Invest AD, an Abu Dhabi financial services firm, which is looking to step up its investments in Turkey, has held meetings with over a dozen Turkish companies in Istanbul.

The meetings were hosted by Akbank, a leading bank in Turkey, at its headquarters at the Sabanci Center. A high-level team from Invest AD met executives representing leading Turkish companies from various sectors, including construction, real estate, retail, services, energy and tourism.

Invest AD, which bought a stake in Turkish logistics firm Ekol in December for its new $400 million private equity fund, manages several funds that invest in the Mena region and Turkey.

Invest AD chief executive officer Nazem Al Kudsi said he was bullish on Turkey because of the country’s role as a trading centre between Europe and the Middle East, and its fast developing capital markets and financial sector.

“Turkish companies are starting to look eastwards to the Gulf for business opportunities and investment partners, and we believe Turkey is an exciting market, with great growth potential,” Al Kudsi said.

“Invest AD has a strong regional network of relationships that extends to Turkey, and with Akbank’s help, we’re looking to build on that,” he added.

Ziya Akkurt, chief executive officer of Akbank, said that Akbank’s intention for opening a Dubai office was first and foremost to play an intermediary role by encouraging and facilitating investment from the region, particularly from the UAE.

“We believe that such meetings will, in the near future, lead to very productive outcomes for Turkish companies as well as the Turkish economy,” Akkurt said.

“We will continue to organise more events of this kind in order to attract investors from the Gulf region to our country,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service