Business refuses to quit Turkey

The Foreign Office has warned of the possibility of further attacks

Companies have pledged to continue working in Turkey despite terrorist attacks that have targeted British interest in Istanbul.

HSBC, the UK-based bank whose Istanbul head office was hit by a bomb blast on Thursday, led a defiant response.

"HSBC remains totally committed to its business in Turkey," the company said in a statement. "There is absolutely no question of HSBC withdrawing."

Businesses have been quick to restart operations shut by the security alert.

It's business as usual in Istanbul today Aviva spokeswoman

British insurer Aviva, which employs about 400 people in Istanbul, has reopened a branch office close to the HSBC building which was all but destroyed in Thursday's attack.

Aviva, and many other companies, are now reviewing security procedures already in place after bomb attacks on Istanbul synagogues earlier this week.

"We have contingency plans in place and are now looking at those plans," an Aviva spokeswoman said.

"It's business as usual in Istanbul today...There is nothing we can say about the long term future because that is not in question."

Vigilance

Other major international investors in Turkey, including pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline and telecoms supplier Alcatel, are re-appraising security and taking measures to protect staff, but none so far have announced any intention to pull out.

Glaxo withdrew delegates from a conference in Turkey earlier this week in the wake of the synagogue bombings that killed 23 people.

The attacks on HSBC and the British consulate in Istanbul on Thursday left at least 27 dead and up to 390 injured.

HSBC, Britain's biggest company by market value, has been operating in the Turkish market for 10 years, employing 3,500 people.

Standard Chartered, the London-based international bank, has said it will press ahead with plans to open a new corporate branch in Istanbul.

The UK Foreign Office has warned of the possibility of further attacks against British interests in Turkey.