Turkish lira than between Sterling and the Euro during the last six years, an especially turbulent period for the economies of the UK and Eurozone. 

British people living in the Eurozone saw the local value of their Sterling-based income slashed by 33 per cent between January 2007 and December 2008, when the exchange rate plummeted from £1/€1.53 to £1/€1.02. Meanwhile, for the same period in Turkey, Sterling’s value against the lira fell by a comparatively low 21 per cent. And today, while Sterling’s value against the Euro is still around 23 per cent lower than pre-credit crisis levels, it has returned to its former value against the Turkish lira – good news for expats there.

Said Julian Walker at Turkey property specialist Spot Blue: “While the Eurozone has been in economic turmoil and the £/€ rate has been yo-yoing all over the place, Turkey has been busy becoming Europe’s fastest growing economy, transforming from an emerging market into a developed one. Positive outcomes for the country include a big reduction in inflation, a stronger, more stable currency and an increasing appeal to foreign investors.”

Turkey’s central bank this month slashed its key interest rates by 50 basis points as part of measures to curb the lira’s anticipated appreciation, a potential consequence of the country’s second investment grade rating by Moody’s, it’s first coming from Fitch’s last November. The lira has strengthened recently as foreign capital has flowed into Turkey, attracted by signs that the country’s economic growth will continue, helped by global easing.

Below illustrates how the £/€ and £/lira exchange rates (interbank rates) have compared at some of the high and low points since the credit crisis:

Sterling / Euro
January 22^nd 2007:               £1=€1.53
December 29^th 2008:           £1=€1.02
August 23^rd 2010:                 £1=€1.23
July 1^st 2011:                          £1=€1.11
July 20^th 2012:                      £1=€1.28
February 25^th 2013:             £1=€1.15

Sterling / Lira
January 22^nd 2007:             £1=2.79lira
December 29^th 2008:         £1=2.21lira
August 23^rd 2010:               £1=2.37lira
July 1^st 2011:                        £1=2.58lira
July 20^th 2012:                     £1=2.83lira
February 25^th 2013:            £1=2.73lira

Thanks to its incredible driving performance Istanbul’s two airports are not only the fastest growing in Europe but are the only ones in the top 30 to see more than a 10% increase in seat-capacity this summer according to airline news agency Anna.Aero.

Towering high in the Anna.Aero chart (see below) is Istanbul Sabiha Gocken with seat capacity up more than 30% this summer. By less of a deficit Istanbul Ankara is still easily distinguished in second place with a growth of almost 15%. Moscow comes in 3rd with growth of 9%, followed by Oslo (+7.4%) and Stockholm Arlanda (+6.5%).

Turkish airlines was recently crowned Europe’s fastest growing airline in terms of the number of new routes it has added and is set to add in the near future, and with Istanbul set to see a third airport, which in itself will be one of the world’s largest, Turkey is set to stay a dominant force on the international aviation scene for the foreseeable future.

Turkey was to pay the last instalment of $422.1 million installment to the IMF on Tuesday 14 May Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said the day before the momentous payment.

“Up to this day, Turkey has signed 19 stand-by agreements with the IMF. We ended the last one in May 2008, and we haven’t used loans for five years,” Babacan said during a live interview aired on private broadcasters NTV and CNBC-e. 

Turkey has borrowed nearly $50 billion from the fund in 47 years, but the country’s debt to the fund has been decreasing since the AK Party came to power in 2002, at which point $23.5 billion was owed. Turkey’s last standby agreement with the fund was in 2005, and it expired in May 2008.

At the time Turkey looked set to enter a new standby arrangement, but months of negotiations ended without pen touching paper.

“At that time we decided we didn’t need the IMF, and we haven’t needed it since,” Babacan said, adding the foreign capital flow that came to Turkey “thanks to maintained trust and stability” has pumped an impetus into the private sector that ruled out the necessity of IMF financing.

