The Rise of Finance in İstanbul

Following the highly anticipated election results, we entered into a period where we can see our future more clearly. The determination of our new Ministers and the economy management, in particular, and the first steps taken have clarified many parameters in terms of the future plans of our business world. In this issue of our journal, we addressed the theme of “finance and the power of knowledge” as the cover story. We also discussed the subject of financial technologies in detail. Our journal also includes a subject that combines the dynamic and entrepreneurial structure of our private sector companies with the infrastructure facilities of the public sector. Creating a new centre of attraction on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Istanbul Finance Centre stands out with its rising modern skyscrapers. However, the main subject we have covered is of course the ecosystem formed rather than the tall buildings. In order to find answers to the questions in your mind, we conducted our cover interview with Ahmet İhsan Erdem, General Manager of Istanbul Finance Centre.

İlker Sözdinler, Chairperson of Fintech Committee under DEİK Digital Technologies Business Council, shared his views on our cover topic ‘Fintech’. This issue of our journal also includes the evaluation of global e-commerce by Murat Erdör, CEO of Me Consultancy, and the analysis of crypto assets by Nurullah Mahmut Dündar, Lecturer at Medipol University. In the evaluations we made with our valuable scholars and business people, we included opinions on many subjects such as financing types, digital currencies, and ChatGPT. Our

Business Diplomacy journal reaches you mostly through digital channels at a time when the circulation of print journals has decreased. However, seeing our journal on the desks of many high-level executives gives us special pleasure. Apart from Turkcell Dergilik and Türk Telekom E-magazine applications, you can experience the feeling of reading in a digital environment by turning pages in flipbook format on businessdiplomacy.net. We hope you find this issue useful for you.

Chief Editor, Kemal Kaptaner.