ISPAT president works to promote international investment in Turkey

The agency's president spoke with Sunday's Zaman, saying that Turkey's advantageous investment atmosphere makes their job easy. ISPAT President Alpaslan Korkmaz emphasizes that his agency uses the concept of love in its marketing language, which he says adds elements of sympathy and confidence to their serious work. The ISPAT uses the slogan “Investment Loves Turkey, Turkey Loves Investment” in much of its work, Korkmaz noted.

“We've based our promotional work upon love. Global brands love Turkey and Turkey loves them. This awakens a sympathetic, positive feeling. When we say ‘Microsoft and Mango love Turkey and Turkey loves Microsoft and Mango,' we're also drawing attention to something else -- in the background it shows evidence of self-confidence; I can make jokes. Turkey trusts itself, it [this language] tells you,” Korkmaz says.

Korkmaz is quick to note, however, that all the love is not in jest: “Beneath every joke or love-filled lighthearted comment, is an explanation of why the CEOs of firms that have invested in Turkey have chosen Turkey and why their biggest foreign investment is in Turkey. For example, Microsoft's general manager of sales explains why they manage half of their global operations from Turkey. We are charged with promoting the investment side of Turkey, the economic Turkey. After all, doesn't the presence of very successful firms in Turkey do this as well?”

Korkmaz admitted that it was only after his ascension to the ISPAT presidency that he realized the sheer amount of investor interest in Turkey. “I've also been shocked by the presence of very powerful firms in Turkey -- I didn't know about Turkey's success in attracting international investment before, I learned that in my current position, but the world doesn't know this -- we [Turks] don't even know this,” he said.

Korkmaz says that to boost the confidence of potential investors, the ISPAT promotes the satisfaction of those who already made the choice to invest in Turkey alongside its love-based slogans. The informational bulletins the ISPAT has been sending out for the past two years feature the views of representatives of companies with a strong presence in Turkey. “Microsoft's biggest base of operations outside Seattle is in Turkey; I didn't know this before, I learned this on the job. There are almost 90 countries [in which Microsoft operates] that have Turkey as their center [of operations]. There are roughly 200 countries in the world; Microsoft basically runs half of the world [operations] from Turkey,” he said.

Korkmaz says he had phoned Microsoft to inquire as to whether they were pleased with Turkey as their second largest base of operations. “When they said they were happy, we asked if they would help us tell that to the world. … I went and did the same thing with Mango, Toyota, HSBC, Hyundai and other firms and all of the responses I got were positive,” Korkmaz says, adding that it was after that point that an interesting development took place.

“Companies actually began calling us, saying, ‘Hey, we have investments in Turkey too, why didn't you ask for our views in your campaign to promote Turkey?' We said come on over, we'll take those views as well. In the first year of our effort, we made some requests for statements, but by the second year we were being flooded by [companies'] requests. For example, DHL came to us with a great initiative in mind. ‘We send 150,000 parcels abroad each month. Let's promote Turkey,' they said. Now, stickers themed around our love concept and containing pieces of information [on Turkey] are being stuck on more than 150,000 packages [every month]. Everyone who receives a package gets this message [about Turkey],” he explained, noting that they have a similar project with the UPS. Messages on the stickers include questions such as, “Did you know that more countries invest in Turkey than anywhere else?”

 Human potential

 When ISPAT President Korkmaz assembled his team he also emphasized the power of the love concept and a positive approach. He says he carefully selected 16 representatives for 13 countries and brought Turks living in all corners of the globe together at ISPAT's main office. He says his representatives posted abroad are well-known and highly esteemed figures and that they all began their work with an introductory tour of Turkey. "The representatives love Turkey, as anyone who knows the country well does," Korkmaz said. He says this is an important point and that the work and effort of someone who does not love the project they are trying to market is not very efficient.

Learning a foreign language is an inevitable element of success in the globalizing world, Korkmaz emphasized, noting that more important than the language itself is to learn empathy for the cultures associated with the language. With a diaspora of 6 million, Turkey is in an advantageous position in this field, he said, and so 40 percent of the team at the main office has lived and worked abroad for an extended period of time.

During his time as the ISPAT's president, Korkmaz says he's learned a great deal about how cultural specifics play into the international business and investment scene. “I didn't know about Turks' skills when it came to intercultural relations. What I've learned on this job is something that I've heard many times from people at many different companies. ‘You Turks are incredible people. With Americans you're American, with Middle Easterners you're Middle Eastern, with Europeans you're European and with Central Asians you're Central Asian.' This is a very important detail,” he said. “On a recent trip to China, we met with [a Turk who] teaches there, speaks impeccable Chinese and gets on very well with the people there. That person was still connected to their roots, but had also engaged with the culture and people of that place, marrying a Chinese person without any problems. Now, such [Turks living abroad] are serving as important bridges between their chosen countries and ours.”

