Türkiye on Monday inaugurated a long-awaited vast business district that promises to place the Turkish metropolis among the world’s most important financial centers.
A ceremony led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marked the gradual launch of the Istanbul Finance Center (IFC), starting with the launch of the section hosting banks.
The IFC could help the metropolis form ties between financial markets in the world, said Erdoğan. “This center will create a new financial ecosystem in Istanbul, which is the meeting point of two continents,” he noted.
“We believe Istanbul, which has historically served as both a geographical and commercial bridge between the east and the west, has the potential to establish the same link between financial markets today,” he added.
The IFC will boast most of the country’s most prominent institutions started in 2009 and is being developed in the Ümraniye district on the city’s Anatolian part.
It aims to make Istanbul a competitive destination for international financial institutions and investors and to support the growth of the Turkish economy.
“Istanbul Finance Center is a visionary project implemented to strengthen Türkiye’s role in the global economy,” Erdoğan said.
He stressed the project would ease international capital flow and boost the potential to attract investments.
The center will be a new home to most of Türkiye’s most prominent financial institutions and authorities, including the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), the Banking Regulation and Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK).
The ceremony on Monday marked the start of a new chapter for the country’s public lenders, Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and VakıfBank, all of which have relocated to the center that is also expected to become home to other prominent domestic and international banks and financial institutions.
Erdoğan stressed the center of global finance was clearly shifting from West to East.
“The real value of this center, and how strategic and visionary the project is, will be understood better in the coming years,” said Erdoğan.
Increasing commercial competition between Asia and Europe and the geopolitical position of Türkiye creates new opportunities for Istanbul, the president noted, pointing to the bustling city's position as a geographical and commercial bridge between the two continents.
Run by the Türkiye Wealth Fund and developed in coordination with the Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Ministry, the IFC will host participation finance companies, financial investment and portfolio management companies and insurance firms.
Build with an investment of about TL 65 billion ($3.3 billion), it is one of the country's most prestigious projects and is likely to be a hub for participation finance and fin-tech.
“The Istanbul Financial Center will contribute to our country’s economy with the start of operations catering to domestic and foreign financial institutions,” Erdoğan said.
He stressed the center is capable of addressing the needs of the business world.
The center boasts 1.3 million square meters of office space, a 100,000-square-meter shopping center, a conference and performance center for 2,100 people, a five-star hotel spanning 30,000 square meters and a parking lot with a capacity of more than 26,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, the leasing demand from local and foreign companies for the spaces within the IFC is said to have far exceeded the supply.
The landmark project aims to establish a financial center that is on par, if not larger, with the existing ones in New York, London and Dubai.
With an innovative city model, it is expected to have around 100,000 visitors per day, including employees.
The 21 office buildings, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, will bring all management systems under one roof. In addition, the high-end shopping center, which will include five-star meeting rooms and world-renowned luxury restaurants, is designed to meet the needs of employees and visitors.
The mall in the IFM will reflect the essence of the center with its modern facilities, unique architecture and functional design, and it is expected to boast outlets of world-renowned retail brands.
The mall spread over 3.3 kilometers (2.05 miles) of streets, alleys and squares, will provide an open-air shopping experience and offer a wide range of services and brand options in areas such as cuisines, clothing, technology, art, entertainment and other retail.
