Share of foreign capital in Turkish industry increased under AKP rule

Duvar English

Share of foreign capital in Turkish industry has increased under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) despite its continuous emphasis on being "domestic and national."

Foreign capital have taken over the industry in the past 17 years, during which privatization processes have harmed local enterprises.

Vast majority of Turkey's biggest industrial enterprises are foreign-capitalized, according to daily Birgün, which examined whether industrial production is based on local resources.

The daily took public enterprises without foreign capital as the basis of domestic industry, while also taking public enterprises of which the capital belongs to the citizens as the basis of national industry.

When the data regarding the top 10 and 20 industrial enterprises are examined since 2002, which was the year that the AKP began its years-long rule, the increase in foreign capital can be seen. Seven out of 10 biggest industrial enterprises and 13 out of 20 industrial enterprises were based on national capital 2002.

If national capital is defined as being financed with citizens' taxes, it can be seen that four out of top 10 industrial enterprises were national 17 years ago - based on public capital in other words.

The Electricity Generation Company, Turkish Sugar Refineries Corporation and TEKEL, the industrial enterprises that were both domestic and national in the top 10, were privatized in years.

TEKEL cigarette factories were transferred to British American Tobacco in 2006, while the distilleries were first taken over by Mey İçki and then British Diageo in 2004.

Majority of Turkish Sugar Refineries Corporation were sold to Cargill and some other private companies, while power plants of The Electricity Generation Company were sold to companies, such as Cengiz, Limak, Bereket and Çelikler, causing the company to lose its spot in the top 10.

Turkey's biggest industrial enterprise TÜPRAŞ, which was 65 percent national capitalized and 100 percent domestic capitalized in 2002, was sold to Tatneft in 2004. Following the cancellation of the purchase by an Ankara court, its 65 percent share owned by the public was sold to KOÇ-Shell partnership.