The growing interest of foreign investors in Türkiye, including the capital markets, is a manifestation of the trust in the Turkish economy and diplomacy, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday.

Erdoğan’s statement came in an opening message to the 6th Turkish Capital Markets Congress that was organized by the Turkish Capital Markets Association (TSPB) with the theme "Beyond Finance: Investing in the Future of the World" in Istanbul.

Erdoğan said their aim is "to make Istanbul, the crossroads of civilizations, cultures and continents, a center of global finance."

"We are taking firm steps in the right direction. I believe that this congress, which has now become a brand in capital markets, will make a meaningful contribution to our efforts," the president said.

Emphasizing that the pandemic and the subsequent conflicts in the nearby geography have moved Türkiye to a different position economically, "our country has been one of the rising stars of recent years with its strong health infrastructure, production power, rapid recovery capability and many other advantages," he said.

"The balanced and conciliatory policies that we have successfully pursued since the first days of the Russia-Ukraine crisis have further reinforced Türkiye’s playmaker role. The increasing interest of investors in our country, including our capital markets, is a manifestation of the trust in the Turkish economy and diplomacy," Erdoğan said.

Expressing that he believes the capital markets will continue their growth journey by being positively affected by this dynamism in the Turkish economy, Erdoğan said, "I would like to reiterate that our doors and hearts are open to all investors who trust in Türkiye, invest in our country and trust the bright future of the Turkish economy."

Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati, also speaking at the opening of the congress, said the capital markets continued to grow with public offerings this year, as they did last year, and that 33 companies in Türkiye had made a total of TL 14.2 billion ($761.90 million ) public offerings as of November 2022.

Nebati said that with the public offerings in the last two years, the number of companies traded on Istanbul’s stock exchange has reached 482.

Stating that the ratio of the market value of the companies traded in Borsa Istanbul (BIST) to the gross domestic product (GDP) has fluctuated between 20% to 30% for many years, the minister pointed out that this rate is around 60% in developing countries, and this ratio is both through initial public offerings and through paid capital increases and secondary investments.

He underlined that it is important to increase the quality and quantity of companies traded on the stock exchange.

Stating that capital markets have become an alternative channel for providing financing to companies through debt instruments as well as public offerings, Nebati said, "We observe that the interest of our investors in our companies, which currently request long-term funds from our capital markets, has increased significantly."

We approach the issue of increasing the share of our capital markets from two different perspectives: "The first is the greater use of existing savings in capital markets; The second is to increase the share of capital markets by increasing total savings."

Nebati said that while the number of investors in the stock market was around 1 million for many years, this figure has reached 3.2 million in the recent period, adding that another critical issue for the development of capital markets is that the country's savings level now rises to higher levels.

The minister underlined that it is an extremely natural and positive development for investors, who are increasingly aware of the potential of listed companies, to evaluate their savings through capital markets.