Economy
Türkiye inspects Canadian nuclear technology for its next plant
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar visited Romania on Wednesday to inspect a nuclear power plant using Canada’s CANDU reactor technology as Türkiye evaluates options for its planned third nuclear power station.
According to a statement from the Energy Ministry, Bayraktar toured Romania’s Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant, which operates two CANDU reactors developed by Canadian engineering firm AtkinsRealis.
Türkiye is seeking to expand its nuclear power capacity beyond the four-reactor Akkuyu plant, which is being built by Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom in the southern Mersin province and is expected to begin generating electricity later this year.
Ankara plans to construct two additional large-scale nuclear power plants, one in Sinop on the Black Sea coast and in the Thrace region, with negotiations continuing with South Korea for a second facility and discussions with Canada accelerating in recent months for a third project.
“A critical process is underway for Türkiye,” Bayraktar said during the visit.
“Following Akkuyu, we are evaluating technology choices, potential partnerships and the countries we will work with on future nuclear projects,” he added.
Türkiye aims to reach 7.2 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear generation capacity by 2035 and 20 GW by 2050. It plans to complement the conventional nuclear plants with small modular reactors (SMRs).
Akkuyu’s four reactors will have a combined installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts (MW).
Once all units are operational, it is expected to supply from 10% to 15% of Türkiye’s electricity demand.
In addition to cost and electricity pricing, Ankara is placing increasing emphasis on localization requirements in ongoing negotiations, seeking to ensure that a significant share of equipment and components can be manufactured domestically and integrated into the global nuclear supply chain.
Bayraktar said AtkinsRealis is expected to meet Turkish suppliers and equipment manufacturers later this month or in early July.
“We want a nuclear power plant that is competitive, more affordable, highly secure and has a high degree of localization,” he said.
Türkiye has also been engaged in long-running discussions with China over nuclear cooperation and has intensified contacts with South Korea in recent months.
Bayraktar said the visit to Romania provided an opportunity to examine operational examples of CANDU technology in a nearby country with which Türkiye maintains close relations.
Türkiye views nuclear energy as a key component of its strategy to strengthen energy security and achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2053.
“Türkiye wants access to nuclear power at competitive prices while ensuring the highest safety standards,” Bayraktar said.
“We will move forward with future projects through a more comprehensive approach that also addresses nuclear waste management and fuel supply security.”
A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the dismissal of a long-running case against Halkbank over alleged Iran sanction violations after the Turkish public lender completed a compliance review.
The bank’s shares on the Borsa Istanbul Stok Exchange (BIST) rose as much as 8.4% after U.S. District Judge Richard Berman signed a “nolle prosequi” order requested by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton seeking to drop the case.
“The criminal case against our bank ongoing in the United States for years has been definitively and conclusively closed,” Halkbank said in a statement.
Halkbank CEO Recep Süleyman Özdil said the lender expected its opportunities to access foreign funding would improve.
The dismissal promised to relieve one of the main irritants between Türkiye and the U.S., as the NATO allies experience their best ties in decades.
Halkbank was charged in 2019 during President Donald Trump’s first term with allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions. The bank had pleaded not guilty in the case.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly rejected the charges, insisting that Ankara did not violate the U.S. embargo on Iran. Erdoğan once called the case unlawful and “ugly.”
After Erdoğan and Trump met last year, the Turkish president expressed hope for a resolution of the matter.
Erdoğan said in October that Trump told him during the September meeting at the White House and in a subsequent phone call that the “Halkbank problem is finished for us.”
This March, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a deferred prosecution agreement in which it would dismiss the case following a successful compliance review of Halkbank’s programs.
No money changes hands under the deal, and the bank did not admit criminal wrongdoing.
To fulfill the agreement’s requirements, Halkbank enlisted a Turkish affiliate of accounting firm Ernst & Young to review the bank’s compliance program and check whether any transactions were for the benefit of Iran or Iranian persons or entities.
In a June 10 joint request to judge Berman co-signed by Halkbank counsel, attorney Clayton said the bank’s compliance obligation “has been satisfied,” according to a 12-page letter.
The review identified “no findings of noncompliance,” the letter said.
