Groupon Sehirfirsati.com is readying to celebrate its first birthday in the Turkish market. Having entered the Turkish market a year ago as the Turkey branch of the European group purchase network City Deal, later to be acquired by the US giant Groupon, the website presently has more than 2.5 million subscribed users has collaborated with almost 5,000 small and medium enterprises in Turkey

Having entered the Turkish market a year ago as the Turkey branch of the European group purchase network City Deal, Sehirfirsati.com, a translation of the original name, now a Groupon business, is ready to celebrate its first birthday in the Turkish market.

The online portal presently has more than 2.5 million subscribed users. It also has collaborated with almost 5,000 small and medium enterprises in Turkey and the total amount of saving the company helped its users to achieve so far is around 60 million Turkish Liras, according to company figures provided by the General Manager Emre Ekmekçi.

GiraSolar, a U.S.-Dutch solar company, has begun talks with a local energy firm to build Turkey’s first and Europe’s biggest photovoltaic power station while also manufacturing solar panels for export to Europe.

“We are planning to build Europe’s biggest solar plant in Turkey,” Chief Executive Officer Wieland M. Koornstra told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review during a Dutch business mission to Istanbul last week. The mission, which included representatives from 22 companies, was led by Henk Bleker, the Dutch minister for agriculture and foreign trade.

Noting the importance of Turkey in the world’s solar energy sector, Koornstra said GiraSolar had held talks with a Turkish energy giant on building a solar power station in the south of Turkey. He said the plant would generate 100 megawatts of energy.

Back in November, the city announced it would be replacing the iconic Crown Victoria with the first-ever purpose-built yellow cab. It released a questionnaire seeking input on what New Yorkers want from their new cab, as well as seeking votes on which of three designs—from Ford, Nissan and Turkish light-truck manufacturer Karsan—people preferred. Last week, the results of the survey were released, and today Karsan leaked the news that nearly 2/3s of the voters like their model, the most unusual of the three for sure. This was compared to 42 percent that liked the Nissan and 38 percent that liked the Ford. (The question was "yes-or-no," not "pick a favorite.")

Lighting Science Group Corporation, an American manufacturer of LED-based lighting, has partnered with lighting distributor Orizzonte Group , a significant player inTurkey's infrastructural and construction lighting markets, as part of its effort to replicate the Company's U.S. domestic sales success overseas. Lighting Science Group chose the Orizzonte Group as an exclusive distributor because of their existing local sales and distribution capabilities, strong government and corporate connections, and working capital to grow the LED lighting market in Turkey.