The Leadership Race Amongst The Global 30

It was Vehbi Koç who, 63 years ago, established the first Turkish company abroad in order to look for opportunities. Today many Turkish companies are active in various countries, where they compete in terms of turnover and market share with the giants. These companies are headed by Gama Endüstri, Efes Breweries International and Kordsa Global, which each have turnovers of nearly US$1 billion. Capital studied the largest Turkish companies which have spread to the four corners of the world and their strength in the global arena.

Profile Of The Leader Kordsa
It is striking that surveys of the “30 Largest Turkish Companies Abroad” are dominated by Sabancı Holding, Anadolu Group, Gama Holding, Yıldız Holding and Koç Holding. Kordsa Global, which is one of the Sabancı Holding’s companies, ranks first. Second comes Efes Breweries International (EBI) of the Anadolu Group. It is followed by Gama Endüstri of Gama Holding.

Kordsa Global, which is the largest Turkish company abroad, had a turnover of US$930.7 million last year. The company is the world’s largest manufacturer of nylon, polyester yarn, and tire cord and the only supplier of tire cord. Today it is spread across five continents and has 12 plants in 10 countries, including the USA, Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia and Thailand. It acquires 90 percent of its revenue from abroad. Sabancı Holding CEO Ahmet Dördüncü says that what has made it a global leader is the strategic acquisitions it has made and the strong business partnerships it has formed.

Ebi Grows By Acquiring Companies
The second biggest Turkish company abroad is Efes Breweries International (EBI), which runs the Anadolu Group’s drinks and soft drinks’ operations. Last year, the company had a turnover of US$836 million, up 31 percent on the previous year. EBI was established in the Netherlands in 1998 and is quoted on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. Its market value is approximately US$1.3 billion. It has 12 breweries and 4 malt production facilities in the countries where it is active, namely Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia and Georgia. In the last two years it has bought Krasny Vostok, the seventh largest brewery in Russia, and Lomisi, the largest beer producer in Georgia. In 2004, EBI had a turnover of US$500 million, rising to US$639 million in 2006. In 2007, its turnover rose by 31 percent to reach US$836 million.

Gama Endüstri, which ranks third in the list of the largest companies, is owned by Gama Holding. For 37 years, the company has been active in Russia, Qatar, Libya, Yemen, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria and Jordan and in 2007 had a turnover of US$621 million. Gama Endüstri builds turnkey industrial facilities such as thermal power plants, refineries and hydroelectric power plants.

Koç Companies Rank 5th And 6th
The Koç companies Grundig and Beko PLC rank 5th and 6th respectively in the list of the largest companies. Grundig, which was bought in mid-2004 by Beko Elektronik, which is a member of Koç Holding, is one of the first brands that comes to mind in Germany in the field of household electrical appliances, such as home cinema. In 2007, the company’s turnover reached US$434 million. Until last year, Beko Elektronik had a 50 percent share in Grundig. But, last year, it bought out the remaining 50 percent share and now owns the entire company.

Koç Holding Consumer Durables Group Chairman and Arçelik A. Ş. General Manager Aka Gündüz describes Grundig as one of their most valuable assets, and adds: “From now on, the Grundig brand will spread throughout the entire world and we shall continue our efforts to ensure that it is used as a global band.”

The other large Koç company abroad is Beko PLC, which is active in Britain. In 2007, the company had a turnover of US$413 million. The company is the leader in sales of refrigerators in Britain with a 15.7 percent market share.

How Was This Study Conducted?
• The list of the largest Turkish companies abroad was prepared taking companies outside headquarters as a base In preparing the list. These companies were ranked on the basis of their turnover in 2007.
• Some companies and groups whose volume meant that they could have been included in this list, such as Akkök Holding, the Zorlu Group and the Çalık Group, did not feature because they did not disclose any data. For example, Zorlu Holding and Boydak Holding did not announce the turnovers of their companies abroad.
• The reason why Fintur, Turkcell’s most important investment abroad, was not included was because the majority of the shares in the company belong to TeliaSonera. Turkcell’s share in Fintur is 41.45 percent.

Nilüfer Gözütok
ngozutok@capital.com.tr