Public Security chief launches digital vehicle plate wallet service    'Action is in our nature': 4th Saudi Green Initiative Forum to be held at COP16    Pop hit APT too distracting for South Korea's exam-stressed students    Saudi Arabia's inflation rate hits 1.9% in October, the highest in 14 months    Mohammed Al-Habib Real Estate Co. sets Guinness World Record with largest continuous concrete pour    PIF completes largest-ever accelerated bookbuild offering in MENA region    Saudi Arabia signs renewable energy program with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at COP29    Australia and Saudi Arabia settle for goalless draw in AFC Asian Qualifiers    Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to war crime    Thousands of protesters march in Paris ahead of tense football match between France and Israel    Republicans win 218 US House seats, giving Donald Trump control of government    UN sounds alarm at Israel's 'severe violations' at key buffer zone with Syria    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    Saudi, Indian foreign ministers co-chair Cooperation Committee meeting in New Delhi    South Korean actor Song Jae Lim found dead at 39    Don't sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes, doctors warn    'Marvels of Saudi Orchestra' to dazzle audience in Tokyo on Nov. 22    Saudi Champion Saeed Al-Mouri scores notable feat in Radical World Championship in Abu Dhabi with support from Bin-Shihon Group    Rita Ora is tearful in tribute to Liam Payne at MTV Awards    France to deploy 4,000 police officers for UEFA Nations League match against Israel    Al Nassr edges past Al Riyadh with Mane's goal to move up to third    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syrian refugees in Turkey prove their economic potential
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 08 - 01 - 2016

SITTING in the bare office above his factory where thousands of baby rattles and plastic bottles are cranked out every hour, Saad Chouihna believes that if you can make it in Turkey, you can make it anywhere.
"The Turkish market is the hardest," said the 28-year-old Syrian from the city of Aleppo, bemoaning the tangled bureaucracy, cut-throat competition and a business culture that depends on long-term relationships.But armed with a knowledge of Turkish and the local culture, Chouihna is finding his way.
He has opened a branch of his family's plastics business in the southeastern city of Gaziantep, where the many Syrian restaurants and Arabic signs in some districts bear witness to the proximity of the border and the growing Syrian population.
His firm is one of nearly 2,000 set up by Syrians in Turkey in the almost five years since their homeland descended into civil war.
A quarter of a million people have been killed since then and millions more displaced, with Turkey now home to 2.2 million Syrians, the world's largest refugee population.
"Our business is plastic — that's what we know," Chouihna said. "But the established companies here have the contacts and experience locally so as a new company here it is really hard to get contacts or get contracts from big medical companies, for example. A lot of them don't even come to the phone."
But Chouihna, who has a wife and baby daughter, said he saw "no difference between me and a Turkish company" because he employs Turks as well as Syrians and pays his taxes.
Some Turks concerned
In November Ankara promised to help stem the flow of refugees trying to reach Europe in return for $3.2 billion in aid and renewed talks on joining the European Union. Ankara has spent more than $8.5 billion on feeding and housing Syrian refugees since the start of the war, but has yet to introduce a policy to allow them to work legally.
Echoing concerns about the flow of refugees, lower-income Turks fear that Syrians, including the estimated 250,000 now working illegally in Turkey, will undercut them and take their jobs. But data suggests Syrians such as Chouihna are a boost for the Turkish economy.
According to TOBB, an umbrella body for local chambers of commerce, more than 1,000 companies were established in Turkey with at least one Syrian partner in the first seven months of 2015, compared with 30 in 2010, before the start of the war.
Although there is no estimate yet of the increase in output from these firms, economists say they have boosted trade with Syria in parts of Turkey where instability and violence in border areas have dented trade with neighbors.
"There has been a big jump in the numbers of businesses founded by Syrians probably because they are finally realizing they are likely to remain in Turkey for many more years," said Esra Ozpinar, a researcher from economic think tank TEPAV.
Boost to exports
In Gaziantep, new buildings have sprung up beside the city's medieval fortress and old market thanks to modern investments and economic incentives offered by the government which have helped it become an economic hub and the most industrialized city in Turkey's south.
Chouihna exports to Egypt, Lebanon, Romania, Tunisia and Yemen and does some trade in Turkey. He also sells his products in Syria, helping Turkey's exports to its neighbor get back close to their pre-war levels.
Turkish exports to Syria dipped in 2011 and 2012, but have recovered significantly. In the first 10 months of 2015, Turkey exported $1.3 billion in goods and services there, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to less than half a billion in 2012.
TEPAV research suggests the rising number of Syrian firms in border provinces such as Kilis, Mardin and Hatay has helped the recovery in exports. But their composition has changed, reflecting the needs of a war economy, with food, generators and pick-up trucks eclipsing building materials and cars.
Economist Harun Ozturkler of the Center For Middle Eastern Strategic Studies in Ankara says these businesses could in the long term be crucial to the Turkish economy. "The most important contribution will be their network in the Arab world because the owners of these firms were merchants in Syria," he said. "Finding new markets for Turkey is going to be the most important."
Another Syrian living in Gaziantep, Abu Tareq, said he had found investors for his plan to start a company producing $1 million worth a year of refrigerators for restaurants, food stores and factories.
He plans to base his firm in the same industrial district as Chouihna's and intends to hire 14 people, the majority of whom will be Syrian, he said. After working in the same business in Syria, he saw an opportunity in the Turkish market. "There are business options here for Syrians and I realized I will be here for a long time," he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.