(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Bloomberg
Munich: A German government warning to companies against doing business with Turkey has put some of the country's biggest firms on notice.
Deutsche Bank AG, Siemens AG and Volkswagen AG are among the German companies with deep roots in Turkey that date back many decades. German manufacturers also have numerous factories in the country that employ thousands of workers, leaving them vulnerable to the deterioration in diplomatic relations that has intensified in recent days.
Germany on Friday dismissed a list of 678 'items and accusations from Turkey involving German companies as 'not concrete, declining to investigate further. The deepening dispute, with Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announcing a 're-orientation of policy toward Turkey, prompted a lobby of German exporters to say the threat to business was 'real. The two countries' trading ties were worth more than $36bn last year, with more than 6,800 German firms currently operating in Turkey.
German companies with the most exposure, include Deutsche Bank AG among many others. Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest lender, entered Turkey in 1987 and has operations that include corporate finance and trading. Deutsche Bank Turkey has one branch, employing 116 people. The financial firm last month scaled back some derivatives activities in the country.
The lender in January rejected claims by a pro-government newspaper that it was plotting to undermine the economy, and said it was 'unacceptable for its name to be associated with terrorism, after the daily Yeni Safak said Deutsche Bank and other German institutions were attempting 'economic terror.
Volkswagen AG, the German automaker counts Turkey as one of its key markets, where VW delivered roughly 174,000 vehicles last year, up 5.6 percent, and on par with the likes of Russia and Italy.
VW's MAN heavy truck brand has a facility near Ankara, which was the commercial vehicle maker's first production site outside Germany when it began operations in 1966. It's currently MAN's largest bus plant, according to the company's website. The factory produces city buses and coaches for the MAN and Neoplan brands.
Siemens AG, the industrial company has about 3,000 employees in Turkey and investments ranging from factories to hospitals. Siemens runs laboratories in Turkish medical clinics. The company aims to generate $116m in annual revenue from the ventures within the next five years.
German fashion company, Hugo Boss AG, has largest plant is located in Turkey, with 3,777 employees. The main focus at the factory in Izmir is manufacturing high-quality apparel such as suits, jackets and shirts as well as tailored womenswear. The company says it's 'watching closely developments in Turkey and taking all matters 'very seriously.
Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz has been producing trucks in Turkey for more than 30 years, which it sells primarily on the domestic market. It's investing 113 million euros through 2018 in the Aksaray plant to double capacity, where the company currently employs about 1,800 workers.
Daimler also produces buses on the outskirts of Istanbul, most of which are exported. That plant employs some 3,300 people. The media company, Axel Springer SE, which owns 7 percent in Turkish broadcaster Dogan TV Holding, has said it won't make new investments in Turkey because of the country's crackdown on journalists.
Chief Executive Officer Mathias Doepfner has harshly criticized the Turkish government for jailing a reporter who works for Axel Springer's newspaper Die Welt.
After a German comedian ridiculed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a poem on German TV, Doepfner published an open letter in Die Welt supporting the performer and daring Erdogan to sue.
Allianz SE, Europe's biggest insurer, acquired Yapi Kredi Sigorta AS for 684 million euros in 2013 to expand in the country.
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