Regulation on Housing Finance Agreements Shall Henceforth Apply to Housing Finance Transactions:

The Regulation on Housing Finance Agreements was published in the Official Gazette dated May 28, 2015 (the “Regulation”), right after the Regulation on Consumer Loan Agreements (“Consumer Loan Regulation”) given that the Consumer Loan Regulation does not apply to housing finance agreements (“Agreement”).

License Holders Will Need to Submit a Letter of Guarantee to the Energy Markets Regulation Authority to Obtain National Markers:

Recently, the Energy Markets Regulation Authority (“EMRA”) amended the Regulation on Implementation of National Markers in Petroleum Market (“Regulation”) by means of issuing a new regulation which was published in the Official Gazette dated June 12, 2015 (“Amending Regulation”).

May 1st: E-Commerce Law Entered Into Force:

With reference to the Newsletter published in our website on November 2014 titled “Parliament Finally Approves E-Commerce Lawb”, the Law on Electronic Commerce (“Law”) entered into force on May 1, 2015.

The Council of Ministers Introduces Important Changes to Incentives in Certain Investments:

The Council of Ministers has implemented some changes to its decree dated June 06, 2012 regarding state incentives which will be provided to certain investments (“Decree”) through its decree published in the Official Gazette dated April 08, 2015 (“Amending Decree”).

Turkish Parliament Finally Takes Step to Regulate Shopping Malls and Retail Trade:

Turkey’s history of shopping malls go back as early as 1988 and the country saw a shopping mall boom since early 2000s.

State to Act as Guarantor for Build-Operate and Transfer Projects:

The Council of Ministers has recently issued a Regulation on Liability Undertakings to be Performed by the Undersecretariat of Treasury (“Regulation”).

Istanbul Set to Become the Next Hub for Global Arbitration?:

The long-awaited Law on Istanbul Arbitration Center (“the Law”) has been passed on November 20, 2014 and entered into force on January 1, 2015.

Three State-Owned Banks are Set to Establish Islamic Finance Units:

With more than 600 institutions worldwide and with estimated $ 1.4 trillion Sharia-compliant assets in 2014, Islamic Finance (“participation banking”) market in Turkey keeps growing and such growth is likely to continue in the future.

Government Introduces New Environmental Assessment Regulation:

Despite all debates in the parliament between the ruling AK Party and the opposition parties, the new environmental assessment regulation has been published in the Official Gazette dated November 25, 2014 and numbered 29186 (“Regulation”).

Parliament Finally Approves E-Commerce Law:

The Law on Electronic Commerce (“the Law”) which has been pending for approval by the Turkish Parliament for the past 3 years has finally been passed on October 23, 2014. However, the Law will enter into force as of May 1, 2015.