International business

Turkey's foreign trade deficit soared 49.5 percent in May due to a sharp increase in gold imports despite robust car exports, preliminary data from the Customs and Trade Ministry showed on June 2. 

The trade deficit rose to $7.65 billion in May, according to the ministry's data, which was compiled by Reuters. 

Greece remains a laggard in attracting foreign direct investment despite a 123 percent increase in 2016 compared to the year before, according to the latest annual report by Ernst & Young.

Among the 44 European countries surveyed for FDI attractiveness, Greece ranked 34th in the number of FDI projects and 35th in the number of jobs created.

Turkey attracted $2.8 billion net foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of the year with a 1.9 percent year-on-year increase, data from the Economy Ministry showed on May 23. 

A total of $1.6 billion FDI entered into the country in March, according to the ministry data. 

Turkish companies' foreign direct investment (FDI) outflow has increased by 10 times over the past 15 years, according to an index released on May 17.

This year's edition of the Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index is titled Glass half full. It finds that while business executives are increasingly worried about the negative effects of politics, they are nevertheless optimistic with regards to the global economy and the opportunities that foreign direct investments bring.

After two important visits to India and Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's planned destinations for next week are China on May 14-15 and the United States on May 16-17. Then he will visit Brussels to attend a NATO summit. In Brussels, a high-level meeting with the European Union is also likely.

Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tüfenkci has backed the World Trade Organization's (WTO) first-ever multilateral trade agreement, saying it would help developing countries boost their exports.        

Turkey received $457 million in foreign direct investment in February, the Economy Ministry stated in a report on April 24.        

Foreign investment in Turkey reached $1.059 billion in the first two months of this year, down by 34.3 percent compared with the same period last year.        

Protectionist trade policies may increase, rather than reduce, a country's trade deficit, the European Central Bank said in a study on March 22, just days after finance chiefs of the world's top 20 economies dropped their pledge for open trade.

Turkey attracted $12.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2016, higher than expected in light of the latest developments in both Turkey and the surrounding region, a top association announced on Feb. 24.