Kuwait – Muhasebe News

House Sales Statistics in Turkey, April 2017

MuhasebeNews — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 08:18:27 +0000

In April 2017, 114 446 houses were sold in Turkey
In Turkey, house sales increased by 7.6% in April 2017 compared to the same month of the previous year and hence, became 114 446. For the house sales of April 2017, İstanbul had the highest share of house sales with 17.5% and 20 066 sold house. The followers of İstanbul were Ankara with 13 364 house sales and 11.7% and İzmir 7 170 house sales and 6.3%. The least house sold provinces were Hakkari with 4 house sales, Ardahan with 8 house sales, Şırnak with 18 house sales.

Number of house sales, 2016-2017
In April 2017, 43 334 ownership of the houses changed by mortgage sales
The mortgaged house sales throughout Turkey became 43 334 by increasing 29.6% compared to the same month of the previous year. House sales with mortgage had a 37.9% share of all house sales in Turkey. Most of house sales with mortgage was in İstanbul with 8 546 sales. İstanbul was the first province in Turkey ranking that has most house sales with mortgage share with 19.7%. Mortgaged house sales had the highest share in Ardahan with 87.5% of all house sales.

Ownership of 71 112 houses changed by other sales
Other house sales in Turkey became 71 112 by decreasing 2.5% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the other sales, İstanbul was the first province with 11 520 sales and 16.2% share. Other house sales had 57.4% share of all house sales in İstanbul. Ankara was the second province with 8 047 sales. Ankara was followed by İzmir with 4 149 sales. The least other house sales was realized in Ardahan with 1 house sales.

House sales by type of sales, April 2017

House sales by state of sales, April 2017

In house sales, 51 988 of houses were sold for the first time
First house sales in Turkey became 51 988 by increasing 10.8% compared to the same month of the previous year. First house sales had 45.4% share of all house sales in Turkey. The most first house sales was in İstanbul with 9 380 sales. İstanbul was the first province in Turkey ranking that had most first house sales share with 18%. The followers of İstanbul were Ankara with 5 206 house sales and İzmir with 2 872 house sales.

Ownership of 62 458 houses changed by second hand sales
Second hand house sales in Turkey became 62 458 by increasing 5.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the second hand sales, İstanbul was the first province again with 10 686 sales and 17.1% share. Share of the second hand sales was 53.3% in İstanbul in total house sales. Ankara was the second province with 8 158 sales and Ankara was followed by İzmir with 4 298 sales.

In April 2017, 1 624 houses were sold to foreigners
In house sales to foreigners became 1 624 by increasing 2.7% compared to the same month of the previous year. İstanbul was the first province with 571 sales in April 2017. The followers of İstanbul were Antalya with 385 house sales, Bursa with 109 house sales, Trabzon with 97 house sales, Yalova with 69 house sales and Ankara with 65 house sales.

Most house sales were made to Iraqi citizens according to country nationalities
Iraqi citizens bought 245 houses from Turkey in April. The followers of Iraq were Saudi Arabia with 185 house sales, Kuwait with 169 house sales, Russia with 99 house sales and Afghanistan with 81 house sales.

Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither MuhasebeNews nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.

House Sales Statistics in Turkey, March 2017

MuhasebeNews — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 07:49:07 +0000

In March 2017, 128 923 houses were sold in Turkey
In Turkey, house sales increased by 10% in March 2017 compared to the same month of the previous year and hence, became 128 923. For the house sales of March 2017, İstanbul had the highest share of house sales with 17.4% and 22 443 sold house. The followers of İstanbul were Ankara with 15 004 house sales and 11.6% and İzmir 8 059 house sales and 6.3%. The least house sold provinces were Hakkari with 8 house sales, Ardahan with 12 house sales, Bayburt with 39 house sales.

Number of house sales, 2016-2017

In March 2017, 50 424 ownership of the houses changed by mortgage sales

The mortaged house sales throughout Turkey became 50 424 by increasing 29.9% compared to the same month of the previous year. House sales with mortgage had a 39.1% share of all house sales in Turkey. Most of house sales with mortgage was in İstanbul with 9 661 sales. İstanbul was the first province in Turkey ranking that has most house sales with mortgage share with 19.2%. Mortgaged house sales had the highest share in Artvin with 59.1% of all house sales.

Ownership of 78 499 houses changed by other sales
Other house sales in Turkey became 78 499 by increasing 0.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the other sales, İstanbul was the first province with 12 782 sales and 16.3% share. Other house sales had 57% share of all house sales in İstanbul. Ankara was the second province with 8 525 sales. Ankara was followed by İzmir with 4 667 sales. The least other house sales was realized in Hakkari and Ardahan with 5 house sales.

House sales by type of sales, March 2017

House sales by state of sales, March 2017

In house sales, 56 376 of houses were sold for the first time
First house sales in Turkey became 56 376 by increasing 7.6% compared to the same month of the previous year. First house sales had 43.7% share of all house sales in Turkey. The most first house sales was in İstanbul with 9 972 sales. İstanbul was the first province in Turkey ranking that had most first house sales share with 17.7%. The followers of İstanbul were Ankara with 5 355 house sales and İzmir with 3 117 house sales.

Ownership of 72 547 houses changed by second hand sales
Second hand house sales in Turkey became 72 547 by increasing 11.9% compared to the same month of the previous year. In the second hand sales, İstanbul was the first province again with 12 471 sales and 17.2% share. Share of the second hand sales was 55.6% in İstanbul in total house sales. Ankara was the second province with 9 649 sales and Ankara was followed by İzmir with 4 942 sales.

