Turkey Financial News

Posted by meb at October 19th, 2009

The Turkish Investment Summit opens at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London on Tuesday.

The three-day program will provide plenty of time for social networking, acquiring new contacts and discussing business with potential partners and clients.

Organized by the Turkish Embassy in London and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Turkish Investment Summit will provide an in-depth look into the global and domestic outlook for Turkey, including a spotlight on European Union accession. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 5th, 2009

If Turkey continues to pursue sound economic policies, its economy could perform better than current estimates, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Sunday.

Strauss-Kahn, who is currently in İstanbul to attend the 2009 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, noted that he expected the Turkish economy to recover rapidly from the ongoing global economic crisis, saying that the Turkish economy has made great progress thanks to reforms previously implemented in the financial sector. As a member of the G-20, which forms the backbone of the global economy, he said, Turkey is not only one of the leading economies of the world, but also a dynamic member of the IMF.

According to the fund’s latest World Economic Outlook, released last week, Turkey’s economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2010, after a global recession caused the country’s economy to contract an estimated 6.5 percent this year. The inflation rate in the country is expected to stand at 6.2 percent this year before increasing to 6.8 percent in 2010. The report estimated that Turkey’s current account deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio would increase from 1.9 percent this year to 3.7 percent in 2010. Furthermore, Turkey’s quota in the IMF is expected to increase to more than 1 percent. Analysts note that the Turkish economy will be the fastest growing in Europe in 2010. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 5th, 2009

Turkey does not ‘technically’ need a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund, according to Professor Nouriel Roubini, who was among the first to predict the current global crisis. But, he says, a deal would give confidence to investors. ‘Instead of just waiting for a recovery in the European Union, Turkey should also diversify its export markets,’ he says

The collapse in European Union demand coupled with receding foreign capital inflows makes a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund desirable for Turkey, according to New York University Professor Nouriel Roubini.

Roubini, who predicted the crippling financial crisis as early as 2006, told a crowded audience in Istanbul that a global recovery will probably be U-shaped – slow and with low growth rates for years. Speaking at an İş Investment-sponsored event Friday evening, the economist, dubbed “Dr. Doom,” said unprecedented central bank interventions helped mitigate the “systemic risk” to the world economy but that downside risks remain.

“The Turkish economy was fundamentally sound in the eve of the crisis,” he said. “But then the contagion came, resulting in a collapse in European Union demand [for Turkish goods]. The corporate sector halted capital expenditure investments. Turkey is a very open economy and its recovery depends on the recovery of the eurozone.” (more…)

Posted by meb at October 3rd, 2009

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the global economy will recover slowly from its worst recession since World War II and the Washington-based lender may require a capital increase to meet developing countries’ financing needs.

“We’ve broken the fall of the financial crisis,” Bloomberg quoted Zoellick as saying at a news conference in Istanbul on Friday. Still, 2009 “will continue to be a difficult year” and “you’ll have a slow recovery,” he said.

“There are potential challenges for Turkey’s recovery,” he said. “We are expecting a slow recovery for Turkey. The biggest challenge for Turkey might be protectionism.”

The medium-term economic program announced last month is “sound,” Zoellick said. “Turkey has the growth potential with its dynamic youth, but the biggest problem is unemployment.” (more…)

Posted by meb at October 3rd, 2009

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), put to rest yesterday speculation that an IMF agreement would be signed with Turkey on the sidelines of the İstanbul summit, during a press conference when he answered reporters’ questions about the status of the ongoing relations with the fund.

“We discussed with [Economy Minister Ali] Babacan that it would be inappropriate to discuss [a new standby agreement] during the meetings,” he said, noting that negotiations would resume after the summit. He said they would use the annual meetings to hold multilateral meetings and work out the larger issues of the day and not use them for bilateral meetings.

Strauss-Kahn also challenged the common belief that the IMF was actively pursuing Turkey for an agreement. “We help countries that want our help,” he said, adding that “the IMF is not a bank; we are not looking for customers.” (more…)

Posted by meb at October 3rd, 2009

The shoe-hurling protest of a student-journalist directed toward International Money Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Thursday has drawn massive criticism from a majority of the Turkish public, while some perceived it as a sign of Turks’ suspicion of and disillusion with the IMF.

The incident took place during Strauss-Kahn’s speech to students at İstanbul Bilgi University earlier on Thursday. Turkish student Selçuk Özbek, 24 — who is also a journalist for the small left-wing newspaper Birgün — threw his white sports shoe at Strauss-Kahn, but the shoe fell short hitting him. Another student tried to unfurl a banner but was overpowered by security teams. Both students were detained by the police but were later released.

British business newspaper the Financial Times said the incident was considered to be a reflection of the deep distrust of the IMF in the country hosting the meetings. The daily asserted that Turkey’s propensity for economic crises made it one of the IMF’s most assiduous clients. “Many Turks blame the IMF for fostering a reliance on external funding, with one columnist likening relations to those ‘between the drug addict and the drug dealer.’ But 18 loans later, and after a year of on-off talks over a new financing package, the government is determined to prove it is no longer reliant on either the IMF’s money or its policy blueprints,” the daily reported. (more…)

Posted by meb at October 2nd, 2009

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was in for a nasty surprise as he gave a lecture to students at Istanbul’s Bilgi University. One protester hurled a shoe at the IMF chief and another one tried to unfurl a banner. Both were detained. Answering questions from students, Strauss-Kahn says the IMF ‘will be there when Turkey wants it to be’

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, was greeted by a shoe-thrower during his speech to students at Istanbul’s Bilgi University on Thursday. The shoe missed the IMF chief and hit a student who was asking Strauss-Kahn a question.

The protester, Selçuk Özbek, was detained for a couple of hours and then released. He was working at the socialist Birgün newspaper, according to local media. After the incident, Zeynep Çatalkaya, a student, tried to open a banner but was stopped by security forces.

As the protesters were taken out of the venue, another group protested the IMF and the government by shouting slogans such as, “Go away IMF,” “IMF is the thief, AKP is the collaborator.”

On its Web site, Birgün newspaper published the story with the headline, “IMF beat it!” (more…)

Posted by meb at October 2nd, 2009

Turkey does not have to sign a new loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, Mehmet Büyükekşi, president of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, tells reporters at a meeting to disclose Turkey’s September export figures. The country’s exports dropped 30.5 percent to nearly $8.39 billion for the year as of September, according to TİM data

Signing a new deal with the International Monetary Fund is not a must for Turkey’s recovery process, said Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, or TİM, President Mehmet Büyükekşi during a press conference held to announce the country’s export figures.

Turkey’s export figures dropped 30.53 percent to nearly $8.39 billion in September compared to the same period last year, Büyükekşi announced Thursday in Uşak, a city in the interior part of the Aegean region. The nine-month export total declined by 32.67 percent to $68.896 billion, Büyükekşi said. The country’s year-on-year export slipped 28.89 percent to $94.283 billion. However, the country’s exports increased 9.36 percent in September from a month earlier. (more…)