Texas Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce

Texas Senator Ellis at TUSKON

Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis was in Turkey last August where he also visited TUSKON which partner organization of TTACC ELLIS_TTACC . TUSKON Vice President Ismail H. Kisacik and Omer Faruk Eksi, head of Construction Committee of MARIFED, a TUSKON member federation, met with the Senator at TUSKON headquarters in Istanbul and discussed the business opportunities between the State of Texas and Turkey.

Turkey becomes world’s fastest growing economy in Q1

Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) clinched 11 percent growth, amounting to TL 25.90 billion, in the January-March period of turkish-economy this year over the same months of a year ago, making the country the world's fastest growing country during this period.

Turkey seems not to have retreated from the noteworthy growth of 8.9 percent witnessed in 2010. The better-than-expected growth figures were immediately put under the spotlight by the government. “As the global financial crisis has shaken many developed countries, Turkey managed to clinch a record-high growth figure. We have become the world's fastest growing economy,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a parliamentary group meeting. Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan told the CNBC-e station when the figures were revealed that he expects the year-end growth figure will be around 7 percent. The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) released its quarterly growth rates on Thursday, indicating that the economy had continued to grow for the sixth straight quarter. The growth rate was in double digits, even surpassing market expectations, which were around 10 percent.

Accordingly, Turkey’s GDP amounted to TL 25.90 billion at constant prices in the first three months of the year, 11 percent higher than a year earlier, when the economy grew by 11.7 percent.

Private consumption topped the components contributing to the GDP in the first quarter, with around 75 percent. The total amount of money Turkish households spent in Turkey and abroad was TL 211.6 billion and TL 1.9 billion, respectively, while foreigners visiting Turkey spent TL 6.6 billion in the mentioned period. On the other hand, the private consumption, or in another words investments, were TL 1 billion more -- TL 8.44 billion -- in the given period over the same period a year ago. TurkStat showed that TL 8 billion of these investments were made in the construction sector while 437 million was spent on machinery and other equipment.

“Bunker busting numbers, these,” Timothy Ash, an economist at RBS, said in a written statement to the press. “Turkey’s economy is growing really fast. It has transformed into an ‘Asian Tiger.’ I think the year-end growth figures could be revised upwards to 7 percent with this development,” he added. Analyst Abdulkadir Çakır also shared similar views. “These numbers are really sensational,” he told Today’s Zaman. “The significant recovery in the Turkish economy is still going on, supported by foreign capital inflows from developed countries and a strong political and financial stability.” But, Çakır underlined that this speedy growth also has side effects, stating that it was mainly driven by continuing domestic demand widening the current account deficit (CAD) by over $60 billion in 2011 -- a sign of an overheating economy -- an issue that should be given priority as soon as possible.

Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı has been trying to slow growth toward the government target of 4.5 percent this year by restricting consumer credit. The central bank has raised reserve requirements four times since December 2010 in order to reduce the money available to lend while cutting the interest rate. Another analyst talking to the daily, Gökhan Delioğlu from Bizim Securities, also underlined that domestic demand, despite the central bank measures, is still growing. “We forecast 10 percent growth in the first quarter, but this number was not something we were expecting. The rise in domestic demand is the main reason behind this figure,” he noted. An analyst at French Societe Generale, Gaelle Blanchard, also said the unexpectedly high growth figure and foreign trade deficit, which was $43.8 billion in the first five months of this year, just confirms the Turkish economy has overheated. “This situation will pressure the central bank for a possible rate hike; however, if the central bank remains silent to a rate increase, the lira could depreciate more,” Blanchard said.

Panama project that will bring larger cargo vessels here is a game changer

Our Board members joined to trade mission to Panama which organized by Greater Houston Partnership. panama_canal_123

Two words sum up what the Panama Canal expansion means to the Port of Houston: game changer.

When the $5.25 billion project is complete in three years, the historic passageway connecting the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea will be able to accommodate much larger ships.

For the Port of Houston, the bigger trading lane will allow some larger ships sailing from Asia to deliver their containers here instead of West Coast ports.

"It gives us a very dynamic, new relationship because of this supercargo vessel lane," said Jeff Moseley, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership. A container capacity measurement called TEU — Twenty-foot Equivelent Units - is key to understanding the change. Each represents a container of about the size transported on 18-wheel tractor-trailers. panama_canal12

Today, ships of about 5,000 TEUs can fit through the canal. By the time testing is complete on the canal by 2015, ships of about 12,000 TEUs will be able to transit the famous shipping lane.

To explain its significance to Houston, Moseley points to a wall-sized map of the U.S. hanging in his downtown office. Midwest cities such as Chicago get many of their Asian goods via rail from the West Coast. After the canal is expanded and larger ships can transit the canal, those Asian goods can come from Houston, which is closer to the Midwest.

"We just happen to be in the epicenter of this service area between the Rockies and the Ohio Valley," said Moseley, who is among 18 Houston business and political leaders traveling to Panama this week on a trade mission organized by the partnership. panama_cana

The expansion of the canal is driven partly by the supersizing of container ships. Vessels on order by seven shipping lines as of May average more than 10,000 TEU each, said Rene Circ, national research director for Grubb & Ellis.

Those behemoths ships can carry more of those containers laden with everything from shoes to sheetrock in one trip.That means reduced costs, especially for fuel as crude oil prices hover near $100 a barrel.

"There are some economies of scale that are achieved by sending bigger ships," Circ said.

Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce’s Board members attended the 7th World Chambers Congress

Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce’s Board members attended the 7th World Chambers Congress that organized by the New_New_P1000225_1
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the World Chambers Federation (WCF) and the Mexico City National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO), the Congress took place in Mexico City under the theme of ‘Enterprise–Network–Prosperity’. The Congress attracted 1,200 participants from 105 countries.

“Over the last three days we have not only underscored the importance of investment and innovation for economic growth but we have also considered the role of chambers in achieving this,” said Rona Yircali, World Chambers Federation Chair.

“The World Chambers Congress never fails to underscore how vital chambers are as a vast resource of information, tools and services. It also highlights chamber potential and dynamism,” Mr Yircali concluded.

Closing addresses were also given by ICC Chairman Gerard Worms, ICC Vice-Chairman Harold McGraw and President of the Mexico City

TTACC_MEXICO_CHAMBER
National Chamber of Commerce Arturo Mendicutti Narro.

The Congress comprised four plenary sessions, an advantageous business programme and an array of practical workshops relevant to the chamber and business community. It also provided plentiful networking opportunities to position the Congress as the most important event of the year on the chamber calendar.

The Congress also featured Mexican President Felipe Calderon and World-renowned speakers including Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola Chief Executive and environmental researcher Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Director General of The Energy and Resources Institute.

TTACC Business Talks hosted Dr. Necip Sayiner, President and CEO, Silicon Laboratories

Turkey came into prominence recently. Fast recovery after the recent crises with an 8.9% growth rate, which was the second highest after China in 2010,
was an important success.

Dr. Necip Sayiner was the guest speaker in “TTACC Business Talks” series on June2^nd and shared his thoughts, analyses and experiences with the audience.

The topic “Don’t Just Survive: Thriving through an Economic Downturn” enlightens the recent success story of Silicon Laboratories. Although most of the other high tech companies in Austin experienced a downturn during recent global crises, Silicon Laboratories has been an exemption. The secret of the success was mostly in the diversification strategy they pursued.

The highlights from his speech are as follows. Technology companies in general have been able to weather the economic storm better than most other industries. A number of key trends are keeping this fast paced industry immune from many of the weak economic indicators, including the pace of change, the ubiquity and reliance on technology, the advent of green technology and an exponential increase in bandwidth requirements

TTACC hosted Honorable Vicente Fox,Former President of Mexico

Former President of Mexico Honorable Vicente Fox spoke at the San Antonio chapter of the TTACC on Monday, May 2^nd, 2011 in San ttacc_vincente_fox
Antonio, Texas. Mr. Fox, who served as 55^th president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006, emphasized the significance of collaboration in a competitive economic environment, while addressing “Leadership and International Trade in the Contemporary World” at the dinner gathering hosted by the San Antonio branch of TTACC.

Former President Fox stated that he has seen the commonalities between Mexican and Turkish people at his visit to Istanbul and that both countries have a dynamic and rapidly growing economy that can further succeed in the near future.The popular notion that the BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — are the players to watch on the global market doesn't take into account Mexico's robust economy, former Mexican president Vicente Fox said Monday night.

“Mexico's economy should be right there,” Fox said, speaking to a crowd of about 200 at an event at the International Center hosted by the Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce. “Somebody forgot about it. But Mexico's economy is larger than Russia's economy. It's 10 times Brazil's economy. Mexico's per capita income is larger than all four.”

TTACC Austin Hosted Quamrul Mina CEO and founder of Pragma systems and BDesh TV .

Mr Quanrul Mina was the guest of the “TTACC Business Talks” series on April 21, 2011, and shared his entrepreneurial ttacc_austin.mina experiences with the audience. Quamrul Mina is CEO and co-founder of two Austin companies – Pragma Systems and BDeshTV. He founded Pragma systems in 1990 with David Kulwin; and in a short period of time, companies like IBM, Tandem, and Tivoli became their customers. Now Pragma's software is deployed in the majority of Fortune 500 companies in the USA and over 2,100 companies in over 62 countries worldwide. Quamrul’s newest venture is BDeshTV, an online/on-demand TV & video platform company which he co-founded in Austin in July, 2010. Mr Mina is an accomplished software architect and developer, and has wide experience in the industry in networking and security software.

Turkish Economy achieves 8.9 pct growth as CAD risks linger

Turkey's economy registered a higher-than-expected growth rate of 8.9 percent in 2010 over 2009, surpassing a government growth target of 6.8 economic-growing_mainright_ttacc

percent in the medium-term program, amid the risk of a sharply widening current account deficit (CAD).

The latest figures send a strong signal about the country's resilience against external shocks amid uncertainties that still linger in global markets. However, observers caution that fast growth in the Turkish economy "must be manageable" in the face of a growing CAD. In this respect, the Central Bank of Turkey is being called upon to maintain its strategy of using a policy mix that comprises low policy rates and high reserve requirements to balance domestic and foreign demands and financial stability. Experts have warned that the management of the economy should not overlook the fact that such high growth traditionally brings about a huge CAD in Turkey. Turkey's current account deficit in 2010 increased by 247.1 percent, approaching $48.6 billion, $9.5 billion above government estimates.
The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) announced on Thursday that Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) managed to grow by 8.9 percent last year over 2009. The GDP grew to TL 1.1 trillion (or $735.8 billion) in current prices. Earlier, market expectations for the year-end growth rate stood between 7 and 8 percent. The economy is expected to register a growth rate of around 4.5 percent in the coming year.