From January to October, 10,682 foreign investment companies were opened in Turkey, of which Iranian investors registered 49 publicly listed and 772 private limited companies to rank first among foreigners who have made foreign direct investments in Turkey by setting up companies there, Financial Tribune reported.
Germans with 45 companies, Azerbaijanis with 31, Americans with 22, the Dutch with 19 and the UAE with 17 companies were top investors in Turkey during the 10-month period after Iranians, the Persian-language Etemad reported.
Iranians continue to take greater interest in investing in Turkey, according to a statement issued by Elite Citizenship and Investment Consultancy, which offers consultancy services to foreigners in Turkey about company founding and investments under the brand of VIPTurkishPass.
In the last few years, Iranians ranked second after Iraqis in buying houses in Turkey and first in applying for Turkish citizenship through investment, Daily Sabah reported.
By implementing a series of policies aimed at attracting foreign direct investment in recent years, Turkey has attracted a number of investors from many countries in the region, especially from the Middle East.
After the "Turkuaz Kart" (Turquoise Card), a practice similar to the US Green Card application, was launched in 2016, it became possible to get Turkish citizenship by investing in the country as of 2017.
In September 2018, lowering the minimum investment limit in the Citizenship Through Investment Program to $250,000 in real-estate investments led to an increase in foreigners' interest in the country.
The number of companies founded by Iranians in Turkey soared to 298 in 2016, 357 in 2017 and 1,019 in 2018 when the US embargo was launched.
Fatih Cayabatmaz, the Tehran representative of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association and the general manager of Elite Citizenship and Investment Consultancy, stated that Iranians like to invest in Turkey.
"Turkey has become a single route for the Iranian capital, especially after the US embargo was imposed. We expect this interest to continue to grow in the coming years as well," he said.
Cayabatmaz emphasized that Iranians investing in Turkey are most actively involved in wholesale and retail marketing and trade, saying that they are establishing companies for the purpose of exporting products not covered by the embargo via Turkey as well as importing them to the Turkish domestic market.