Italy’s government has issued approval to the joint venture between state-controlled defense group Leonardo and Türkiye’s powerhouse Baykar to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a report said Wednesday.
The deal, first announced in March 2025 and structured as a 50-50 partnership, aims to address Europe’s weakness in the drone industry, with the two groups seeing a UAV market worth some $100 billion over the next 10 years.
The government cleared the partnership at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing a source.
Under one of the approval’s conditions, sales of the drones and any further international development of the joint venture will be limited to countries politically aligned with Europe and NATO.
All technology used in the drones will be classified, the report said.
Italy exercised its so-called “golden power” rules, aimed at protecting strategic national interests in mergers and acquisitions, which allow the government to impose conditions or even block deals.
The agreement with Leonardo allows Baykar, one of the world’s largest drone exporters, to access the European market and opens the way for expanded industrial activities in Italy.
The government approval of the joint venture was first reported by Italian daily Il Messaggero.
Baykar has meanwhile acquired Italian aviation and defense company Piaggio Aerospace in late 2024.
The Istanbul-based company has become one of the most prolific drone exporters after having gained prominence through their use in multiple conflicts.
It produces light and heavy drones, as well as developing autonomous jet-engine-powered ones, and is betting on autonomous air-to-air combat drones taking over the role of fighter jets.
The oil market is expected to enter a substantial supply surplus in 2027 after rebounding from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report Wednesday.
The U.S. has announced an interim agreement to end the Iran war, which includes Iran reopening the key waterway and the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iran, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history.
The war is estimated to have blocked more than 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of Middle East oil output according to the IEA.
“If the deal holds, exports and production from the Gulf should see a gradual recovery – not least because Iranian oil exports can fully resume once the U.S. blockade is lifted,” the agency, which advises industrialized countries, said.
The oil market will then fall into a significant supply overhang next year, the IEA said in its first look at 2027, as oil supply is set to surge by 8 million bpd while demand rises by just 2 million bpd.
Middle East supply already rising
Flows through the strait were already rising by early June because of a pick-up in ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman, the IEA said, helping to boost total Middle East flows to around 12 million bpd in early June from a May low of 9.6 million bpd.
However, political and operational constraints, including prolonged demining and unresolved transit arrangements, leave downside risks to the Middle East recovery outlook, the IEA said.
Overall, the IEA forecasts oil supply to fall by 3.9 million bpd in 2026, as production losses in the Middle East outpace rising output from the Americas.
Russian crude oil and refined fuel exports were stable at around 7.4 million bpd in May despite continued Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries, the IEA said, though the attacks forced Russia to prioritize fuel supply to the domestic market and to maximize crude oil exports.
Demand destruction spreads
Global oil demand will fall by 1.1 million bpd this year according to the IEA, after a 5 million bpd April-June drop.
Demand destruction has spread beyond the areas that were initially most impacted by the Iran war, the IEA said, with deliveries of all major fuels and especially gasoil “showing signs of strain across almost all regions.”
Demand will then recover swiftly and grow next year, as falling oil prices and an improving economic outlook drive the rebound, the IEA said.
In its own monthly report, rival forecaster OPEC lowered its forecast for oil demand growth in 2026 to 970,000 barrels per day.
Large surplus looms in 2027
The IEA forecasts imply that supply will come in around 920,000 bpd below total demand in 2026, according to Reuters’ calculations, narrowing from a 1.78 million bpd deficit in the previous month’s report.
The IEA’s 2027 forecasts imply that supply will outweigh demand by 5.05 million bpd next year, as demand growth is overshadowed by supply ramping up as Middle East barrels return.
The global oil market tipping into a large surplus in 2027 could “provide a welcome respite to the market and an opportunity to replenish depleted inventories, or to build new strategic reserves, as countries review their energy strategies and policies in response to the crisis,” the IEA said.
However, oil inventories could plunge further to historic lows before the market balance is able to shift to a surplus towards the end of this year, the IEA said.
Inventories have fallen at a rate of 3.8 million bpd since the start of the war on Feb. 28, with stock draws in May alone at around 4.6 million bpd, according to preliminary IEA data.
Turkish discount grocery chain BIM has received approval from the country’s banking regulator to establish a participation bank, it said in a public statement on Wednesday.
