BY ALAATTIN AKTAS
We have concerned ourselves with Israel for more than a month.
Of course, inhuman brutality must be opposed, but we confused the point again. There is such information pollution that there is a perception that certain products are manufactured in Israel or with Israeli investment, and there are strange behaviors. Protests have gone beyond boycotts and reached the attack level.
Some think that Israel has giant investments. Is that so? Israel has investments in Turkey, but their dimension cannot be regarded as an investment!
HERE IS THE DATA…
According to the Central Bank, foreigners’ direct investments (FDI) amounted to USD 183.8bn in Turkey from the beginning of 2022 to the end of August 2023.
Israel’s share stood at USD 430m in total FDI investments in this period.
Israel invested USD 354m in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. The total investment is just USD 76m in the remaining 18 months.
A significant part of USD 183.8bn is empty investments, which cannot even be considered investments. Foreigners’ real estate acquisitions have totaled USD 71.3bn since 2003. So, the remainder is USD 112.5bn, which is another dimension of FDI in Turkey.
We don’t know the share of real estate investments by Israel.
NOT EVEN 0.5%
The foreign currency equivalent of an FDI can change year by year. Equities increased or decreased, and the lira devaluated or appreciated. For instance, this situation was perceptibly experienced in 2008 when equities sharply dropped on the stock change and in 2021 when USD/TRY sharply hiked. That’s why examining the stock investment as much as the FDI inflow is necessary.
The investment stock has hovered around USD 195.8bn as of August 2023, USD 871m of which belonged to Israel.
So, the share of Israeli capital per USD 100 foreign capital investment in Turkey is just 0.44 cents. It’s not even 0.5 cents or 0.5%.
STORM IN A GLASS OF WATER!
Moreover, the USD 871m Israeli investment may include the capital contributed by Turks in addition to the Israeli capital. We also shouldn’t think that these investments are 100% Israeli capital.
Even though it is so, these facilities are on our lands. They operate in Turkey, employ Turkish people, pay taxes, and may export. But we go after a rote.
