Chairman's Statement:
The ambitious reform agenda pursued since 2001 and the improved global financial conditions have been instrumental to the strong economic performance exhibited by the Turkish economy in 2004. The economic upsurge has been further reinforced by the targeted start of the European Union accession process.
The reverse currency substitution trend marked the year 2004 and the appreciation of the Turkish Lira is compensated by the improvement in productivity, thus easing the pressures on competitiveness. The consumer price index, at 9.3 percent for the year, was the first single digit inflation rate witnessed in 30 years, despite the vibrant domestic demand. All sectors of the economy achieved growth while the GNP registered an impressive 9.9 percent increase.
The favorable economic climate and the revamped financial activity provided an excellent environment to further solidify Ata’s recognition as the most ideal partner in Turkey for local and international investors.
Since our inception in 1991, we have based our corporate principles on the importance of strategic vision, innovation and prudence. Our strategy was in reaching the retail and private market clients through innovative use of technology and collaborating with international investment houses, while prioritizing investor protection in all our operations.
Ata Invest has set sectoral benchmarks in the use of technology with our clients and provided swift, secure and trusted service as proved by its growth in the Turkish capital markets. We acknowledge that this is a continuous process and we persist in investing heavily in improving the technology we provide to our clients.
In an increasingly competitive environment, Ata Invest has successfully created a comparative advantage by furnishing investors with relevant and trusted advice, insight and efficient execution ability, while achieving growth in an operating discipline. Clients discover that conventional thinking is not adequate anymore to meet their needs. International institutions and corporations are restructuring to meet the challenges faced by the global marketplace.
At Ata Invest, we are persistently in search for the most viable structures and solutions to serve our clients and provide solutions for their investments in the rapidly developing Turkish financial markets.
In an effort to streamline our operations, Ata Invest focused on investment banking and wealth management functions. Our success in local and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, privatization projects and private equity gives us the confidence that the demand for future transactions will require enhanced organization and capabilities that need to be prepared for.
Our subsidiaries, Ata Online, Ata Asset Management and Ata Investment Trust bring together a collection of services that facilitates state-of-art technology and intellectual capital through a multi-channel access strategy that empowers investors with unrivalled flexibility to reach the product and service mix from alternative platforms. The multifaceted needs of our local and international clients propel us to build for the future in order to fully benefit from the opportunities that surface. Our greatest challenge is to continue to execute operations at the highest of standards as we expand our client base and operations.
Ata Invest is recognized for its many firsts in the sector. The main principle that lies behind this effort is to create maximum value for our clients. We also ensure that we always keep our clients’ interests as our main focus and enhance client confidence, satisfaction and thus, retention. The partnership approach assumed by our firm is the foundation we have built our business philosophy on. Turkey provides immense investment opportunities, however, the importance of local knowledge and expertise is a necessity in order to effectively navigate the domestic environment. Ata is well placed to bridge this vital function.
We believe that our most important asset is the excellence in our people, without whom no amount of strategy, organizational refinement, capital or technology could produce success. We emphasize the skills that equip our people to have the competitive edge and do not refrain from investing in human capital. It takes extraordinary people to produce the extraordinary level of performance our clients and we ourselves seek. The continuity sustained at the management level is a visible proof of our distinctive culture of teamwork.
We are proud that our distinct participation in the Turkish capital markets helps to support progress throughout the country. We act to fuel and sustain economic growth to create efficiencies and liquidity in the financial markets by contributing to the integration of Turkish businesses into the global economy. We will further fortify our alliances with global institutions to create innovative financial solutions with our corporate clients. We encourage our retail investors to benefit from the merits of our unparallel technology provided for their investments.
By bringing together people, capital and ideas we have gained a well-deserved reputation in what we do and we are confident that the future will be increasingly rewarding to our clients, staff and shareholders. We extend our appreciation to all our business partners and are grateful for the support and the hard work provided by our shareholders and staff, who have collectively contributed to a successful 2004. We are already progressing towards achieving our year-end targets for 2005 and the outlook for ATA is as promising as ever.
Korhan Kurdoglu
