Treasury to cut borrowing as costs increase

Turkey’s Treasury said it plans to borrow YTL 5.6 billion ($3.7 billion) on international markets in 2009, less than this year as the global crisis makes it harder and more costly for developing economies to obtain credit.

The target, laid out in a borrowing plan announced by the Treasury in Ankara in an e-mailed statement Monday, compares with the $4 billion in international borrowing Turkey carried out in 2008, already less than the $5.5 billion originally planned for the year.

The global crisis has “increased the cost and shortened the term of public borrowing,” the Treasury statement said. Turkey is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund on a lending accord to defend its economy against the turmoil and has cut its 2009 spending plans by about YTL 3 billion.

Source: Hurriyet

Bosphorus prices vary

Tarabya is a valuable district alongside the Bosphorus and property prices in this area vary according to the view of the beautiful waterway through Istanbul.

Old apartments, villas, waterside mansions, new apartments in new living compounds are all available, TURYAP’s Tarabya representative Nedim Aktas said. Mansions right near the Bosphorus are invaluable. Prices of villas further inland range between $3 million and $4 million.

Mansions are priced from $5 million to $10 million. Duplex apartments in luxurious building compounds have a price tag around $1.5 million. The most important factor influencing prices is the Bosphorus view.

If an apartment or villa has a view of the Bosphorus, even a corner view or a side view pulls the price of the property up, according to Aktas. “In a building where top floors have a Bosphorus view are rented out one-third more than on bottom floors where there is no view,” Aktas said.

Source: Hurriyet

TOKI set to build its 400,000th home

The Housing Development Administration will focus on building homes for low-income groups in 2009, with a target of building its 400,000th house in mind.

The Housing Development Administration of Turkey, or TOKI, sold 24,317 houses in 2008 and has a target to build its 400,000th house in 2009.

A statement released by the administration on its 2008 activities, reveals that construction of 286,489 houses continues on 926 construction sites in 384 districts in 81 provinces. The number of houses built totals 334,444, of which 24,317 were sold in 2008 making the total number of houses sold by TOKI amount to 274,817. TOKI has sold 82 percent of all houses it has built.

In the statement, an overview of the projects that had been accomplished between 1983 and 2003 was given that said 42,000 houses were built during that period. “We have achieved the work of 19 years in a single year,” TOKI said. Construction of 47,955 houses was launched in 2008, according to the statement. The number of schools built by TOKI increased from 355 to 442 from 2007 to 2008, sports complexes from 61 to 436, trade centers from 282 to 324, mosques from 227 to 263, hospitals from 15 to 36 and health centers from 66 to 74.

In the statement, TOKI said the number houses to be built in 2009 will surpass 400,000, on track to hit the government’s target of 500,000 houses. In 2009, TOK? will especially focus on the construction of homes for low-income groups, the statement said. “In 2009, TOKI aims to build 45-square-meter houses with no down payment and YTL 100 monthly payments with a 20-year payment term.”

New construction lots
TOKI will also concentrate on new construction lots in 2009, according to the statement. Prevention of excessive lot prices, of new shanty houses, improvement and liquidation of existing slums, meeting housing needs in urban areas and creating new construction lots for other firms are the aims of the housing administration.

As part of the plan, new lots will be allocated in the Kayabas? neighborhood in Kücükcekmece in Istanbul. In Ankara, new lots will be allocated in Mahmatli in Golbasi, Asag? Cavundur in Cubuk, Yapracik; Asagi and Yukar? Yurtcu neighborhoods in Yenimahalle, Etimesgut; Hacitugrul and Gedikli villages in Polatli.

Source: Hurriyet

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Asides

• The Istanbul Sapphire, a revolutionary, high-tech, environmentally friendly and energy-efficient skyscraper, has risen in the heart of ?stanbul. Briefing the press about the latest developments in the Sapphire project yesterday on the building's lookout terrace -- at a height of 226 meters -- Kiler Group CEO Nahit Kiler said they expected to make the skyscraper a modern symbol of the city. "Similar to the Empire State Building in New York, we will introduce the Istanbul Sapphire to become a trademark and make a name for itself in the world," he explained, adding that they expected to finish the building in the last quarter of 2009. He asserted that they are pleased to see that they are very close to realizing their goal. Kiler underlined that they are not afraid of the negative effects of the current global financial turmoil and that they have already sold 40 percent of the residences in the building. "We are continuing with sales, and we have earned $7.5 million since the start of the crisis," he noted, stressing that everything had gone as they expected from the very beginning, both in regard to the building and in financial terms. He also said the share of foreign investors in the sales of residences in the skyscraper so far is 15 percent and that they hoped this would increase in the coming months. Source: Today's Zaman #
• Carlyle, the world's largest private equity firm with $83bn worth of assets under management, has entered the Turkish market by taking a 50% share in TVK, a manufacturer of chemical tankers. #