The new bank, named Dost Katılım Bankası, will have a founding capital of TL 10 billion (nearly $216 million), it said.
In the statement shared at the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), BIM recalled that it had announced earlier in December last year that it had submitted an application to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) for establishing the bank.
The said decision was also published in the Official Gazette, it added.
Starting operations in 1995 with 21 stores, BIM continued its steady growth trajectory in 2025, according to the company.
By opening 662 new stores domestically during the year, the company reached a total of 12,751 stores in Türkiye as of the end of 2025.
Oil refiner Tüpraş retained the title of Türkiye’s largest industrial company in 2025, according to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry’s (ISO) annual ranking of the country’s 500 biggest industrial enterprises, released on Wednesday.
The ISO 500 survey showed that Türkiye Petroleum Refineries, known as Tüpraş, ranked first with TL 698.8 billion ($19.6 billion) in net production-based sales.
Tüpraş has long been positioned as the leading industrial enterprise in Türkiye. The latest list showed less change among the most dominant companies on the list, which was led by refiners and automotive giants, but it also revealed the rise of defense companies, with two of them entering the Top 10 list.
The results of the “Türkiye’s 500 Largest Industrial Enterprises 2025” survey were announced by ISO Chairperson Erdal Bahçivan at a news conference.
Ford Otomotiv retained second place with TL 538.3 billion ($15.1 billion), while Star Refinery remained third with TL 327.9 billion ($9.2 billion).
Automaker OYAK-Renault climbed to fourth place from sixth with TL 235.5 billion ($6.6 billion) in production-based sales. Toyota Otomotiv ranked fifth with TL 206.3 billion ($5.8 billion), followed by home appliance manufacturer Arçelik with TL 165.7 billion ($4.65 billion).
The ranking highlighted strong gains by defense and energy companies.
Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), a major defense manufacturer, the maker of Türkiye’s homegrown fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, rose to seventh place from 11th with TL 140.9 billion ($4 billion) in production-based sales.
Meanwhile, Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) climbed to eighth place from 16th with TL 138.8 billion ($3.98 billion), while defense contractor Aselsan advanced to ninth from 17th with TL 130.2 billion ($3.65 billion).
Mercedes-Benz entered the top 10, moving up to 10th place from 12th with TL 127 billion ($3.56 billion).
Accordingly, the top 10 companies in the 2025 ISO 500 ranking were listed as: Tüpraş, Ford Otomotiv, Star Refinery, OYAK-Renault, Toyota Otomotiv, Arçelik, TAI, Turkish Petroleum Corporation, Aselsan and Mercedes-Benz.
Dollar equivalents were calculated using the average USD/TRY exchange rate for 2025.
The annual inflation in the U.K. held steady at 2.8% in May despite higher petrol prices due to the U.S.-Iran war, as they were offset by lower food costs, official data showed Wednesday.
The consumer prices index (CPI) level matched April’s reading, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, while analysts’ consensus forecast had been for an increase to 3.0%.
“While the war in the Middle East pushes prices up globally, we have got the right economic plan, and inflation has held steady,” Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said in response.
Even though the U.S. and Iran agreed this week to a deal to end the conflict, inflation could still rise in the coming months with energy costs remaining above pre-war levels.
The better-than-expected inflation data for May could, meanwhile, prove fruitless for the Labour government, which is facing a special vote Thursday expected to set in motion an attempt to oust Keir Starmer as prime minister.
Longtime Starmer critic Andy Burnham is hoping to win an election for a parliamentary seat in northwest England so that he can run for the Labour leadership and the premiership.
The inflation data also comes before an interest rate decision by the Bank of England (BoE), which is expected to hold borrowing costs steady on Thursday after energy prices tumbled in recent days thanks to the U.S.-Iran deal.
Last minute | The Halkbank case that had been going on for 9 years in the USA was dropped! “We will continue to contribute to the growth of the country’s economy”
US judge formally dismisses case against Turkish public lender Halkbank
Trump praises Erdoğan for work on Syria’s recovery
Last minute | The Halkbank case that had been going on for 9 years in the USA was dropped! “We will continue to contribute to the growth of the country’s economy”
US judge formally dismisses case against Turkish public lender Halkbank
Trump praises Erdoğan for work on Syria’s recovery
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