The Turkish glassware producer Sisecam is aiming for US$ 325 million from its exports in 1997, lower than the US$ 339 million realised last year, the company“s president Adnan Caglayan said recently….
The Turkish glassware producer Sisecam is aiming for US$ 325 million from its exports in 1997, lower than the US$ 339 million realised last year, the company“s president Adnan Caglayan said recently. “We have targeted US$ 325 million worth of exports for 1997,” he told a news conference in Istanbul although he did not say why the exports were expected to fall. He said the company, the biggest in the sector, was planning investment worth US$ 402 million this year after investments of US$ 367 million completed in 1996. “The investment in the next three years will rise to US$ 1 billion,” he stated. He said the investments this year would help the company“s production rise to 1.4 million tonnes of glass, 1.4 million tonnes of industrial raw material and 633,000 tonnes of soda ash, and that revenues would reach TL 352 trillion. He said Sisecam would seek foreign partnerships “on the eve of the year 2000” in an effort to raise the share of foreign production deals in its total revenues to 10%. The company would, he continued, buy a 25% stake from Belgian company Solvay“s purchase in December of 60% of Bulgaria“s privatised soda ash producer Sodi. “Therefore Sisecam will own some 17% of Sodi and will get 250,000 tonnes of its production, which will raise Sisecam“s soda ash production to one million tonnes,” he said. Solvay, however, immediately dismissed as premature the announcement of the Sodi deal. “The news is premature – there is no deal yet,” a Solvay spokesman responded. He confirmed, however, that negotiations were taking place, but declined to give details.