Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at March 22nd, 2009

The Turkish government’s budget deficit rose to 7.4 billion TL ($4.35 billion) in February 2009, revealing a sharp 824 percent jump compared to the same month of 2008, the Finance Ministry announced on Friday.

The budget deficit registered in the same month of 2008 was 1.02 billion Turkish lira (TL) ($600 million).

Budget spending totaled 25.8 billion TL ($15.1 billion) in February, while the budgetary income was 18.4 billion TL ($10.8 billion), the ministry said. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 22nd, 2009

Turkey’s Central Bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 1 percentage point, its fifth consecutive cut, as industrial production slumped and inflation slowed.

Central Bank cuts key rate to record low Ankara-based Central Bank reduced its overnight borrowing rate to 10.5 percent, a record low, Thursday. The reduction matched the median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Bank will release minutes of the meeting within eight working days. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 22nd, 2009

That the battle being waged between the parties for municipal seats is only going to heat up in the last week before local elections is something of a given. And while there is almost general consensus that the ruling AKP will be victor of most the spoils, the question becomes to what degree the opposition can cause any upsets along the way and where.

The cutthroat competition of local politics heats up this week ahead of elections March 29, and while the ruling party is expected to make convincing gains, the main opposition may yet reveal a few surprises.

The rivalry between the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, is attracting particular attention in Ankara and Istanbul, where the CHP is tipped to increase its stake. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 22nd, 2009

The 2008 year-end figures released by banks in Turkey one after another with positive numbers on their balance sheets show that the finance sector in Turkey has maintained its health amid a forced slowdown in economic activities due to the ongoing global financial crisis.

Analysts now suggest that these figures have also enhanced confidence in and increased the security of Turkish banks since many of them boasted an increase in net profit, though by smaller margins than expected. As Turkish Central Bank Vice Governor Mehmet Yörükoğlu recently stated, the Turkish banking system is in extremely good condition now, thanks largely to the “successful regulations adopted after the 2001 economic crisis.” Turkey’s financial system has been able to steer clear of radical measures such as cash injections, unlike those of many developed nations. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2009

Turkey is now a “major” gold exporter after a deteriorating economy and a jump in prices spurred consumers to sell their jewelry, according to a new report by London-based researcher GFMS.

The country imported an average of 232 metric tons of gold a year from 2003 to 2007, GFMS said in a report on its Web site late Wednesday. Net exports in the first two months of this year may have exceeded total imports in the first half of last year, GFMS said.

Turkey imported about 76 tons of gold in the first six months of 2008, according to the Istanbul Gold Exchange. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2009

Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay said on Wednesday that despite the ongoing global financial crisis, he expected no change in the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey in 2009 compared to last year.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Moscow International Travel & Tourism Exhibition (MITT), the minister said: “Relations between Turkey and Russia continue to grow in all fields. Tourism and cultural relations with Russia are developing in a positive direction.” (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2009

IMFA Group, India’s leading manufacturer of ferroalloys, is planning to invest in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, the Sivas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STSO) said in a statement on Thursday.

The province is home to rich underground mineral reserves, the statement noted.

IMFA Group will cooperate with Turkey’s Yazici Group in its investment, the statement said. IMFA Group General Director Arvind Mishra paid a visit to the STSO’s headquarters as part of his research into investment opportunities in Sivas and had talks with the STSO Chairman Osman Yıldırım on Thursday. (more…)

Posted by meb at March 20th, 2009

The General Directorate of Highways has announced that it will hold a tender for the construction of a new highway stretching from the town of Gebze in the northwestern province of Kocaeli to the Aegean province of İzmir, including a bridge over the Gulf of İzmit, on April 9.

The project will be carried out through the build-operate-transfer method. Many Turkish and foreign firms have expressed interest in the tender, which has been postponed a number of times already. The directorate will ask companies submitting bids to specify how long they want to operate the bridge and highway. The firm that fulfils the conditions of the bid specifications and commits to the shortest period of operation will win the tender. (more…)