“We have invested $1.5 billion in Turkey in the last three years,” Akkuş told the Anatolia news agency in an interview on Sunday. The emir’s previous investments mainly included the purchase of buildings and land, portfolio investments in the İstanbul Stock Exchange (İMKB) and tourism. The new investments will primarily focus on the real estate sector, especially in İstanbul, he said. Akkuş said the company was also interested in hydroelectric power plants and defined Turkey as a country that might become the breadbasket of the Gulf region in coming years. “We also have an interest in the Southeastern Anatolia Project [GAP] in agriculture,” he said.
Akkuş said his company was established in 1982 by his father, Mahmut Akkuş, and has been conducting apparel exports to the region since then. As the business flourished, the Akkuş family constructed textile production facilities and started selling goods to Saudi Arabia. His father established lasting relations with the royal family in Kuwait and was able to earn their trust. “Kuwait has 110 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, which will suffice as the main source of income for the country for the next 100 years. The al-Sabah family has established an investment fund called the Kuwait Investment Authority to continue its wealth after the depletion of its oil resources and is transferring 10 percent of oil revenues to this fund every year. With the money accumulating in this fund, Kuwait is investing around the world,” he said.
“The primary destinations for investments had previously been Europe and the US. However, as the global picture has changed, Turkey has become a popular country. Especially with the new emir’s accession to power, the course was completely altered toward Turkey and other neighboring countries in the region,” Akkuş underlined.