Babacan also noted the prescriptions of the IMF were formed in accordance with the government’s own program and Turkey had not been forced to do anything it was not content with. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, however, had complained about the IMF directives during his speech at the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development’s annual meeting held in Istanbul last weekend.

“It [the IMF] is trying to give political lessons, but I’m a politician. I would listen and learn politics from a politician but not from an officer of the IMF,” he said, criticizing the global lender’s conditions.

The fact that Turkey is not only no longer a debtor, but has in fact become a contributor to the IMF, after being asked in a special request to contribute $5 billion, is a testament to the changing face of global economics as the emerging markets of yesterday and today make the transition to become the established and even advanced economies of tomorrow.

The IMF made a special request to Turkey to lend $5 billion during the Group of Twenty meeting held in Mexico in November, said Babacan, one of the participants at the meeting. 

Wiping out its debt and becoming a contributor makes Turkey a part of a global transformation that sees changing roles, according to Babacan.

“Recently, advanced countries have also started to receive IMF loans. Turkey will also change the picture by paying the last part of its debt,” he said.

Elaborating on the conditions of its contribution, he said the Turkish government had asked for the source to be kept among Turkish reserves and liquidity for it to be available for withdrawal in case it is needed. This way the loan will be not reflected as a loss in Turkey’s current account balance figures.

Antalya’s Akdeniz University Stadium is one of the match venues chosen for the FIFA U20 World Cup 2013, which takes place in Turkey from 21^st June to 13^th July. England is one of the four teams that will be based in the city for its group stage matches, the others being Chile, Egypt and Iraq. Uzbekistan and Uruguay will also play against each other in Antalya.

As well as the England fans and U20 players, football legends Brian Taylor, who once managed the senior England team and is managing the U20 squad in 2013, and squad coach Stuart Pearce, who has 78 senior England caps, will have the chance to discover Antalya when they stay there during the tournament.

“This is a landmark event for Turkey, as it will be the first time a FIFA competition has been staged in the country, drawing prominent names in English and world football,” said Julian Walker, director at Turkish property specialist Spot Blue, which sells property in and around Antalya. “It’s part of Turkey’s snowballing status as a world-class sports destination and complements the hosting of its first European Tour Golf Open in Belek in November. And of course, a successful tournament will send clear signals about the credibility of Istanbul’s bid for the 2020 Olympics. So much positive global exposure for the country can only be a good thing for the country’s property market.”

Thanks to its balmy year-round climate, Antalya is already as equally popular with second homeowners and retirees from northern Europe, as it is with football teams from around the world, who use it as a winter training destination. The Lara Beach area of Antalya has modern tourist complexes geared towards football teams, including the Titanic Beach and Resort and Fame Residence Resort, both of which have on-site football pitches.

Foreign footballers or holidaymakers tempted to buy a property in Antalya will find their money goes further than other quality tourist destinations. At Lara Beach, Spot Blue is selling new-build two-bedroom apartments in the centre of the resort, and just five minutes’ walk from the beach and a 20-minute transfer from the airport, from just £86,117. Or investors could consider one of the remaining apartments on a new development a short walk from the seafront in Antalya’s Konyaalti district [pictured] – prices start at £50,656 for a one-bedroom unit and there is the option of a five per cent rental guarantee for two years.

“Konyaalti is popular with both foreign and local residents who want to combine the convenience of being on the edge of a city-centre with access to beaches and tourist facilities – not unlike parts of Barcelona,” said Julian Walker at Spot Blue. “It’s next to Baki Beach and Konyaaltı Beachpark, while the area boasts three hospitals, is home to the police station that handles foreigners’ affairs and boasts excellent shopping, including the Migros Shopping Center. Outside of Antalya, we also have some excellent buys in the resorts of Belek, Side and Alanya.”

The buck doesn’t stop there, as the number of aircraft landing at/taking-off from domestic and international lines also saw incredible growth, with a total 39,807 international flights an increase of 8.9% and 55,363 and increase of 15.8% compared to April 2012.

