Summary: Istanbul’s strategic position linking Europe and Asia has made it a key hub for companies such as Booking.com, Turkish Airlines, Oracle and Garanti BBVA. The city’s cultural and commercial activity plays an important role in Türkiye’s overall economy.
Istanbul, Türkiye’s bustling destination city, spans two continents across the Bosphorus. Its commercial and industrial activity supports Türkiye’s wider economy — a global emerging market with a GDP estimated at around USD 1.3 trillion.
As the country’s cultural and commercial centre, Istanbul is a strategic operating base for multinationals whose workforce and customers are in Europe, Asia and other regions served by Istanbul’s logistics providers.
Mondelez International is a food and beverage manufacturer focused on innovation in snacks. Its operations span research and development through to the distribution of regional and global product lines, serving more than 150 countries.
SAP is a software company providing digital tools for industries from banking and retail to public services and manufacturing. These products, known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, are offered as SaaS subscriptions and support functions such as data analytics and cybersecurity.
UPS provides logistics and transport services to global customers. Its Türkiye base in Istanbul offers retail and corporate shipping, including parcel tracking, freight and logistics operations management. The company drew attention after the region’s major 2023 earthquake for its role in supporting humanitarian aid.
Google, the US multinational, offers a wide range of digital services, from online advertising and search technology to cloud computing, software, hardware and data services. Its large workforce includes a presence in Istanbul, where Google hosts local events and initiatives in gaming and cloud development.
Oracle is a US multinational IT and software company. Operating since 1977, it pioneered the commercialisation of relational database technology and established the database industry as a distinct branch of IT. Today it offers hardware, software and cloud solutions with a focus on enterprise software systems.
Booking.com is a digital travel company that began as a marketplace aggregating affordable flights. Its activity is still based on a marketplace model, but now includes hotel and rental listings, ground transport and travel agency services.
FedEx is a logistics company providing transport services for global supply chains. Besides its parent brand, it operates dedicated express and freight brands and serves more than 200 logistics hubs worldwide. Istanbul’s strategic access to Europe and Asia makes the city an active hub for imports, exports and domestic shipments.
Garanti BBVA is a financial services company with a portfolio of personal and corporate banking services, from current and time-deposit accounts to car loans, insurance, investment funds and credit cards. Headquartered in Istanbul, the bank has nearly 20,000 employees and serves more than 16 million customers.
DHL is a logistics company offering land, sea and air freight for global customers. In addition to direct shipping and contract delivery, it provides technology services for the logistics sector, including supply-chain and e-commerce logistics management and optimisation solutions that enable end-to-end management of shipments from warehouse to last mile.
Turkish Airlines is Türkiye’s flag carrier. It operates in aviation, aerospace and logistics, with ownership shared between the Turkish state and private shareholders. Besides passenger flights on global routes, it runs the Turkish Cargo brand, which provides air freight services.
