Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

During his speech at the Stars of the Economy Award Ceremony held by the Gebze Chamber of Commerce, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the industrialists who received awards were not just the stars of Gebze, but all of Turkey.

Saying that this is not a statement made to garner applause, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Gebze has a population of 350,000 with a registered employed population of 310,000. This is extraordinary; there is no other city like it in Turkey.”

Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Gebze is fourth among all provinces and counties in Turkey in terms of socioeconomic development and is host to 62 of the 500 largest companies in Turkey which is a great achievement.

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that Turkey needs to rapidly increase the number of its entrepreneurs in order to prosper, “Turkey’s most pressing issue is employment. Each year, 900,000 youths join the work force in Turkey. Each year, we must find jobs for as many people as the equal of the populations of many countries. There is no chance of finding them jobs with the government. If the government hired 900,000 people each year we’d be like the Soviet Union. The only way to find them jobs is in the private sector.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the greatest complaint of industrialists is the tax burdens on them, “We are leading the world in regards to tax burdens on employment. Tax burdens on employment in Turkey are 59% - OECD average is 35%. We are the only country in the world with retirement and unemployment funds as well as severance pay.”

- Gebze TSO Chair Çiler

Gebze Chamber of Commerce Chair Nail Çiler provided information in regards to the Gebze economy and the problems it encounters.