Istanbul Financial Center to support Turkey’s ambition to become a top 10 global economy
Research commissioned by Türkiye Wealth Fund forecasts that the annual value of Turkey’s financial services exports is to increase from US$2bn to US$16bn by 2036, with Turkey’s financial services exports expected to rise to 1.3% of GDP, up from 0.3% in 2019. The iFC, a new financial center in Istanbul, will be pivotal in helping to drive this growth with its complete financial services ecosystem, delivering growth to both the Turkish economy and international investors by promoting increased regional and global capital flows.
The iFC will benefit from Turkey’s unique geographic location at the nexus of global markets, access to a large domestic economy, modern infrastructure, state of the art facilities and forward looking, supportive legislation and incentives.
Arda Ermut, CEO of the Türkiye Wealth Fund, said: “The opening of the Istanbul Financial Center is an important milestone both for Turkey’s growing and dynamic economy, and wider regions. Located in Istanbul, already a global hub, the iFC will further facilitate and support capital flows at a global level.
The iFC will support the whole of the international financial services industry, with a focus on Turkey’s strengths in banking, insurance, green finance, fintech and Islamic finance. The iFC will be underpinned by regulation reflecting international best practice and supported by government-led incentives. The foundations of Turkey’s financial services sector, including the central bank, financial regulators, the stock exchange and three leading public banks will relocate their headquarters to the iFC and many international investors have already agreed to open regional offices there.
Istanbul has easy access to a total population of 1.6 billion, and a market worth $30tr in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, all within a 4-hour flight radius. The iFC is located in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, 35 minutes’ drive from both international airports of Istanbul. The gross leasable space will be slightly more than 1.5 million sqm, hosting up to 50,000 employees. This includes 1.4 million sqm of modern office space, a 100,000 sqm mall, a 30,000 sqm 5-star luxury hotel, a 22,000 sqm conference center and over 26,000 units of parking space. The land is 300,000 sqm and more than 200,000 sqm consists recreational, common, and green areas.
The iFC will open for local and international tenants by H2 2022.
