The event, held at the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Training Hall, provided information about Austria's relations with Turkey and its investments in Turkey. The event also covered the investment environment, economic outlook, and taxation system in the Central European country, as well as information on company formation and investment law.
OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Regional Manager Adem Arıcı made statements about the production environment and company capabilities in OSTİM. Arıcı said, “OSTİM is a region where every type of production imaginable takes place, where the service sector is also influential alongside production, and where we define our region as an industrial city with educational activities, technology development zones, and institutions collaborating with universities.”
Adem Arıcı stated that they aim to provide all kinds of contributions and support to companies through the Regional Directorate's institutions and OSTİM Technical University, and noted that clustering activities continue in prominent sectors such as construction and industrial machinery, defense and aerospace, rail systems, communication technologies, renewable energy, rubber technologies, and medical in OSTİM. Arıcı added that as the regional administration, they are ready to offer all kinds of support to the Austrian Trade Attaché.
“OSTİM has enormous potential”
Austrian Trade Attaché Dr. Christian Maier noted that they attach importance to their relations with OSTİM. Stating that they are in close cooperation with the OSTİM Rubber Technologies Cluster and the Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems Cluster, Maier emphasized that they want to develop these relations further.
Christian Maier, describing the activities of Austrian companies in Turkey, said, “OSTİM has enormous potential. Austria is the third largest direct investor in Turkey. High-speed rail switches are being produced jointly with TCDD (Turkish State Railways) through investments by our country's companies.”
It exports 55% of its production.
Providing information about the country's economic structure, Dr. Peter Löschl, an official from the Austrian Investment Agency, stated that 28% of Austria's gross domestic product comes from industrial production. Löschl added that Austria ranks second in industrialization after Germany and that 55% of its production is exported.
Referring to competitiveness in exports, Dr. Löschl said: “If you are exporting, you need to be more competitive. To do this, you must focus on R&D. 30 years ago, the Austrian government, thinking ahead, turned to science-based value-added production. Investment in R&D is increasing steadily.”
Löschl stated that 12 billion euros were spent on R&D in Austria in 2018, adding that only one-third of this was allocated by the state, one-third by private sector companies, and the remaining one-third was spent by foreign investors who came to the country to conduct R&D.
They are coming for R&D.
Peter Löschl noted that foreign investors are coming to Austria for R&D work, saying, "We have competence centers for SMEs, providing R&D services in cooperation with universities."
A company can be established through a power of attorney.
Lawyer Levent Bilgi provided participants with information about Austrian investment law. Explaining the differences between the Turkish and Austrian legal systems, Bilgi shared the following: “For those wishing to operate in Austria as foreign investors, our advice is that it is more logical to proceed by establishing a branch and a company. If you are considering investing in Austria in the medium to long term, it may be more appropriate to proceed by establishing a company. If you want to establish a Joint Stock Company (A.Ş.), your initial capital must be 70,000 euros. For a Limited Liability Company (Ltd. Şti.), 35,000 euros in capital is required. Recently, the Austrian government has introduced a تسهيل (facilitation) for start-ups establishing Limited Liability Companies, requiring only 10,000 euros as initial capital.”
Levent Bilgi emphasized that Turkish investors generally prefer to establish limited liability companies in Austria, and added that it is also possible to establish a company by giving a power of attorney without having to go to Austria.
Following the speeches, Austrian representatives held bilateral business meetings with industrialists from OSTİM.
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