FT Turkey Summit
 
 
22/11/2012
08:30 - 09:30Registration and Coffee
09:30 - 09:35Chair's Opening Remarks
David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times
09:35 - 09:45Welcome
Suzan Sabancı Dinçer, Chair, Turkish-British Business Council of Foreign Economic Relations (DEIK)
09:45 - 10:15Ministerial Address and Interview
Ali Babacan, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Financial Affairs, Republic of Turkey

Interviewed by

David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times

10:15 - 11:40Keynote Panel Discussion: Turkey's Economic Outlook and Key Investment Opportunities
Dr Tevfik Aksoy, Managing Director and Head of Central Europe, Middle East and Africa Economics, Morgan Stanley
Dr Vusal Gasimli, Acting Chief of the Department of Economic Analysis and Global Affairs, Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Hakam Kanafani, CEO, Türk Telekom Group
Soli Özel, Commentator, Habertürk Newspaper
Hasan Pehlivan, Principal Consultant, ISPAT (Investment Support & Promotion Agency)
Mustafa Sani Şener, President and CEO, TAV Airports
Dr Murat Ulgen, Managing Director and Chief Economist, Central and Eastern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, HSBC

Moderated by

David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times

With a dynamic period of economic activity on the cards, what is driving Turkey's key growth trajectories? What is the outlook for the country’s economic and finance sectors - particularly against the backdrop of the Eurozone's deepening woes? Speakers will give a strategic overview of the latest business and investment opportunities for international and national commercial interests within the national and international economic and political context.

  • Economic outlook in the EU and global context
  • Privatisation and construction plans to 2015
  • The future of Turkey's energy and 'renewables' sector
  • Is Turkey looking more towards the East?
11:40 - 12:00Networking Coffee
12:00 - 12:45Keynote Address and Interview
Mehmet Şimşek, Finance Minister, Republic of Turkey

Interviewed by

Daniel Dombey, Turkey Correspondent, Financial Times

12:45 - 13:05Keynote Address
Hakan Binbaşgil, CEO, Akbank

Moderated by

Daniel Dombey, Turkey Correspondent, Financial Times

13:05 - 14:15Networking Lunch
14:15 - 14:35Corporate Case Study: Investing in Turkey - An International Perspective
Han Ilhan, Vice President and Country Director - Turkey, Alamos Gold

Moderated by

Daniel Dombey, Turkey Correspondent, Financial Times

14:35 - 15:40Panel Discussion: Turkey's bid for EU Accession

Special address
Selim Yenel, Ambassador to the EU, Republic of Turkey

Followed by panel discussion with
Cengiz Çandar, Senior Columnist, Radikal (Daily), Istanbul
Joost Lagendijk, Columnist, Zaman and Today’s Zaman
Sinan Ülgen, Chairman, EDAM (Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies)
Selim Yenel, Ambassador to the EU, Republic of Turkey

Moderated by
Daniel Dombey, Turkey Correspondent, Financial Times

 

Discussions over Turkey's entry to the EU ran aground almost five years ago, not only because of the impasse over Cyprus, but because of core EU members' concerns that the country is too big, too poor and too Muslim. Can Turkey continue to go it alone? Or, as the Turkish economy keeps on its upwards trajectory, will we see the EU finding it harder to resist Turkey's overtures?

  • How important is EU membership for Turkey - and for the EU?
  • What are the main roadblocks to entry?
15:40 - 16:00Networking Tea and Coffee
16:00 - 17:00Panel Discussion: Turkey as a Logistics and Production Hub
İzzet Karaca, Executive Vice President for Turkey, Russia, Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Caucasia and CEO, Unilever
Ruhi Engin Özmen, President, UND
Mehmet Şahintürk, General Industries Sector Manager, Ekol Logistics

Moderated by
Turgut Erkeskin, Chairman, UTİKAD and President and CEO, Genel Transport

Turkey lies between Asia and Europe serving as a bridge geographically, culturally and economically. Its location on two continents plays a central part in Turkish history and gives the country's logistics and production sector a major advantage in serving the markets of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. But is underinvestment undermining the country's position as a production and operations hub and an east-west transit route?

17:00 - 17:20Address: Moving Turkey Ahead: Financing Infrastructure Investments
Alper Hakan Yüksel, EVP, Corporate Banking, Akbank

Moderated by

David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times

17:20 - 17:40Corporate Case Study: The International Perspective: Investing in Turkey’s Energy Sector
Farid Jafarov, Deputy CFO, State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)

Moderated by

David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times

17:40 - 17:45Chair's Closing Remarks and Close of Summit
David Gardner, Associate Editor and International Affairs Editor, Financial Times
17:45 - 18:45Networking Drinks Reception