Cargo transportation also increased 16.8 percent in domestic flights and 12.2 percent in international flights. Total cargo transportation reached 189,301 tons including cargo, mail and luggage.

When you see figures like this you begin to understand why the Turkish government has just agreed a multi-billion dollar contract to build one of the world’s largest airports in Istanbul. The third airport in Istanbul seems a bit of a stretch until you look at just how rapidly Turkey is becoming one of the hottest ticket’s in global aviation.

As Istanbul perhaps begins to grow into itself, Izmir could well be a new hot city in air-travel. This week SunExpress has just inaugurated a new route from Turkey’s third most populous city to Oslo (OSL) in Norway. The service, which was last operated by the airline in October 2010, is offered with a weekly frequency. The route was complemented by a new domestic route linking Izmir with Batman (BAL) located in south-eastern Turkey.

When combined, the increase in the number of new businesses was 35.53 percent in the first four months of 2013 compared to a year earlier.

“The rise in the figure highlights entrepreneurial confidence in Turkey’s economy and the continuation of the stability,” Murat Yalcintas, ITO head, said in a written statement. He said the improvement in figures was also owed to the new Turkish Commercial Code which implemented easier start-up procedures.

There are so many reasons behind growth like this in Turkey, its new special economic zones and incentives packages on things like R&D have brought dozens of global companies into Istanbul with the intent of setting up a hub, tourism is soaring, and hotels and shopping malls are opening by the bucket-load.

All these things open up opportunities for small-business start-ups, cleaning companies have an opening in the hotel trade, not to mention garden maintenance firms to maintain the grounds and the more business you have the more rubbish there is to be collected presenting opportunities in that sector — and of course you will always have street and market traders.

Growing businesses, growing employment, growing tourism, growing population, Turkey is just growing silly, and all these increasingly affluent people will continue to need a roof over their head. Do your own research of course but get in now while prices are low.

Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım, who spoke right after the auction was finalized, said that with Istanbul’s third airport tender, the country’s 2023 target (that is the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic) would have a big step forward.

The minister has big plans not to stop there. He plans to open a rail-crossing under the Bosporus completing a rail connection between Beijing and London with the new crossing between Istanbul’s European and Asian sides. With that crossing the speed train will be operative between Istanbul and Ankara and a number of other cities in Turkey with the target of extending the rails to the Georgian border in the northeast.

The construction of a third bridge over the Bosphorus has also started. The third airport in Istanbul with its six tarmacs could change the center of gravity of the transportation picture of both the European and Asian (and African) picture.

As if that wasn’t enough another story broke yesterday regarding the construction of Turkey’s second nuclear power plant in Sinop , on Turkey’s central Black Sea coast. This, another 22 billion-dollar project was agreed in a deal signed by the Turkish Prime Minister and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. The plant is to be constructed in the same vein as Turkey’s first nuclear power plant by the Russians, whereby those who construct it will have the dominant share and will operate the power plant, thus taking all the responsibility.

According to Büyükekşi visa free deals with Libya, Albania, Jordan and Kosovo in 2009, raised total foreign trade volume with those four countries to $4 billion in 2010, up from $3 billion in 2009. 

Turkey signed the agreements for the regular passport holders with Russia, Lebanon and Serbia in 2010.

“Visas constitute not only a technical barrier but also a psychological obstacle for foreign trade,” said Mehmet Büyükekşi. He added that the Turkish exporters wanted to open up to the world so they needed to have visa-free access to the markets they wanted to be in.

“We export to 242 countries and customs areas around the world. Thanks to the visa exemption agreements with many countries, we are fast approaching our 2023 targets for exports, which is $500 billion,” said Büyükekşi.

Turkey signed one new visa exemption agreement in 2004, 2006 and 2008, five in 2009, 3 in 2010, 3 in 2011 and 7 in 2012. Thanks to this, what can only be called a rash of visa-exemption deals Turkish trade is soaring and the budget deficit — one of the few remaining obstacles to Turkey’s economic peace and harmony — is rapidly closing.