For over half a century, ITOCHU Corp. has contributed to Turkey’s economic growth through trade, investment and contributions to major social infrastructure projects.
Focused on the international trade of various goods such as textiles, machinery, metals, minerals, energy and chemicals, ITOCHU has engaged in expanding multinational trading, as well as construction and infrastructure projects in Turkey.
As a country that prioritizes advancement in infrastructure and technology, Turkey has been working on several projects with ITOCHU since 1966.
“Turkey has always been a nation that focuses on the improvement of its social infrastructure,” said Toshiyuki Abe, general manager of ITOCHU Turkey.
“ITOCHU aims to further strengthen its relationship with the country and improve its reputation among Turkish business societies and contractors in both the public and private sectors by making valuable contributions to well-known and large-scale projects,” said Abe.
“In order to succeed in Turkey, we select projects by determining where it could best showcase our capabilities and where our clients could better appreciate what we have to offer,” he added.
While ITOCHU continues to engage in social infrastructure projects, the company is now further exploring investment and export opportunities as they utilize Turkey as a business hub for the region with better access to surrounding markets.
“We are expanding our export trade business, mainly focusing on Europe, CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States) and the Middle East — areas where our Turkish partners goes,” Abe said.
Based on revenue, ITOCHU sees great potential for growth in this field.
“On average, half of our yearly earnings comes from trading with the other half coming from our projects,” he shared.
ITOCHU also sees huge potential in the field of energy and social infrastructure. Thanks to Turkey’s strategic location, the country acts as an effective channel in the energy market between Europe, Middle East, North Africa and CIS.
As the company continues to move forward, Abe’s vision for the future of ITOCHU involves working closely with the neighboring countries around Turkey.
“Our vision is to be able to find more projects and more opportunities where we could show our various technical capabilities and expertise. Our long-term goal is to study and fully understand the potential of Turkey and the region in order to achieve long-term success,” Abe said.
www.itochu.co.jp/en/about/network/middle_east
