ITO/Avdagiç: Let's Be the Winners in 18 New Competitive Arenas Worth $48 Trillion

Foreks - Şekib Avdagiç, the President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO), stated, "The 18 new competitive arenas in McKinsey's latest report will shape the global economy. By making strides in these 18 industries, which are projected to generate between 29 trillion and 48 trillion dollars by 2040, we must be among the winners. We should not get lost in daily economic discussions and must also prepare for the future."

In his written statement, Avdagiç noted that waves of global change are coming that will profoundly affect the business world and all sectors. He stated that many industries that are currently relevant will not be part of the competitive arenas of tomorrow, emphasizing the need to open up to 'unique' industry categories characterized by high growth and dynamism. Avdagiç pointed out that this is a necessity, commenting, "The meaning of being a country that produces not only consumer goods but also technology investment goods today is crucial."

He pointed out the ongoing progress in e-commerce, electric vehicles, cloud services, and semiconductors, stating, "Artificial intelligence, digital advertisements, and streaming video are the technologies undergoing transformation. For example, artificial intelligence has emerged and showcased its potential. Additionally, there are entirely new emerging processes, including shared autonomous vehicles, space, cybersecurity, battery technologies, video games, robotics, biotechnology, modular construction, nuclear fusion, air mobility, and obesity medications. These 18 new competitive arenas in McKinsey Global Institute's (MGI) latest report will shape the global economy. We must be the winners by making strides in these sectors, which are projected to generate 2-6 trillion dollars in profit by 2040 according to McKinsey. The share of these technologies in collective national income is expected to rise from 4% to 10-16%. Therefore, these categories are our primary and most important targets."

Avdagiç noted that we must now begin working to transform the next decade into a period of high-tech development for Turkey. He stressed that transforming our industries in the Century of Turkey is no longer a choice but a necessity and stated, "We must focus on technologies that increase economic profit through technology, appeal to the world, and require more R&D investments. Let us not forget that among the largest 20 companies in the world in 2005, as of September 2024, only 4 have remained in the top 20. We must start working now for Turkish firms to take the place of those that will fall off the list in the next 20 years. In 2005, there was no iPhone, no one was talking about cloud storage, and electric vehicles seemed like something out of science fiction. Today, these are very much a part of our lives, and these companies are among the largest in the world. In the future, we will be as successful as the number of firms regularly on the Fortune 500 list. We can only enter and advance into the Century of Turkey by writing our name on the Time100 AI list."

According to TÜİK data, Turkey's export of high-tech products in the first nine months of the year reached 6.1 billion dollars, accounting for 3.4% of total manufacturing exports. Avdagiç remarked, "We have a significant global transformation opportunity ahead of us to increase the technological intensity of our exports. Waves of change, which will profoundly affect our business world and all sectors, are coming. Let us not miss out on the 48 trillion dollars of new competitive arenas worldwide."