The 1,000-year cultural memory of the Turks has emerged today as a remarkable intercultural ability, Korkmaz asserted, saying the Turks' natural inclinations could be paired with modern situations to be made more powerful. Turkey's youthful population is an advantage for both Turkey and foreign investors, he said, noting that according to United Nations estimates, Turkey will remain the only European country with a population that is growing younger for the next 41 years. For this reason, he says it was not at all difficult for him to put together a team for the ISPAT. “The agency's main office had to know the world and we put together an amazing team in this regard. We provide services in 11 languages. Think about it, we brought in people from Tokyo, Seoul, Taiwan, Beijing and Bahrain; from Moscow and Almaty; from New York, Chicago, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Paris. They had been living there and pursuing their careers for long periods of time, maybe 15 years. To compose a team of people who have lived and worked all over the world is an amazing thing,” he said.

Multinational firms investing in Turkey

One of the agency's most important goals is convincing foreign firms to move their global base of operations to Turkey. “When these brands consider Turkey as the headquarters for the management of their operations in tens of countries, they take into account Turks' savvy regarding intercultural relations,” Korkmaz says.

Korkmaz recalled a global firm that moved its headquarters to Turkey last year. “They came from London, moving their headquarters of operations in 84 countries to Turkey. We're talking about a turnover of $17 billion here. The employment generated from this might not seem so big; 250 people, but the thing is, the company's market policy for 84 countries -- from Kazakhstan to Moscow to South Africa -- is being determined in Turkey. When a company chooses to do this, it's saying something. It's saying I see something in [Turkey],” he said.

The ISPAT encourages new investors looking at the world map to look at Turkey a bit more carefully, reminding them of Turkey's central geographic location and the impact of this in terms of the nation, serving as both an economic and cultural bridge between different regions. Many multinational firms have realized and taken advantage of this, Korkmaz said. “They travel to Turkey and evaluate it in terms of its centrality and a lot of them end up setting up their main offices here,” he said.

Energy companies prefer to invest in Turkey

How does the ISPAT work?

We work on a location distribution scheme; we've established an international network. As an agency we have a personal network, with people in the US, Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Kazakhstan, Israel and Saudi Arabia, and we have a representative in Abu Dhabi for the Emirates, from Kuwait to Oman. Other than a couple of exceptions in China, Italy and Japan, our representatives are all natives [of the countries they're based in].

What are the basic qualities of your representatives?

 Our representatives [with a few exceptions] are all natives of the countries they're working in. They all come from the private sector and are professionals; they are esteemed in their regions. Every time they come to Turkey, they get to know it better and love it more. You have to know the product you're selling. I'm going to say something controversial -- if you're not in love with your product, then you can't impart that electricity when speaking about it. We had to create a love of Turkey in them.

What are the most common difficulties investors face in Turkey?

The most frequent complaints we receive are related to residence and work permits. A company comes and makes an investment; it needs to be easier for their management team to get working and residence permits. We've established direct communication with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, speaking with the minister himself about this. Some changes have been made to speed up the process when applications come in. Applications from our agency and the services our agency provides to follow up on the process have done a great deal to decrease the complaints to an extent.

In what direction are the trends heading? Investments coming into Turkey are usually in which fields?

First and foremost is energy, without a doubt. … Energy and energy infrastructure. Now everyone's waiting for renewable energy. It has huge potential; renewable energy and energy infrastructure. The second is agriculture, both agricultural technology and farming investments, like the system we refer to as complete food processing.

Does the agency, as a public institution, encounter any friction working with the private sector?

We're a public institution but we show through the way we work that we speak the same language [as the private sector]. What we say is: “Hey, you may be the private sector, but we work like the private sector.” Our system is constantly renewing itself and doesn't leave any space for the classic understanding of a public institution.

How did the Hewlett Packard Foxcon investment come about?

They wanted to establish a base in this region. “We saw you at a conference, we want to talk with you,” they said. Our representative in California held a preliminary meeting. They wanted more information and after a year of meetings they were convinced to invest here.

Are you ready for the questions that come in?

Certainly, in this line of work you need to be proactive. We have prepared a list of answers to common questions by investors. For the sites of regional headquarters, we prepare information on a site-by-site basis on the distance to the airport, population density and other population demographics. I set up this system after working for six years as a private consultant.