The government’s 10-month attack on Bank Asya has seen its share price slump by 50%, with the stock periodically prevented from trading on the Borsa, Istanbul’s stock exchange. The turmoil surrounding the bank has seen the failure of an agreed deal with the Qatar Islamic Bank, and an unwanted government-led attempt by state-owned deposit bank Ziraat, which recently created an Islamic unit, to absorb the privately owned Bank Asya.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom held talks Thursday with the representatives of TUSKON, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists. Dr. Tedros told the delegation that the Government of Ethiopia deeply valued the relationship between Ethiopia and Turkey.
In a statement to Borsa İstanbul (BIST), Bank Asya said it is selling a 24.18 percent stake in Turkish construction firm Tuna Gayrimenkul for TL 62.8 million. The bank also said it is selling another construction company, Nil Yönetim Hizmetleri, for TL 69.25 million.
The trade bridges created at these meetings have led TUSKON to generate a trade volume of $30 billion so far. Unlike some similar initiatives, TUSKON doesn’t neglect small and medium-sized enterprises. TUSKON’s first priority at trade bridge events is to encourage local entrepreneurs to open up to the world. This choice is a strategic move to diversity markets. In parallel with Turkey’s foreign trade policies, TUSKON has created bridges with a number of trade blocs in Africa, Latin America and Europe and the Eurasia and Pacific regions.
More than 100 Turkish and Russian entrepreneurs attended the event, which was supported by the Russian state bank Sberbank. Among those in attendance were Tula Regional Governor Vladimir Gruzdev, Russia-Turkey Businessmen’s Association (RUTİD) President Esat Sarı and Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) Russia envoy Ali Tırnav.
Speaking to some Nigerian journalists in Istanbul, the President of Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, (TUSKON) Mr Rizanur Meral said in 2008 total trade volumes between the two countries was $802million but risen to about $1.5billion(N250 billion) in 2012. He said the increase was due to awareness created by his association for the businessmen in the two countries through organizing seminars and business to business meetings.
The two-day forum produced two important agreements. On the first day, TUSKON signed a commercial partnership deal with the Ethiopia Chamber of Commerce and on the second day, the confederation signed a bilateral commercial agreement that promises to provide advantages to TUSKON members in trade not only with Ethiopia, but also with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which has 22 member countries.
Top executives from the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), one of the country’s leading business confederations, are in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to hold talks on mutual trade and investment relations with senior officials such as the Ethiopian prime minister and the ambassador to Ankara.