For many years, Turkey has attracted international investments due to its unique trade location between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Many international companies have established operations in and around Turkey’s main cities, proving the country’s importance worldwide. Especially Istanbul hosts the majority of these big companies.
The rules applied to domestic investors also apply to foreigners who establish a company or business in Turkey and transfer shares. In other words, the rules are applied to foreign investors as well as domestic investors. Foreign investors can establish any of the companies listed in the Turkish Commercial Code, supporting private equity and public offering transactions, meeting international standards, providing operational transparency and establishing a corporate governance framework that aligns the business environment with European regulations.
Turkey has taken measures to facilitate doing business in order to improve the investment environment by reducing processes and expenses.
Limited companies and joint stock companies are the most common types of companies in Turkey. Approximately 82% of all companies are limited liability companies, 13% are joint stock companies and 4% are cooperatives. The total of limited partnership and collective companies is around 1%.
As a result, establishing a company in Turkey is currently done only through the Trade Registry Offices, which are located in the Chambers of Commerce and which should be the center of trade.
Company Types
According to the Turkish Commercial Code, there are five different types of companies in Turkey. These;
- Incorporated company
- Limited company
- Collective Company
- Limited Company
- Ordinary Limited Company
- Limited Partnership with Shares
- Cooperative
Joint stock company, limited liability company and limited liability company whose capital is divided into shares are capital companies. In capital companies, the partners are only liable to the company with the capital they have committed. Ordinary limited partnership and collective company are sole proprietorships. In private companies, the principle of secondary and unlimited liability of the partners for the debts of the company is valid. The basic features, operation and establishment of these companies are regulated in the Turkish Commercial Code. First of all, the Law on Cooperatives applies to cooperatives. Limited companies and joint stock companies are the most common types of companies in Turkey.
What are Capital Companies?
Today, one of the types of companies frequently preferred by many large or small-scale investors is a capital company. Equity companies are the type of company in which the partners have rights as much as their participation rate in the capital. The personality of the partners is not important in capital companies in the first place. What matters is the company’s capital. For this reason, it is easier for new partners to enter and change partners compared to sole proprietorships. The liability of the partners is limited to the contribution they have committed to the company. If one of the partners leaves the company, the partnership does not break down in capital companies. Since the shares of the partners in the company are not personal, these shares can be easily sold and transferred. The main capital companies are limited liability companies, joint stock companies and limited partnership companies whose capital is divided into shares.
What are Sole Proprietorships?
Private companies are an extremely profitable method that can be preferred by those who want to run a medium and small business. It is a type of company in which all individuals and partners are liable to third parties for their debts with their assets. Private companies are preferred business types as they do not require capital, can be opened even with a single person, and can operate in all kinds of fields. By opening a company, you can operate legally in many different fields such as food, tourism, import, export, manufacturing, finance and consultancy.
