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A “Strong and Secure Tomorrows with SMEs” gathering was
held in Adana on 7 December 2016.
The fourth in the series of “Strong and Secure Tomorrows
with SMEs” meetings organized by AFI with the support of
the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the Banking
Regulation and Supervision Agency, the Turkish Exporters
Assembly, and Turk Eximbank was held in Adana.
Speaking as a member of the panel, AFI Chairman Mehmet
Cantekin pointed out that while SMEs generated more than
half of Turkey’s exports, production, and employment, their
share of total financing was less than 25% and that it ought to
be raised at least to 50%. Mr. Cantekin also said that AFI worked
with 760 thousand SMEs and that Turkey’s factoring, leasing,
and financing companies had provided TL 92 billion worth of
financing in the nine months to end-September 2016.
AFI Deputy Chairman Çağatay Baydar for his part said that the
factoring industry served SMEs in three main areas: insurance,
collections, and credit. Noting that by guaranteeing SMEs’
receivables AFI acted as a sort of “foul-weather friend” and
pointing out that the only country in the world that made
more use of export factoring than Turkey was China, Mr. Baydar
added “Risk can only be dealt with by properly managing it.
SMEs especially need to manage their credit, FX, and receivable
risks wisely.”
OTHER ACTIVITIES
AFI was a “Support Sponsor” at the 25-26 March 2016
Uludağ Economic Summit.
Delivering the opening remarks in the “Becoming a global
brand” panel discussion held during the second day of the
Uludağ Economic Summit for which AFI was a “Support
Sponsor”, the Association’s Chairman Osman Zeki Özger said
that financial services providers needed to invest in human
resources in order to boost their competitive strength to
international levels. He also added that the goals of Turkey’s
2023 Vision would not be hard to achieve.
AFI provided sponsorship support at the 12
th
SME Summit
that took place at the İstanbul Dedeman Hotel on
27‑28 April 2016.
The theme of the 12
th
SME Summit that took place at
the İstanbul Dedeman Hotel on 27-28 April 2016 was the
“Entrepreneurial Ecosystem”. Discussed during the two days
of sessions that focused on this theme were such issues
as “Development of an Entrepreneur-Friendly Regulatory
Framework”, “Support for Innovative Entrepreneurship and
the Importance of Industrial Property Rights”, “Thematic
and General Support”, “Facilitating Entrepreneurs’ Access to
Financing”, “SMEs in the Defense Industry and in Satellite &
Space Technologies”, and “Developing an Entrepreneurship
Culture: Training and Consultancy Services”.
40
th
Anniversary of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational
Enterprises
In order to mark the 40
th
Anniversary of Guidelines
for multinational enterprises published by the OECD,
representatives of governments, businesses, trade & labor
unions, and non-governmental organizations convened in
meetings on 8-9 June 2016 to have a look at guideline-related
problems and to debate what impact the guidelines really have
on better business practices. In attendance at the gathering as
the Association’s representative was AFI General Secretary Vahit
Altun.
During the 2016 Global Forum on Responsible Business
Conduct held on the same occasion, participants discussed
emerging issues in supply chains and how to promote better
contribution of the private sector to the achievement of
sustainable development goals.
In his opening address OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria
said that the forum was being held on the occasion of the
40
th
anniversary of the publication of the OECD’s multinational
enterprise guidelines and that the forum would look at what
the guidelines had achieved in four decades, where they are
now, and where they should go next.
Eurofinas General Assembly
The general assembly of Eurofinas, the European Federation
of Finance House Associations, convened in Athens on
4-8 October 2016. During the meeting, AFI Chairman Mehmet
Cantekin and Deputy Secretary General Vahit Altun were
elected to seats on the body’s board of directors.
Factoring legal practices symposium in the Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus
A symposium to discuss factoring practices within the
framework of the Financial Leasing, Factoring, and Financing
Companies Act (Law no: 6361) was convened in the Turkish
The Association of Financial Institutions
Annual Report 2016
53