Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu made a speech at the Council meeting hosted by Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry. He began by praying for the grace of Allah upon the soldiers martyred during Operation Olive Branch in Afrin for the sake of our country. The TOBB President, praising the dynamism, mobility and prosperity in Kocaeli, “I take the morale and motivation I get from you to the other 80 provinces. Kocaeli is a city of commerce, industry and agriculture. Kocaeli is a center of industrial production. After Istanbul, it has the highest per capita national income. It is the province where majority of production takes place. A fifth of the total foreign trade volume of Turkey is carried out at Kocaeli customs. There are 35 ports in the Gulf of İzmit in Turkey and you rank first in freight handling volume. You also give the biggest contribution to the government. You are 2^nd in tax income and 1^st in tax collection rate. In other words, the most honest and the highest tax paying entrepreneurs who support their government are in Kocaeli. I have also looked at the figures of Kocaeli. In 2017, Kocaeli is above the national average for new company establishment, income and corporate tax and exports. Of the top 1000 industrial establishments, 10 years ago, 46 were in Kocaeli; now you have increased this number to 64. Kocaeli's entrepreneurial spirit is also strong. Of Turkey's top 100 fastest growing companies, 7 are from Kocaeli.”

- Online document and One-Stop-Shop

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Kocaeli owes a part of its fortune to having strong chambers which defend the rights of the private sector. He said that all the Chambers in Kocaeli are accredited and offer 5-star service. Hisarcıklıoğlu, who stated that these efforts were made for the prosperity of Kocaeli, “I would like to thank the chamber of industry which brought us together today. We’ve listed to Chairman Ayhan as well. Kocaeli Chamber of Industry, with its constantly developing and enhanced endeavors, its institutional capacity, is always behind our industrialists. It does not just identify and fix problems. It also suggests solutions to these and enables them to be actualized. The Chamber is also very active in the field of social responsibility. One such project is the Bizimköy Disabled Production Center. I am proud of our chamber. From our President, to the Board of Directors and Council; from our women and young entrepreneurs, to the Secretary General, to the academic advisor and all of our employees, may Allah bless you. We work together with Chairman Ayhan in TOBB and IKV, and benefit from his knowledge and experience.” Hisarcıklıoğlu, who provided information about the online document and the One-Stop-Shop projects, explained that they are oriented towards servicing their members at the highest level of quality.

- What chambers/exchanges do

Hisarcıklıoğlu, in regards to what TOBB and the chambers community has been doing in the for the past year, underlined that they are doing very important things in financing. Stressing that that they provided 8 billion TRY to 290,000 companies with 9.9% interest under the Respite Credits, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that KOSGEB also provided loans to 290,000 companies with a 0-interest, 3-year maturity and that as Credit Guarantee Fund, they are guarantors for 364,000 companies for 221 billion TRY. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that a total of 681,000 companies were reached in Turkey, with 234bn TRY provided in finances.

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the cost employment is the most important complaint of the business world, and thanks to the mobilization of employment initiated to this end, the Turkish private sector has provided 1.5 million additional jobs. Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined the importance of incentives provided as a part of the employment mobilization. “The monthly minimum wage support of 100 TL will continue in 2018. When you hire someone, new premium and tax is covered by the state. You will only pay salary. So 1,600 TL is from you, 800 TL is tax + premium. Incentives will be in full force for 3 years. In the meantime, remember to request your retroactive incentives.”

I also want to draw attention to the issue of Vocational Qualifications. Dangerous and very dangerous jobs 81 In profession mandatory. There is a penalty of 627 liras for each employee. Examination and documentation costs up to 2020 from the state. TOBB Vocational Qualifications and Documentation Center (MEYBEM). Between 2016 and 2018; 68 provinces and 24 thousand people provided the opportunity to document after the exam. Kocaeli Sanayi Odamız also works actively. This area received 505 documents. On the other hand, the Industry - Production Reform package was removed. 2% TRT discontinuance, important regulations were made in property tax and stamp tax matters in OIZs. In total, the 1 billion burden on our business world has been lifted.

- Turkey's automobile

Reminding that, during TOBB’s 73^rd General Assembly, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a call to have the domestic car be built by members of TOBB, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We said, ‘If you are behind us, we'll do it.’ We’ve been working busily with the Minister of Industry and we are ready to reveal our 5 champions. We announced them with our President. Now provinces are competing to have the factory is set up there. According to feasibility, the 5 champions will make a decision. I hope the first prototype will emerge in 2019. In 2021, commercial sales will begin.”

- YOIKK endeavors

Reporting that Turkey ranks 60^th in the world ease of doing business and investments index, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that this is unsuitable for Turkey. Stating that their goal is to enter the top 20 as Turkey, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “To this end we’ve worked on many on action plans with the minister. We’ve prepared over 100 reforms. As an example, there are 18 different procedures mandatory to acquire building permits, which will be simplified down to 6. With the amendment to be made in the Building Inspection Law, the number of signatures in the building permit is also reduced from 18 to 1. In addition, Contingent and SSI declarations will be merged. One company was required to present 40-45 tax declarations per year. This number is being reduced to 12.”