US is 2nd-largest investing country in Turkey, official data shows

The US is the second-largest investing country in Turkey with over $1.1 billion investment in 2021, official data revealed on Saturday.

According to the most recent data shared by the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Turkey increased by 87% in the first 11 months of 2021.

The US has been one of the main sources of FDI in Turkey over the past two decades with the total amount of FDI inflows between 2006 and 2021 reaching $14 billion.

As of the first half of 2021, there were about 2,000 American companies operating in Turkey in a variety of industries ranging from automotive to chemicals, from ICT to energy, food and beverages.

"Today, many American companies use Turkey as a manufacturing, export and management hub to run their businesses in a region that extends from Europe to Middle East, and from North Africa to Central Asia," Burak Daglioglu, president of the Investment Office, told Anadolu Agency.

Considering the potential of the US as the largest source of FDI worldwide, he said: "We attach utmost importance to the US investors through our two offices in the US as well as strong cooperation with the existing American investors in Turkey," he added.

"We believe that there are significant opportunities ahead of us and it is the right moment to foster economic relations. President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan regularly and exclusively meets American investors. We have been facilitating such meetings since our establishment in 2006 and will continue to do so," he concluded.

The total trade volume between Turkey and the US reached $28 billion in 2021.

The US was Turkey’s second largest export market and fourth largest import source last year.

FDI inflows to developing economies are estimated to rise 30%, according to a recent report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).