Page 64 - TURKRptJul20

Electricity imports decreased by 10.3% to 2.2 terawatt-hours. Bulgaria was the largest supplier of electricity to Turkey with 88.7% of supplies, followed by Georgia with 11.2% and 0.2% from Greece.
The Hunutlu plant ​is​ one of China’s largest investments in Turkey​. It has won a 15-year, $1.38bn loan from the three Chinese banks. Last September saw construction start on the 1,320-megawatt station. Completion is scheduled for next year.
A report last year by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis concluded that Chinese banks were investing in more than one-quarter of coal plants under development outside China. Investments amounted to $35.9bn for 102 gigawatts of capacity in 27 countries said the institute, which lobbies for green power.
9.1.7 ​Metallurgy & mining sector news
Turkey’s steelmakers are seeking to diversify their export markets. Their shipments to foreign countries ​declined​ nearly 18% y/y in the first five months of the year amid effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Steel exports to the EU decreased to 2.3mn tonnes in January-May this year, down from 3.5mn tonnes a year ago,” added Adnan Aslan, head of the Turkish Steel Exporters' Association.
The loss of 1.2mn tonnes in shipments to the EU stemmed from unjust measures of protectionism introduced by the bloc, according to Aslan.
"We will focus on Southeast Asia, West Africa and Latin America, where demand for steel is rising, as our new target markets,” he said.
Turkey is one of the top steel producers in the world. Last year, the country’s steel exports stood at 21.1mn tonnes.
9.1.8 ​Other sector news
White goods sales in Turkey dropped 17% y/y in May​, according to ​data from the White Goods Manufacturers’ Association of Turkey (TURKBESD).
A total of 461,000 refrigerator, washing machine, oven and dish washer units were sold, it added.
Local manufacturers’ shipments to foreign markets plunged 38% on an annual basis to a little more than 1mn units, the trade association also said.
In the first five months, sales fell by 6% from a year ago to 2.25mn units while exports declined by 20% y/y to 5.94mn units.
In line with the poor sales, the white goods industry’s production volume was down 44% y/y in May and 25% y/y in January-May.
“We expect white goods sales to gain momentum as Turkey moved towards the normalisation phase [following the coronavirus crisis] in June and the recovery in home sales will also boost local demand,” said Can Dincer, head of TURKBESD.
Cheap loans made available by Turkey’s state-owned banks have unleashed pent-up demand for white goods​, Dunya business daily ​reported on June 23.
64​ TURKEY Country Report​ July 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com