20.12.2019 Devrek
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the consultation meeting with the Council Members of the Devrek Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). Speaking at the meeting hosted by Devrek CCI President Haldun Hacıkulaoğlu, TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that President Hacıkulaoğlu is working to build an OIZ at Devrek, adding, “We support this.”
Hisarciklıoğlu
noted Devrek's fame with its cane, cranberry and white baklava, said, “This is
a small part of what Devrek offers. With forest products and ceramic industry,
it makes its name heard farther every day. If the infrastructure is provided,
Devrek has the potential to produce much more.”
Stating
that tourism should be developed in Devrek, Hisarcıklıoğlu said there is an
important potential in nature tourism. The TOBB President, thanked the CCI
President Haldun Hacıkulaoğlu, the administration and the council members working
for the development of Devrek.
- 5 star service
Pointing
out that Devrek CCI is an accredited room as a 5-star service to its members, the
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “You are all going through a difficult
period. And that's what we, our community, feel the most. Next year, it is
expected that both growth will increase and the domestic market will revive. In
this process, our primary task is to make sure to gather the problems of our
community, our members as well as their proposals and convey them to the executives
in the government.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu
stated that many regulations have been implemented regarding the demands of the
chambers and members, “Our biggest complaint was regarding the banks. On the
initiative of our government, public banks stepped in. They've cut interest
rates a little bit and started lending new loans. Campaigns launched in housing
and automotive provided a morale boost for our members. I hope that the latest
announced decision will bring commercial loan interest rates in public banks down
to single digits.”
- Your chambers and commodity exchanges
are vouching for you
Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “We also continue to vouch for you with KGF. You know, KGF is our
subsidiary. So it's your institution. We vouch for you on the loan you will
receive from the bank with KGF. TOBB, your Chamber/Commodity Exchange is
vouching for you. Look, with KGF in the last 3 years, we have vouched for the
400 billion TL loans of our approximately 800,000 members. With Respite Credits,
we have provided 100,000 members with 12 billion TL in cheap loans.
Our
second complaint regarding the banks was high POS commissions. There used to be
no limit. Now the upper limit of 1.6% has been imposed. Now we're talking about
lowering it a little bit. In addition, to address your demands, the number of
installments in credit card shopping in various sectors has been increased. Another
issue TOBB has been working to address was commercial credit insurance. Public
Insurance led the way. Currently, 16 insurance companies provide commercial
credit insurance.
Be
sure to seize this opportunity and announce it to your members. We ensure that
disputes are resolved quickly with mediation and TOBB Arbitration. Another
issue I'd like to draw your attention to is mediation and TOBB Arbitration. Employment
cases were a challenge for the employer. Employers have always last these cases,
because our justice system is on the side of the weak, not the right. As you
know, mediation in employee-employer disputes has been mandatory since 2018. On
the other hand, Commercial Court cases last for 3-4 years. It's a waste of
resources and time. From the beginning of 2019, mediation in trade disputes has
become mandatory.”