Chairman's Message

Dear Investors, Business Partners and Dear Colleagues;

A & S Investment Holding, which has been successful and pioneering in every sector in which it has been operating since the date of establishment, owes its strength and growth to the successful growth, change and development rate of our country in the last 15 years. 

With this management approach; it has become a holding that contributes greatly to the economy and growth of the country with its wide range of activity areas such as real estate, finance, energy, export, tourism, media, education, retail sectors.

In the globalized business world, Turkey has become the 13th largest economy in the world and the fifth largest economy in Europe with its unique geographical location and economic reforms it has carried out due to the impact of the transformation and the speed of communication. 

With more than 31.6 million young and educated population, more than 800 thousands of university graduates annually from more than 183 universities, more than 985 thousands of high school graduates, half of which are from vocational high schools and the other half is from technical high schools, about 69 millions of internet subscribers, the number of credit card users reaching to 62.5 million, the number of airline passengers reaching 193 million, the number of tourists reaching from 13 million to 38 million in the last decade, with its export volume  increasing by 335% between the years of 2002 and 2017, reaching 157 billion USD and with its dynamic and mature private sector structure, it has achieved an unprecedented growth and economic success.

Our country also acts as a natural bridge between East and West and North and South and it is an effective and cost - effective starting point for important markets. This unique and invaluable location provides easy access to 1.7 billion customers from Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa and the total gross domestic product of these regions corresponds to a large number of markets with a value of US $ 25 trillion and with the maximum of 4 hours of flight access to these markets from the capital of our country's capital Istanbul is the most important proof showing that the economic growth is irresistible and cannot be prevented.
 
Beause of the political and economic turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, the stagnant economic structure of Europe, and the influence of Islamophobia in Europe and the United States, the wealth of Middle East and North Africa will be transferred to Turkey in the next 10 years very quickly and in a way that cannot be prevented. A total of 180 billion US dollars of foreign direct investments taken in the last 14 years will increase due to the effect of economic and political turmoil in the neighboring region and our country’s superior performance and stability in the region.  Our aim is to support the development of our country by leading the way for taking more capital from the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia for the development of our country; to increase this transfer of capital and wealth as much as possible and to transform this capital into work and employment within the national economy. In line with these aims and principles, we are proud to bring 3 billion US dollars of foreign direct investment to our country and we aim to increase these investments in our country.

With this belief and vision, the growth and prosperity of our country has always been a prerequisite and priority factor in the development of our company. Our belief in the dynamism and future development of our country gives us hope and motivates us. While planning our new investments in line with these realities, we also give importance to our strategies, risk management systems and liquidity situation in order to turn the economic or geopolitical fluctuations into an opportunity successfully.
 
Although private sector investments have declined in developing countries around the world, we have created employment opportunities by increasing our investments in our 2015 - 2019 business program in many different sectors in our country as A & S Holding. We will continue to invest in our country within the framework of our sustainable growth strategies; we will continue to encourage companies from abroad to invest in our country.
 
The greatest support that makes our economic and social achievements permanent is the power we receive from our devoted employees, partners and social stakeholders.

A & S Investment Holdings represents innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability and social responsibility for four generations. In line with this, we will follow an active policy in evaluating new investment opportunities by acting with the same efficiency and profitability in the sectors in which we operate. As a result of this position, we will follow different investment opportunities by establishing partnerships with many foreign investors in Turkey and abroad to enter new business areas. 

I strongly believe that we will achieve new successes in the areas where we operate and we will make a difference with innovative approaches.

Our company will maintain its dynamism with its current visionary, entrepreneurial spirit and is on the verge of a significant rise.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our employees, partners, investors and all our social stakeholders, especially our unique and beautiful country, for their trust, support and cooperation. 

Sincerely, 
Board Chairman 
 Uğur AKKUŞ