Turkey’s Treasury & Finance Minister paints a promising picture of Turkish economy
Despite many arguments Turkey’s economy has been going through a troublesome period, Treasury Minister ALBAYRAK has made explanations on the contrary emphasizing Turkey did not have any problems regarding the amount of public, household or private sector debts, taking into account relevant points. The Minister used this expression at a meeting he addressed business people in the USA.
On the contrary the Minister said Turkey was in a better position as compared to other emerging market economies and the world average in terms of borrowing.
The Minister speaking at the conference themed “Financial Reform and the Turkish Economy” organized by the US Chamber of Commerce, Turkish Heritage Organization, Turkey Chambers and Stock Exchanges Union (TOBB) shared some vital views about the current situation of Turkey’s economic performance with American business people mainly.
He said Turkey had an outstanding stable performance in one of the world’s most challenging regions, despite troubles such as the failed coup attempt in 2016 and the economy had always been the top priority for AK Party administrations.
Following the political victory achieved by ruling AK PARTY in most recent elections, the administration has now come up with an economic program called NEW ECONOMIC PROGRAM (YEP) emphasizing three principles mainly; “Balance, discipline and change”. According to the Minister budget discipline and price stability are to be main pillars of economic policies.
ALBAYRAK pointed out that the reduction of the number of ministries to 16 put into effect by the new government was strategically important in terms of budget discipline, adding speculations regarding independence of the Central Bank of Turkey (CBT) in terms of monetary policy administration, had also come to an end following powerful steps taken by the bank most recently.
The Minister emphasized “Turkey was very comfortable in terms of macroeconomic indicators and was now in possession of a strategic, reliable, rational and powerful program thanks to the contribution made by multiple parties varying from finance sector to academic groups”.
ALBAYRAK mentioned that transformation targeted in Turkey’s economy had actually started as of July as supported by recent economic data. The minister expressed that Turkey was very comfortable talking about figures and said “While the ratio of exports to imports in July last year was 58.7 percent, this ratio increased to 70.1 percent in July 2018. The August figures were even better. The ratio of exports to imports, which was 69.1 percent in August 2017, was 83.3 percent in August this year.
Looking at the debt figures of public, households, banks and the private sector, we see that Turkey has a bright performance. In Turkey, the ratio of public debt to GDP is 28 percent whereas the average of emerging and developing countries is 30 percent, while the global average is about 70 percent. This means that Turkey is in very good condition in the area of public debt. The ratio of household debt which is 16 percent in Turkey is 39 percent in in emerging and developing countries and with 60 percent global average”.
