Turkey

Coca-Cola İçecek (CCI), a subsidiary of Coca-Cola whose majority shares are owned by Turkish companies, has announced a net profit of TL 170 million, marking a 108 percent increase over the preceding year.

CCI, which operates 20 bottling plants in Turkey, Pakistan and 10 other countries in the Middle East and Central Asia, released a statement on Tuesday noting that its net sales profits reached TL 2.41 million with a 6.6 percent year-on-year rise.

Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) Chairman Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu has said Parliament should concentrate more on problems faced by the Turkish economy than it currently does.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting held in İstanbul on Tuesday at which the TOBB assembled the leaders of Turkey’s leading business circles to discuss unemployment, Hisarcıklıoğlu urged the government and opposition parties to accelerate work on finding solutions to difficulties facing the economy. “We want the economy be at the top of the country’s agenda.” Recalling that he met with the prime minister and opposition party leaders as recently as Monday, the TOBB chairman said he discussed with them the structural reforms needed for the economy. “We are happy to see that the opposition parties are ready to contribute to possible government suggestions in this regard,” he added.

Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan addresses the Southeastern European Nations Cooperation Process ministers’ meeting in İstanbul. Çağlayan called for further economic partnerships between countries to realize the potential of the region. State Minister Zafer Çağlayan has announced that his ministry plans to double southeastern Europe’s share of Turkey’s total exports from 5 percent to 10 percent, while also calling for further economic partnerships between countries to realize the potential of the region.