New plan set to make Istanbul into Global financial center

A new project is set to make Istanbul a regional financial center within 10 years and a global one in just a few decades, Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren said yesterday. Ekren touted the project at a joint press conference alongside Istanbul Governor Muharrem Guler, Istanbul Greater Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbas, Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) head Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag, IsBank CEO Ersin Ozince, and Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) head Omer Vardan. Stating that a strategy document for the project will be finalized by June, he said if the project is well planned its goals could be reached earlier. For her part, Yalcindag said that much needs to be done to make Istanbul a financial capital like London, Hong Kong or New York, adding that the project would benefit Turkey's overall economy. She said that the project could create jobs for tens of thousand of peoples and add $20 billion to Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025. Also speaking at the conference, Ozince said the ongoing global economic crisis had underlined the importance of the project, and added, "If Turkey is to be one of the world's top 10 economies by 2023, the centenary of the Turkish Republic, then the country will need not less than $300-500 billion of financial capital." Also, Vardan said that Gulf capital has begun to see Turkey as a safe haven for investment in the midst of the crisis, adding that this project would bolster Turkey's appeal for foreign investors.