Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Speaking at the meeting hosted by Fikret Ürper, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of Bergama, Hisarcıklıoğlu began his speech by praying for the grace of Allah upon our martyred soldiers during Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, “May the grace of Allah be upon our martyrs; rapid recovery for the wounded. May Allah grant victory to our armed forces and preserve our unity and solidarity.” Referring to Bergama's history and economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Bergama is a center of history, tourism, tourism and agriculture with its 2,500 years of history. It has been inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List; a first for İzmir and the 13^th city in Turkey to be so honored. He went on to say, “It is a must for those who wish to witness ancient history. The first library of Asia was established here. Parchment paper was invented here. Parchment actually gets its name from Pergamon/Bergama. Psychotherapy was also applied here first. In other words, Bergama is a center that has given direction to civilization, from past to present. Moreover, not only in history, but also in agriculture, mineral wealth and natural resources. It is built on fertile the Bakırçay plain lands. You have fertile soils, natural hot springs and water resources. Work on the establishment of the Western Anatolian Free Zone has also started. The railway will extend from Aliağa to Bergama. İZBAN is planned to reach Bergama as well. All of these will further improve the trade and industry of Bergama, especially the OIZ. The future of Bergama is brilliant, so let's make good use of the facilities available.”

- Bergama's treasures

Stating that Bergama also endeavors preserves to protect its history and values, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, when he visited Bergama, proposed holding Turkey's first and the world second local festival, and you have been holding it without fail since 1937. The only other city to do this is Nice, France. You recognize Bergama's cultural, historical and natural wealth, both for our country and the world.” The TOBB President noted the importance of geographical markers for prosperity, pointing out that 80% of pine nut production in Turkey comes from the Kozak Plateau of Bergama, “A world famous flavor; to protect it, the Bergama Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ürper took the initiative. Bergama has registered Kozak pine nuts. In addition, Bergama received a geographical marker for its granite. Now these 2 treasures ​​of Bergama are under protection, paving the way for even more prosperity.”

- Chamber's services

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Bergama Chamber of Commerce is very active in the field of education, said, “Bergama is leading the way to make Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in OIZ. İŞKUR service point is also operating within the chamber. Members who are looking for qualified staff come to us and use the chambers.” Hisarcıklıoğlu informed that the Bergama Chamber of Commerce became an accredited Chamber in 2014 and provides 5-star service, emphasizing that the new service building is also a matter of vision. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “I congratulate you on the 2 points: First, for naming the conference hall after Ali İhsan Süter, for showing respect to those who paved the way for us. Secondly making progress towards inclusivity with, Gonca Harman on the board of directors. Hopefully this will present an example to other chambers and we will have more women councilors and board members. Thanks to everyone who serves the chamber, from the Chamber to the Council; from the Secretary General to employees. With the efforts of my brother Fikret, we took two very important steps as Chambers/Exchanges. First, online document. Now you can get instant documents from your home, workplace. You do not have to come to the chamber. Chambers are no online. Secondly, chambers have become Single-Stop-Shops for company establishments. All setup operations will take place in our Chambers. We reduced the number of transactions from 7 to 1.”

- As TOBB, what have we done in the last year?

Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating TOBB has undertaken many important services for the business community with the chambers and commodity exchanges, pointing that 27,900 companies took advantage from respite credit loans at a rate of 9.9%, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated signatures were set down for the second round of Respite Credits with the attendance of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. He stated that the project would ensure a solution to difficulties faced by SMEs in attaining financing. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We conducted the launch in İzmir on Saturday with Prime Minister Yıldırım. You can make use of it. TOBB and the Chambers/Exchanges once again took the initiative. The loan volume is of 7.5 billion TRY. We are working with 6 banks: Ziraat, Foundation, Halk, Deniz, Ziraat Participation, Foundation Participation. With the current deposit interest rate being 15% and with 11.88% annual interest, we provide 6 months’ grace period with an 18-month maturity. We have set a minimum limit of 200,000 with no upper limit. The KGF also guarantees 85% of the loan. The maximum cost is 51 TL. The process is simple: take out a proof of activity from the chamber, go to the bank, use the loan.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that KOSGEB, which he serves in the Board of Directors, provided credits of approximately 8 billion TRY to 290,000 companies with a 0-interest, 3-year maturity. He also said that they provided bail for 364,000 companies as loan guarantee fund as well. Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that they provide bail of 17 billion TRY to 29,000 companies in İzmir. The TOBB President in reported that they’ve provided financial solutions fro 681,000 companies throughout Turkey.

- Great moves in employment

Hisarcıklıoğlu reminded that the biggest complaint of the business world is the high cost of employment. He said that, as a part of the employment mobilization, historical support has been given to the business community in 2017. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “When you hire a new person, the tax premium is funded by the state. You will only pay your salary. Incentives have been in place for three years. We are having a lot of reforms to save you from the bureaucracy and make it easier for you to do business. There were 18 different procedures for building permits, which have been reduced to 6. The number of signatures in the construction license has also been reduced from 18 to 1.”

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Are there no problems at all? Of course there are. But we have the will and the power to overcome all of them. Look, we've made a lot of improvements by acting in unity and solidarity. Problems are not solved by fighting. It is solved by dialogue and common cause. Grace and prosperity in unity; anguish in dissent. We have only one wish from the government. Let us compete on equal footing with our competitors. We'll take care of the rest.”

- School promise

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu responded positively to the demands of the Bergamans at the end of his speech and said, “If Allah grants us time and opportunity, we will build it.”