On April 9, 2025, a special meeting was successfully held at the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Turkey, attended by Mr. Tan Bin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Juwei Group, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Turkey, and Chairman of the Chinese Trade Union, and members of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The meeting discussed the inflation data for March released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on April 3, 2025, and combined with the current economic situation in Turkey, discussed rent increases, changes in living costs, and investment opportunities.
According to the latest data, Turkey's consumer price index (TÜFE) in March rose 38.10% year-on-year, while the average inflation rate in the past 12 months was as high as 51.26%. This data directly determines the extent of rent adjustments across the country. Mr. Tan Bin, Chairman of the Chinese Trade Union, explained in detail the calculation basis of the rent increase at the meeting and shared examples of actual rent adjustments:
• If the current rent is 10,000 Turkish Lira (TRY), according to the 51.26% increase, the new rent will be adjusted to 15,126 TRY;
• For tenants paying 15,000 TRY rent, the adjusted new rent is 22,689 TRY.
According to analysis by real estate data platform Endeksa, as of February 2025, the average monthly rent in Istanbul has reached 27,000 TRY, or about 270 TRY per square meter. This data shows that the cost of living in Istanbul is rising rapidly, and house rents are close to the monthly salary level of ordinary local working-class people.
Mr. Tan Bin pointed out that Turkey's high inflation rate and rising rents have had a significant impact on the cost of living for local residents and business owners. However, this has also provided new opportunities for investors. The conference focused in particular on the large-scale building materials city project invested by Juwei Group in the Esenyurt area of Istanbul, Turkey. The project covers an area of 500 acres and has a total construction area of nearly 300,000 square meters. It is planned to be built into a core platform for Chinese building materials companies to enter the Turkish and Middle Eastern markets.
Mr. Tan Bin stressed that despite the challenges facing the Turkish economy, as an important hub connecting Europe and Asia, it still has huge investment potential. The building materials city project can not only help Chinese companies cope with the pressure of high rents, but also reduce costs through large-scale operations and further expand business opportunities in Türkiye and surrounding markets.
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce members attending the meeting expressed great concern about the project and had in-depth discussions on how to deal with the current economic environment and optimize investment strategies. The meeting finally reached a consensus that in the current complex economic situation, collective development and resource sharing are the key paths to achieve sustainable growth.
Recently, Turkey's inflation rate has continued to rise, reaching 38.10% in March 2024, and the average inflation rate for the whole year of 2023 is as high as 63.5%. The Turkish Central Bank has taken a series of measures to try to stabilize the economy, including maintaining interest rate stability and strengthening foreign exchange reserve management. However, affected by multiple factors such as geopolitics, energy price fluctuations and lira depreciation, Turkey's economic pressure will still be difficult to ease in the short term.
In this context, Juwei Group's building materials city project is not only an in-depth layout of the Turkish market, but also a practical solution for Chinese companies to cope with challenges such as high inflation and high rents.
Future Outlook:
Juwei Group plans to start the first phase of the building materials city project in the second half of 2025 and invite more Chinese building materials companies to participate in the cooperation. The meeting called on more Chinese Chamber of Commerce members and companies to join this platform to jointly explore long-term development opportunities in the Turkish market.
Coordinators: Yu Huimin, Liu Longfei, Lai Changfu
Editors: Li Xiaoxia, Mo Qun, Wu Ming, Guan Minli
Proofreaders: Yu Huimin, Lu Dongfang
Information sources:
https://www.sohu.com/a/883906575_121319317 Sohu.com
