Minister of Treasury and Finance Şimşek: “Increased Foreign Investor Interest in Our Country”

Minister of Treasury and Finance Şimşek has made following statement: “In recent times, there has been an increase in foreign investor interest in our country. Significant financing opportunities will be provided from abroad.” The HORASIS Global Meeting was held in Gaziantep with the participation of Minister Şimşek, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, and international investors and top executives.

During the event, Şimşek made a presentation on the outlook of the Turkish economy, macroeconomic challenges, and policies for solutions, as well as investment opportunities in Turkey. He pointed out the global challenges faced by trade partners, such as weak growth, persistently high global interest rates, rising energy prices, and a strong dollar, and stressed that combating inflation was a top priority.

TIGHT MONETARY POLICY AN OTHER TOOLS IMPLEMENTED FOR DISINFLATION

Şimşek also mentioned that tight monetary policy and selective credit and quantitative tightening measures had been implemented for disinflation, and earthquake-related expenditures had temporarily affected the budget balance. He emphasized the importance of establishing fiscal discipline to improve public fiscal balance.

Highlighting the income and spending policies being implemented to restore fiscal discipline, Şimşek mentioned that the target at the end of the program period is to achieve a budget deficit below the Maastricht Criterion of 3%.

INCREASED FOREIGN INVESTOR INTEREST IN TURKEY

Şimşek underscored that Turkey had a low debt level and that the low public indebtedness provides the capacity to cover significant expenses like earthquakes. He mentioned that Turkey’s century-long average growth rate was 4.8%, with the 20-year average being 5.4%.

However, he also noted that there was a need for rebalancing the composition of recent economic growth. Despite increasing tourism revenues, strong domestic demand and high gold imports have adversely affected the current account deficit. It is expected that the normalization and rebalancing of gold imports will lead to an improvement in the current account deficit. Additionally, the production potential of natural gas and oil in Turkey will gradually meet a portion of the country’s energy needs in the future.

SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE PROVIDED FROM ABROAD

Şimşek stated that there had been an increased foreign investor interest in Turkey recently, and significant financial opportunities would be provided from abroad. He also said “International reserves are continuing to improve, and monetary and fiscal policies will be supported by comprehensive structural reforms in the future. Turkey, with its favorable location for international trade, large domestic market, young and dynamic population, skilled and competitive workforce, liberal investment environment, and developed logistics infrastructure, is an attractive destination for investors. Turkey’s potential offers significant opportunities.”