A senior management team from HSBC Turkey will introduce Turkey's potential to the Chinese companies and investors at the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) Roadshow, which is organized by HSBC and will focus on the opportunities under the Belt and Road initiative. According to the statement released by the British bank, the HSBC Roadshow 2018 will be held by HSBC Group in China's major cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, under the theme of "One Belt, One Road," the biggest development project of the 21st century.

Over 200 institution representatives and sector leaders will participate in the road show, which will facilitate discussions on the trade and investment opportunities that the Belt and Road Initiative carries for the MENAT region. A senior management team that will participate in the road show from HSBC Turkey will provide information to Chinese companies and investors on the investment and trade opportunities in Turkey.

Focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, which covers more than 70 countries including Turkey and holds one-third of the global economy, the MENAT road show will set the grounds to discuss MENAT-China economic relations on infrastructure, trade, investment, services, supply chain and the use of Chinese currency RMB, while a road map will be drawn on how the cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative will shape the world trade. A special session will also take place on Turkey during the road show's Beijing phase. The session will concentrate on the investment and trade opportunities in Turkey, which is located on one of the world's oldest trade routes, within the scope of "One Belt, One Road" project and financing solutions offered by HSBC on the China-Turkey corridor, as well as the business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region for the companies in Turkey.

HSBC Turkey General Manager Selim Kervancı said HSBC's MENAT road show will be an important step in strengthening the trade and investment corridor between China and Turkey.

"We aim to strengthen commercial ties with China by building a bridge between the two countries' firms, while transferring Turkey's potential in both investment and trade to the Chinese business world. As HSBC, our operations in China, Hong Kong and many 'One Belt, One Road' countries allow us to support our clients in capturing the opportunities that will arise from the commercial, investment and infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative," Kervancı continued. "We aim to stand by the two countries' entrepreneurs with value-added financing models by using our power in the relevant commercial corridors, particularly in major infrastructure investments such as railways that will link Turkey to Asia and/or in investments in different sectors planned to be realized by the public-private partnership in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative."

The Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe, covers billions of dollars of infrastructural investment projects involving roads, railways, ports and energy transmission lines.

This initiative intends to build transportation, telecommunications, energy and other infrastructure networks in these regions, integrate them with each other, to provide financing for new projects and to revitalize trade and investment partnerships together with interregional customs and tax coordination.

The world's second largest trader, China invests $120 billion annually in various countries across the world and Turkey has been enjoying China's overseas investments in the recent decade.

Moreover, the number of Chinese firms operating in Turkey had neared 1,000 by April, according to the data of Economy Ministry.

Meanwhile, the volume of bilateral trade between Turkey and China was recorded at$26.3 billion in 2017. Turkey's exports to the country totaled to nearly $3 billion while its imports from China exceeded $23 billion.