IFC Report: Turkey, an emerging market investors can't ignore

The report finds that the current volumes of sustainability investments are small and there is still opportunity for that kind of investing in the country.
 
The report estimates that currently there is approximately $4 billion of sustainable investment in Turkey.
 
The study, titled ‘Sustainable Investment in Turkey,’ addresses and analyzes Turkey’s corporate sector and the factors that make it a ‘market that investors can no longer ignore,’ says the IFC.
 
‘This report is part of IFC’s increasing efforts to promote sustainable investment,’ says Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe.  ‘While the research indicates that sustainable investment remains nascent, Turkey has many strengths such as well-regulated banking and pension-fund industries, prospects for sustained growth, and a competitive product market.  These advantages will drive sustainable investment to grow in Turkey.’
 
The launch of Istanbul’s Stock Exchange sustainability index project last year, coupled with the number of global reporting initiatives and CSR reports published, shows the emerging supply-side interest in environmental, social and corporate governance disclosure in the nation, according to the report.
 
IFC, the private-investment arm of the World Bank Group, wrote the report in conjunction with London-based Illac, a research and advisory firm that specializes in corporate governance and sustainability issues.