Publication: The venture capital fund structure in Turkey: is it a suitable model as an alternative investment vehicle in Turkey
Abstract
19. ve 20. yüzyıllarda endüstri ve teknolojik devrimleri yaşayan milletler yatırım ve ülke siyasetlerini rasyonel yatırım ve teknolojik gelişime dayatmışlardır. Bu çalışma okuyucularına risk sermayesinin özlü tanımını sunarak, gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülkelerdeki risk sermayesi ihtiyacını oluşturan ekonomik gelişmeleri baz almakta olup, Türkiye risk sermaye piyasasına yöneltmektedir. Tüm ülke ve toplumlarda risk sermayesinin kurulmasına iten faktörler hemen hemen aynıdır: kazançlı girişimci fikrileri ve/ veya kurulmuş yapıları tespit edip, finanse etme ihtiyacıdır. Bununla birlikte, ülkelerdeki farklı yasal, kültürel ve ekonomik koşullar sınırlama ve fırsatları beraberinde getirmektedir. Türkiye'de koşullara göre doğaçlama ihtiyacını gerektiren kanıtlar fazlasıyla mevcuttur. Türkiye'deki risk sermayesi sektörü dünyadaki örnekleriyle nasıl kıyaslanıyor, ve daha önemlisi yeni teknolojik ve iyi planlanmış yatırımları yetirince canlandırıyor mu? Türk risk sermayesi sektörü oldukça yeni olup, Sermaye Piyasası Kurumu (SPK)'nun 1993'deki Risk Sermayesi Yatırım Ortaklığı kuruluşu için öngörülen prosedürlerini açıklayan tebliğinden sonra biçimlenmeye başlamıştır. Özel yatırım sektörüne yeterince danışılmadan söz konusu prosedürler tasarlanmıştır. Dolayısıyla etki/ tepki kuralına dayanan görüşme neticesinde sunulan çözümler gerçekleşmemiştir. Bu nedenle 1996'da SPK söz konusu tebliği düzelterek daha da çekici hale getirmeye çalışmıştır. Fakat yine de, derin yasal, vergi ve yapısal engeller kurulabilen potansiyel fonları kaçırmaktadır. Eğer risk sermayesinin yasal mevzuatı değiştirilirse, Türkiye'de risk sermayesi fonları sağlıklı bir şekilde büyür. Doğru bir yapısal atmosfer kurulamadığından yatırımcılar farklı yatırım araçları kullanmak zorunda bırakılmaktadır. Dünyadaki risk sermayesi sektörün hacmi yaklaşık olarak US$ 150 milyar ve Türkiye'de bu rakam US$ 250 milyon olup, gayri safi milli hasılaya göre dünya ortalamasından 10 kat daha az. Türkiye'de bahse konu risk sermayesinin büyük bir kısmı yüksek riski içeren yatırımlara değil, risk sermayesi nosyonundan uzak düşük risk ve getirisi az olan yatırımlara bağlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye'deki risk sermayesinin hacmin neden düşük olduğunu, var olan hacmin neden etkin olmadığını ve risk sermayecilerinin kendi aktif fonlarını oluşturmaları için neler yapmalar gerektiğini açılamaya hedeflemiştir.
Those nations which experienced the industrial and technological revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively, have evolved their investment and national policies on the basis of rational investment and technological development. This study gives the reader a concise explication of venture capital, illustrates economic developments which have generated the requirement of venture capital in both industrialized and developing nations and projects all the accumulations on the Turkish venture capital market. The driving forces behind the establishment of the venture capital notion are similar in all countries and societies: the need to find and fund the most lucrative entrepreneurial ideas and/ or established structures. However, the evident legal, cultural and economic dissimilarities between different countries offer both restrictions and opportunities. Turkey extends ample of evidence for the need to improvise according to surrounding circumstances. How does the Turkish venture capital industry and structure compare to venture capital industries in the world and most importantly has it helped stimulate new technologies and manifest well-planned investments? The Turkish venture capital industry is relatively new and only began to take shape after 1993 when the Capital Market Board (SPK) prepared and announced their communiqué regarding procedures for the establishment of a Venture Capital Investment Trust. Since the procedures for the establishment of a venture capital fund were drafted without adequately consulting the investment industry the traditional negotiation scheme of action/ reaction offering a more conclusive solution were not realized. Hence, the SPK amended the communiqué in 1996 to make it more attractive. However, extensive legal, tax and structural obstacles still do exist, driving away any potential fund establishments. If the legal structure for venture capital fund formation were amended, Turkey would be a haven for venture capital fund establishment. The inability to create a benevolent structural atmosphere has warded off investors to choose different investment vehicles. The global venture capital volume is estimated at US$ 150 billion and Turkey offers and estimated US$ 250 million, about 10 times less than the world average per gross domestic product. In Turkey most of this so-called venture capital is not invested in areas where venture capital concentrates but is rather tied up mostly in low risk and no risk accounts with corresponding low returns. This study aims at explaining why the volume of venture capital is so minute compared to its counterparts, why the volume is dormant and what potential venture capitalists should do to establish their own, active funds.
Those nations which experienced the industrial and technological revolutions in the 19th and 20th centuries respectively, have evolved their investment and national policies on the basis of rational investment and technological development. This study gives the reader a concise explication of venture capital, illustrates economic developments which have generated the requirement of venture capital in both industrialized and developing nations and projects all the accumulations on the Turkish venture capital market. The driving forces behind the establishment of the venture capital notion are similar in all countries and societies: the need to find and fund the most lucrative entrepreneurial ideas and/ or established structures. However, the evident legal, cultural and economic dissimilarities between different countries offer both restrictions and opportunities. Turkey extends ample of evidence for the need to improvise according to surrounding circumstances. How does the Turkish venture capital industry and structure compare to venture capital industries in the world and most importantly has it helped stimulate new technologies and manifest well-planned investments? The Turkish venture capital industry is relatively new and only began to take shape after 1993 when the Capital Market Board (SPK) prepared and announced their communiqué regarding procedures for the establishment of a Venture Capital Investment Trust. Since the procedures for the establishment of a venture capital fund were drafted without adequately consulting the investment industry the traditional negotiation scheme of action/ reaction offering a more conclusive solution were not realized. Hence, the SPK amended the communiqué in 1996 to make it more attractive. However, extensive legal, tax and structural obstacles still do exist, driving away any potential fund establishments. If the legal structure for venture capital fund formation were amended, Turkey would be a haven for venture capital fund establishment. The inability to create a benevolent structural atmosphere has warded off investors to choose different investment vehicles. The global venture capital volume is estimated at US$ 150 billion and Turkey offers and estimated US$ 250 million, about 10 times less than the world average per gross domestic product. In Turkey most of this so-called venture capital is not invested in areas where venture capital concentrates but is rather tied up mostly in low risk and no risk accounts with corresponding low returns. This study aims at explaining why the volume of venture capital is so minute compared to its counterparts, why the volume is dormant and what potential venture capitalists should do to establish their own, active funds.