The number of newly established companies in Turkey soared 18% year-on-year in October, a key business body said Friday.

Last month, 8,352 new companies were established, up from 7,081 businesses that had started operating in October 2018, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) said in a report.

The top three fields of operation among new companies were wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing and construction.

In October, 1,183 companies with foreign partners were established. The figure was 1,504 in October 2018.

The report showed that 1,199 companies went out of business in October, rising 3.2% from the same month last year.

From January through October, 68,522 new companies were launched, indicating an annual decrease of nearly 5%.