In March 2017, 1 578 houses were sold to foreigners
In house sales to foreigners became 1 578 by decreasing 1.1% compared to the same month of the previous year. İstanbul was the first province with 579 sales in March 2017. The followers of İstanbul were Antalya with 313 house sales, Bursa with 124 house sales, Yalova with 88 house sales, Sakarya with 80 house sales and Ankara with 73 house sales.

Most house sales were made to Iraqi citizens according to country nationalities
Iraqi citizens bought 323 houses from Turkey in March. The followers of Iraq were Saudi Arabia with 148 house sales, Kuwait with 139 house sales, Russia with 115 house sales and Afghanistan with 112 house sales.

Will There be an Oil Cut?

MuhasebeNews — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 11:11:45 +0000

Leading Gulf oil producers Saudi Arabia and Kuwait gave a signal that OPEC plans to curb oil supplies.

The agreement between OPEC producers and non-OPEC producers is planned to be extended into the second half of the year.

OPEC is keen that non-OPEC producers play their parts in reducing world inventories to support a price rise that has stalled near $55 a barrel.

Source: Euronews

Investment Legislation

MuhasebeNews — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:39:08 +0000

Turkey’s investment legislation is simple and complies with international standards, while it offers equal treatment for all investors. The backbone of the investment legislation is made up of the Encouragement of Investments and Employment Law No. 5084, Foreign Direct Investments Law No. 4875, the Regulation on the Implementation of the Foreign Direct Investment Law, multilateral and bilateral investment treaties and various laws and related sub-regulations on the promotion of sectorial investments.

Legal Framework of Foreign Direct Investment
1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law No. 4875

The aim of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law No. 4875 is:

to encourage FDI in the country
to protect the rights of investors
to align the definitions of an investor and investment with international standards
to establish a notification-based system rather than an approval-based one for FDI
to increase the volume of FDI through streamlined policies and procedures

The FDI Law provides a definition of foreign investors and foreign direct investments. In addition, it explains important principles of FDI, such as;

freedom to invest,
national treatment,
expropriation and nationalization,
freedom of transfer,
national and international arbitration and alternative dispute settlement methods,
valuation of non-cash capital,
employment of foreign personnel,
liaison offices.

The Regulation on the Implementation of the FDI Law consists of specifying the procedures and principles set forth in the FDI Law. The aim of the FDI Law with regard to the work permits for foreigners is:

to regulate the work carried out by foreigners
to stipulate the provisions and rules on work permits given to foreigners
2. Bilateral Agreements
2.a. Bilateral Agreements for the Promotion and Protection of Investments
Bilateral Agreements for the Promotion and Protection of Investments were signed from 1962 onwards with countries that show the potential to improve bilateral investment relations. The basic aim of bilateral investment agreements is to establish a favorable environment for economic cooperation between the contracting parties by defining standards of treatment for investors and their investments within the boundaries of the countries concerned. The aim of these agreements is to increase the flow of capital between the contracting parties, while ensuring a stable investment environment. In addition, by having provisions on international arbitration, they aim to prescribe ways to successfully settle disputes that might occur among investors and the host state. Turkey has signed Bilateral Investment Treaties with 94 countries. However, Turkey is a dualist country, where an international treaty has to be ratified and promulgated in order to become part of the national legal system. Within this regard, 75 Bilateral Investment Treaties out of these 94 have gone into effect so far.

75 countries
Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium-Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Source: Ministry of Economy

2. b. Double Taxation Prevention Treaties
Turkey has signed Double Taxation Prevention Treaties with 80 countries. This enables tax paid in one of two countries to be offset against tax payable in the other, thus preventing double taxation.

80 countries
Albania, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Source: Revenue Administration

Turkey is continuing to expand the area covered by the Double Taxation Prevention Treaty by adding more countries on an ongoing basis.

2. c. Social Security Agreements
Turkey has signed Social Security Agreements with 26 countries. These agreements make it easier for expatriates to move between countries. The number of these countries will increase in line with the increased sources of FDI.

26 countries
Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada and the Province of Quebec, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, United Kingdom
Source: Social Security Institution (SSI)

3. Customs Union and Free Trade Agreements (FTA)
A Customs Union Agreement between Turkey and the European Union has been in effect since 1996. The agreement allows trade between Turkey and the EU countries without any customs restrictions. The EU-Turkey Customs Union is one of the steps toward full Turkish membership of the EU itself.

Turkey has FTAs with 37 countries, creating a free trade area in which the countries agree to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. This framework explains why many global companies are now using Turkey as a second supply source and manufacturing base, not only for the EU and rapidly growing Turkish markets, but also for the Middle East, Black Sea and North African markets, with the added advantage of a relatively low-cost but well-educated labor force, coupled with cost-effective transportation.

37 countries
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Georgia, EFTA, Israel, South Korea, Macedonia, Morocco, Malaysia, Mauritius, Palestine, Jordan, Syria*, Tunisia, Montenegro, Serbia, Chile
Countries that have finalized the negotiation process: Faroe Islands, Ghana, Kosovo, Lebanon, Moldova, Singapore
Countries in the negotiation process: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Colombia, Ecuador, Gulf Cooperation Council, Japan, Libya, Mexico, Mercosur, Peru, Seychelles, Ukraine *suspended
Source: Ministry of Economy

Date: 13 March 2017