Foreign direct investment (FDI) by European Union countries into Turkey increased by 61 percent in the January-June period when compared to the same period last year. Data provided by the Ministry of Economy indicates that government measures to strengthen the economy and incentives for foreign investors increased the investment inflow to Turkey from many countries, especially the EU. Foreign direct investment inflow to Turkey from EU countries reached $2.7 billion in the first half of this year, an increase of 61 percent compared to the same period last year when FDI from the region amounted to $1.7 billion.This accounted for 66 percent of the total investment of $4.1 billion that came to Turkey in the same period.

While investment inflow from the Netherlands increased 104 percent from $403 million to $821 million during this period, investment from Germany decreased by 6 percent from $181 million to $170 million.

In the first half of this year, investment inflow from Asian countries also increased significantly. In the January-June period, investment inflow from Asian countries rose by 138 percent to $1.1 billion from $481 million in the same period last year. Investment inflow from Gulf countries, on the other hand, amounted to $561 million, an increase of 322 percent in the same period.

In the January-June period this year, the amount of foreign direct investment in Turkey increased by 50 percent compared to the same period the previous year, rising from $2.7 billion to $4.1 billion. The amount paid for real estate during this period increased by 34 percent from $1.8 billion to $2.4 billion.

A total of 55,639 companies established in Turkey with international capital consisted of 22,145 companies with partners in EU countries and 19,184 with partners in Near Eastern and Middle Eastern countries. Among companies with international capital and partners in EU countries, Germany topped the list with almost 7,000 companies.

Moreover, ministry data also demonstrates that FDI from Germany to Turkey between 2002 and May 2017 was above $9 billion, with Germany sixth among the top 20 countries investing in Turkey. FDI from Germany, which generally makes investments in the energy, insurance and manufacturing sectors, is calculated to compose 6.3 percent of total FDI in the country. The activities of financial intermediaries ranked first in the distribution of investment inflows on a sectoral basis. Investment capital inflows in this sector increased by 145 percent in January-June this year compared to the same period the previous year, reaching $1.2 billion. This sector was followed by the electricity, gas and water sector with an investment of $918 million.

Turkey attracted $15 billion in FDI up to 2002, but has had foreign investment of $185 billion in the 14 years since 2003. In the meantime, there has been a recent increase in the share of manufacturing and energy sectors.