Istanbul at the centre

For more than a decade, it has been a private dream of successive Turkish governments: the vision of Istanbul as a world financial centre comparable in some way to London, Frankfurt or New York. Is it merely a politicians’ pipe dream? Perhaps – but the notion is about to be transformed into an official government goal.

Turkey’s growth defies the pessimists

At the behest of the Turkish Banking Association, consultancy Deloitte has prepared a report outlining strategic steps toward such a lofty goal. Completed in October, the plan is to be submitted to prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It advocates, among things, the appointment of a minister to oversee just such a development initiative and suggests that if work starts immediately, such a vision might be realized by 2012.

Istanbul has competitive advantages in its favour, says Ersin Erzince, president of Is Bank and chairman of the banking association.

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