Chan Hui Min on Sustainable Development and Energy Efficiency in Turkey

On 30 June 2021, Enterprise Singapore held the Sustainable Development and Energy Efficiency in Turkey webinar, inviting numerous business and municipality speakers from Turkey to give Singapore companies interested in exploring business opportunities – especially in future Turkish sustainability and energy efficiency projects – insight into the latest developments and needs of the market.

Joining the speaker lineup was Chan Hui Min, director at DP Architects, who shared a Singapore company’s perspective on what doing business in Turkey is like.

Drawing from DP’s experience on projects such as the Land of Legends Shopping Avenue in Antalya, Emaar Square Mall in Istanbul, and a current urban regeneration project in Tersane Istanbul, Hui Min highlighted that both Singaporean and Turkish companies share similar business cultures. She also spoke about how the projects in Turkey created opportunities for DP in neighbouring markets like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

On the changing perceptions of sustainable practices, Hui Min noted that while it was previously common for developers to be unsupportive, conversations surrounding sustainability are currently becoming increasingly mainstream. Hui Min went on to advise Singaporean companies interested in entering the Turkish market to find compatible local partners, and stressed the importance of familiarity with the language, people and culture, especially on subjects such as labour and tax laws, which Singaporean companies entering the market for the first time may find challenging and complex.

Praising Turkey for its robust and resilient economy, Hui Min also encouraged companies to not limit themselves to working within just Turkey, but to think beyond, highlighting that the free trade agreement and double taxation agreement greatly benefit Singapore companies.

Joining Hui Min on this panel discussion were moderator Berrin Benli,co-founder at Novusens, Ertugrul Uysal, energy management manager at Ronesans Real Estate, Sahin Caglayan, co-founder and CEO at Reengen, and two representatives from the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality; Imer Yildiz, telecommunication manager, and Sinan Bakir, senior mechanical engineer.

Enterprise Singapore is the government agency championing enterprise development, working with committed companies to build capabilities, innovate and internationalise. The agency also supports the growth of Singapore as a hub for global trading and startups, and seeks to build trust in Singapore’s products and services through quality and standards.