Yandex's cofounder, Arkady Voloj, paved the way in Russia for earning wealth without relying on the state.

The day before was a good day for Voloj, one of the cofounders of the Russian search engine, Yandex.  Yandex is in a way the Google of Russia. The day before, Voloj learned that the total value of the company he had founded fourteen years ago was worth USD 8 billion. Yandex had raised USD 1.3 billion in public offering on on the NASDAQ stock market. The stocks were snapped up at a premium price at $25. Moreover, after the trading started, the stock price increased to $38 and the total value of the company surged to $13 billion. How can he not be happy? Let me draw a couple of lessons from this case. I believe the public offering of the Yandex is important. I also think that all prepared developing countries can benefit from this. I consider that Turkey is problematic, however. Let me tell you why.

The first lesson to be drawn is that the global crisis has turned domestic demand into a significant opportunity for developing countries. One way to take advantage of the rapidly growing markets of developing countries is to invest in the rapidly growing companies of such countries. With this perspective, a new era is about to begin for the successful companies of developing countries. In a milieu in which the US talks about a new economic slowdown in the second quarter of 2011 and Europe struggles with a debt crisis due to political reasons, developing countries and their markets and companies have the chance to become much more important. Recently I quoted from the CEO of an American company. He said that companies which used to globalize their activities in search for cheap labor now follow rich customers. This at the same time is a new capital accumulation method for the entrepreneurs in developing countries. Arkady Voloj has paved the way in Russia for earning wealth with intellectual rather than physical effort and without relying on the state. This is an extremely favorable development.

And the second lesson: Is Turkey prepared to benefit from this newly shaped opportunity? I, personally, have doubts. Let me start with technology companies of Turkey working on the internet like Yandex. As you might remember, eBay recently increased its share in GittiGidiyor.com to 93 percent. Initially in 2007, eBay was the minority stake holder; now it owns almost the entire company. This is a good thing; good also happens in this country. However, GittiGidiyor.com was one of the few good developments in Turkey. We have the telecommunication infrastructure, but the internet content in Turkish is quite narrow. I think this have many causes including the high costs due to the erroneous privatization processes and lack of competition, the design of the higher education system, the Higher Education Board and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. Turkey still does not have a system to support young creative entrepreneurs. The informal economy also is a huge impediment to e-commerce. In addition, we are in tough times given the political Internet bans. What can I say, then? It is a shame, if not anything else, that an attempt that succeeded even in Russia does not in Turkey. We can compete only with Russia in the race for advanced democracy. And this is the second lesson to draw.

The third one: Shall we expect any favor for Turkish firms other than technology firms? Yes, but on one condition. As I recently stressed, you can make a rapid growth firm out of any Turkish firm in any sector upon revision. However, there are only a few institutions in the venture capital business that can do this. What is more, there are many constraints in entering this business. This is a significant handicap for Turkey. Such a restructuring in the financial sector, which will definitely be beneficial, is nonexistent.

How can this be attained? It can be attained depending on the discount. It can be attained certainly if the stocks prices are reduced in the form of a micro-unpreparedness and "the well known macroeconomic circumstances" discount.

The shady macroeconomic equilibrium will become an impediment to capital inflows. We are not talking in vain.

You can benefit from the wind only if you know which way it blows.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 27.05.2011