Turkey’s economic policies were criticized at the Turkish Industry and Business Association’s (TUSIAD) High Advisory Council (YIK) meeting. Tuncay Ozilhan, YIK President of TUSIAD, warned about high inflation, weakening growth, and increasing current account deficit (CAD). Touching on the uncertainty over financing conditions of the CAD for the future, Tuncay Ozilhan said if there is a problem in financing, imports will be difficult. “Foreign capital investment doesn’t come to Turkey due to the adverse impact of problems regarding the law and justice system and the current interest rate policy. Financing comes to the real estate sector but not to the production and investment,” Ozilhan added. He also noted that the FX (foreign exchange) problem can’t be solved without reducing imports and increasing production and exports. “We can’t reduce inflation if we can’t solve the FX problem. Inflation is the biggest problem deteriorating all aspects of the economy. That’s why the number one priority of any economic policy should be to reduce inflation permanently to a single-digit level,” he said. Stressing that the difficulties in accessing financing adversely affect production, Ozilhan added: “If it continues like this, producers won’t be able to import and manufacture.”
A Turkish court sentenced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu to two years and seven months jail and imposed a political ban on the opposition politician, who is seen as a strong potential challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan in elections next year. Mayor Imamoglu will have the ability to appeal. The sentence stems from comments he made allegedly insulting public officials in a speech he made after he won Istanbul’s municipal election in 2019.
The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, is “deeply troubled and disappointed by the decision”, State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, according to Reuters. “This unjust sentence is inconsistent with respect for human rights, concerning fundamental freedoms and rule of law,” Patel said. “We remain gravely concerned by the continued indictment of civil society, media, political and business leaders in Turkey and their prolonged pretrial detention.”
Work should kick off to transport Turkmen natural gas to the West, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking at the 1st Turkey-Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Presidents’ Summit in Awaza, President Erdogan said the government is ready to cooperate with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. “We are ready to cooperate with our Turkmen and Azerbaijani brothers in the Caspian. In addition, we attach importance to the development of mutual electricity trade between our countries in our region,” Erdogan added.
DAILY AGENDA
House sales dropped by 34.1% to 117,806 units in November, compared to the same month last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The Producer Price Index of Agricultural Products jumped 169.45% in November, year-over-year, according to TurkStat. The index climbed by 7.0% on a monthly basis.
The number of paid employees surged by 7.4% from 13.8 million to 14.8 million in October, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to TurkStat.
The private sector’s outstanding loans received from abroad dropped by USD 7.5bn to USD 160.9bn in October, compared to the end of 2021, according to the Central Bank.
The central government’s budget balance posted a TRY 108.3bn surplus in November, according to the Treasury and Finance Ministry.
Meanwhile…
>> The amount in overdraft accounts surged nearly by 70% to TRY 61.7bn in October, compared to the same month last year, according to the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB).
>> The number of people using personal loans excluding non-performing loans rose by 1.9 million to 37.5 million in October, year-over-year, according to TBB.
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>> As ranks are tightening, Turkey is excluded
The latest political move by the Europeans against Russia was to organize an EU-Balkan summit from which Turkey was excluded. “It is obvious that Greece and Greek Cypriots envisage placing Turkey on the “other front” not only in the Eastern Mediterranean but also in the Balkan geography,” Our Foreign Policy Columnist Zeynep Gurcanli says.
