A Holding Expanding from Kyrenia to the World

Bulut Akacan, Chairman of Akacan Holding, stated that they have grown rapidly with more than 2,000 employees across Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Spain and Türkiye, emphasizing that they are a holding company expanding from Kyrenia to the world.

As one of Northern Cyprus’s largest groups of companies, Akacan Holding provides services at international standards in many fields, primarily residential development. The group has also recently drawn attention with university investments. We spoke with Bulut Akacan about the group’s goals and developments in Northern Cyprus.

Akacan Holding’s flagship is residential development… Could we start by talking about your investments in this area?

As Akacan Holding, we currently build and sell housing both in Türkiye and in Marbella, Spain. In Northern Cyprus we have built shopping malls, hospitals, schools and hotel projects. Those were our own long-term investments; we did not sell them.

In addition, within the scope of our build-and-sell projects, we have built and sold a total of 6,000 homes to date—helping 6,000 people become homeowners in Northern Cyprus. A large portion of our buyers were investors from Türkiye.

Many housing projects in the İskele region were sold to Germans, Scandinavians, Russians and Iranians. In Kyrenia, however, we especially made the most sales to Turkish buyers. We are one nation with two separate states. Even if the legal system differs, sharing the same language, religion and culture gives people confidence.

Turkish investors consider investing in Northern Cyprus safe. In the past, there were periods when people from Türkiye invested in Miami, Greece and Italy, but later regretted it because they were treated as second‑class citizens there. In Northern Cyprus, there are Turks—so Cyprus is a very important investment destination.

What sets you apart from other residential developers?

Our architecture and locations are strong, and our projects are highly qualified. We use top‑quality materials. We build homes with a smart‑home concept. Our architect, Mustafa Derat, is a very talented architect.

Could you tell us about your shopping mall project in Kyrenia? It seems it will be a first.

I can say our projects are one of a kind. I am the person who delivered the first residence project in Kyrenia. In a sense, I could say we are building Kyrenia. Alongside our residence projects, we also have a shopping mall project in Kyrenia.

Our mall will cover a total area of 63,000 square meters and will carry the title of the largest shopping mall in Kyrenia. It will include 30,000 square meters of leasable commercial space, 14,000 square meters of residential area, and a 19,000 square meter parking area.

Bringing together many local and international brands, this project will achieve a first in Cyprus. Architect Mustafa Derat, who is behind the project, designed the mall to deliver a rich experience, including a cinema, a special entertainment world for children, and different concepts such as bowling and an ice rink. Residence services will be offered with a true concierge approach. The mall, preparing to offer a new life in Kyrenia, will also become a living center.

We know you are interested in the cryptocurrency market. What would you like to say about this?

One day, the whole world will have to use cryptocurrency. Crypto is less an investment instrument and more a means of payment. People can transfer crypto to the other side of the world very quickly, without waiting for approvals. In today’s traditional banking system, people face difficulties. Crypto has solved the “speed of money” problem.

Türkiye is currently the 5th largest player in terms of crypto market volume. If Türkiye invests more in blockchain technologies—especially metaverse and NFTs—it will become even stronger. The market will grow significantly. As a group, we also invest in crypto companies. The current government views this very positively as well. A legal framework in this area would be beneficial.

How do you interpret Türkiye’s current economic environment?

Inflation appears high at the moment, but this is also a global problem—largely driven by the pandemic. There is significant inflation in dollar and euro terms as well, but it seems Türkiye will overcome it with strong moves.

One of Türkiye’s best moves has been granting citizenship in return for housing investment. Increasing the threshold from $250,000 to $400,000 is also positive. On the other hand, Türkiye used the Russia–Ukraine war in a very positive way. We can also consider tourists’ shopping as a kind of “hidden export” in Türkiye today—so the country’s trade volume has grown significantly in recent years.

In addition, there have been very good developments in the defense industry—especially UAVs and UCAVs. I also support build‑operate‑transfer projects in Türkiye, particularly the new Istanbul Airport. Istanbul Airport has become a bridge between Europe and the Middle East.

You mentioned that the Russia–Ukraine war had positive effects for Türkiye…

With the Russia–Ukraine crisis, many Russian businesspeople had their assets seized due to sanctions imposed by the US and EU countries. They had made those investments through legal means, but due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, their assets were confiscated.

As a result, Arab, Iranian and Russian investors have started moving part of their assets to Türkiye instead of keeping everything in the US or Europe. Türkiye is now a safe haven for them. That’s why I think the Turkish economy will progress much further.

If we touch on political stability in Northern Cyprus, what would you say?

Türkiye has moved to a presidential system. In coalition periods, making decisions and producing projects and services used to take a long time because disagreements could arise between coalition parties. Now decisions are made very quickly, and projects and services are implemented rapidly.

Currently, the biggest problem in Northern Cyprus is the inability to form a government. There is no political stability. They also need to move to a presidential system. The legislature and the executive need to be separated.

Northern Cyprus has a small population; your neighbor or friend might be a minister. Therefore political pressure is felt more strongly. A politician who worries about votes can make populist decisions because of these pressures. Appointing professional people to the executive—separate from parliament—would remove the impact of pressure and the anxiety of losing votes. MPs will make laws and bring citizens’ problems to parliament. In short, the country should be managed professionally, like a company.

On the other hand, a reform in local administrations seems necessary.

There are 28 municipalities in Northern Cyprus. The biggest expense item is personnel costs. Municipalities cannot find sufficient resources to provide services. Therefore, the number of municipalities should definitely be reduced.

Local contractors do not want infrastructure projects to be awarded to Turkish contractors. Where do you think this will evolve?

Türkiye previously gave projects to Turkish Cypriot contractors, but many problems were experienced. Now the Turkish government wants tenders to be opened in Türkiye and for Turkish contractors to carry out the projects—because Türkiye provides the funding and wants the work completed. Roads, sewer systems, treatment plants, landscaping, etc. need to be built quickly. Therefore, this is a correct decision.

How do you evaluate the implementation of excise tax (ÖTV) in Northern Cyprus?

I think it is the wrong decision. Northern Cyprus should be made like Monte Carlo. For that, all taxes should be removed—this would bring more tourists and more revenue.

We cannot—and do not want to—build heavy industry in Northern Cyprus. Why pollute nature, or compete industrially with countries like Türkiye and Iran? Our own resources are not sufficient for that either.

We have two main sectors: tourism and education. Alongside these, there is quality construction. We should build beautiful and high-quality homes so that students are happy. All taxes and excise taxes should be removed so students can find affordable accommodation.

In tourism, we should provide the best service and make transportation easier. On the other hand, since the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not recognized, we need to develop formulas to attract technology companies—such as social security incentives and tax reductions. In this way, Northern Cyprus can advance rapidly through these four sectors.

Northern Cyprus also has an energy problem…

Energy needs to be made cheaper. For example, we should bring electricity from Türkiye via cable and integrate with Europe through that connection. In addition, we should produce alternative energy, primarily solar.

What do you think about the gradual opening of the Varosha (Kapalı Maraş) region?

For years, we told Greek Cypriots: “Let’s give you Varosha—open the airports and ports for international transportation.” We did this for years and they said no. With a smart move by Türkiye, we opened Varosha and they were cornered.

The owners of properties in Varosha pressured the Greek Cypriot government. Now they say: “Give us Varosha and we will open international access.” Now we do not accept it. Even the Greek Cypriot public says “reach an agreement.” If that happens, Cyprus’s value will increase tenfold. I hope an agreement is reached as soon as possible.