Clement says Germany’s economy is booming thanks to the Turkish investments

By Khaled Schmitt, IOL Correspondent

BERLIN, June 13 (IslamOnline.net) – German Minister of Economics and Labor Wolfgang Clement said on Sunday, June 13, that Turkish investments help create 300,000 new jobs for Germans a year.

He told Bild newspaper in an interview published Sunday that the 12-billion-euro Turkish investments in a variety of economic and service fields vitaminize the German national economy.

A recently released study by the Turkish Institute for Studies in Germany showed that more than 60,000 well-established Turkish businesses played a pivotal role in combating growing unemployment and revitalizing the economy.

The study marked the May inauguration of the Turkish Chamber of Commerce in the city of Cologne by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

It said Turkish businesses in Germany, in general, have achieved remarkable growth rates from 1988 through 2003.

The number of Turkish businessmen has additionally increased from 51,000 to 56,000, said the study.

Some 60 percent of the Turkish investments are concentrated in restaurants and retails.

Service companies have garnered 22.2 percent of the Turkish capital, craft shops 9.9 percent, big stores 5.9 percent and construction materials 2.1 percent, according to the study.

Fledgling Turkish businessmen mostly prefer to invest in restaurants, tour operators and groceries as they run a small risk, it revealed.

Other beginners, however, are attracted by the lucrative construction works and tax counseling offices.

Curbing Recession   

The study further showed that Turkish businesses further help buffer Germany’s economy against recession.

Around 77 percent of the Turkish-owned companies and big stores do not only promoting their goods, but also sell German products, which reflects positively on the economy.

Turkish retailers are much sought-after by the German clients due to the variety of good-quality commodities they offer.

Known as "uncle Mohammad stores", the shops are spread across different residential areas nationwide and attract a growing number of German clients.

There are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, including 220,000 in Berlin.

An estimated two thirds of them are of Turkish origin.