ISTANBUL’S CURRENT STATUS AND POTENTIAL FOR BECOMING AN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE

Abstract

The Turkish government has been pursuing a goal to turn Istanbul into a regional centre for finance and then, an international one. However, creating an international financial centre where international demand and supply of funds meet is not an easy process. In this context, we aimed to examine the current status and the potential of Istanbul to become an international financial centre. In order to reach the aim of the study, firstly, the characteristics of an international financial centre have been explained and a brief overview of the Turkish government’s official plans of development of the international financial centre have been given. Then, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Istanbul have been analyzed. Finally, we have made assessments and put forward some suggestions.

Keywords

• Istanbul, SWOT analysis, international financial center

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