President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on citizens, who have mattress savings, especially foreign exchange (FX), to seize the opportunity brought by the government’s new economic policy. Speaking after the cabinet meeting President Erdogan said they will move production and employment forward by the support of low-interest rate and stabilized FX rates. “Our goal is investment, production, exports, and growth. We’ll reduce inflation by growing our country,” Erdogan added. Alluding to the opposition, he said they want to increase external dependence. The government will show no mercy for individuals that are stockpiling and trying to take advantage of rising FX rates and price hikes in goods. The government has decided to continue reducing withholding tax implementation which contributes TRY 1.7bn per month to people, according to Erdogan. He also reminded that the interest rate support payments to be made by the Treasury will reach TRY 26bn in the next three years and that the government will make TRY 2.6bn support payments to 651,000 farmers, who suffered from draught, as of the second week of December.
Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 Index, which started the day at 1,997.15 points, hit an intraday all-time high of 2,012.14 points during the session yesterday. The index’s lowest value during the day was 1,977.85 points, while its daily high was 2,012.26 points. The index gained 1.19% from the previous close of 1,981.04 points. BIST 100 index, rose by over 34% in 37 trading days since September 18, when the upward trend started. However, the rise in BIST 100 Index hovers around 42% between September 18-December 8.
Within this frame, the net equity acquisitions of foreign investors amounted to USD 654m in November and reached the highest level in the last year, according to Borsa Istanbul. Nonresidents have successively entered the stock exchange for the last four months. The 4-month net acquisition totaled USD 1.2bn.
The increase in USD/TRY and oil prices continue to reflect on petroleum products as price hikes. The price of gasoline and diesel have been raised by TRY 0.77 and TRY 0.31. Thus, the per liter price of both gasoline and diesel have exceeded TRY 10.00 for the first time since Turkey removed six zeros from TRY.
DAILY AGENDA
The Minimum Wage Determination Commission will hold the third meeting (1.00 pm).
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will convene with vice presidents of the Presidential Policy Council (2.30 pm).
The Central Bank and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) will release weekly money and banking statistics (2.30 pm).
Meanwhile…
>> Daily DUNYA and Sustainability Academic are hosting the Climate Change Summit today between 09:00-18:00 (GMT+3). The summit will focus on multiple topics, including the Paris Climate Agreement and Turkey, 1.5-degree challenge, net-zero industry and innovation, decarbonization, clean energy, climate risks for the future of food, the role of local governments in the fight against the adverse impacts of climate change, Green Deal, and sustainable finance. For registration and to receive detailed information about the sessions and panelists, you can visit: https://surdurulebilirlik.com.tr/etkinlik/iklim-degisikligi-zirvesi/
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After 16 years of Angela Merkel, a new coalition government has been formed in Germany. In the new coalition, the prime ministership was given to the Social Democrats, the Ministry of Finance seat to the neo-liberal FDP, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs seat to the Green party. However, all three parties are harshly critical of the decline in democracy, rule of law, and human rights in Turkey. Our Foreign Policy Columnist analyses the new German government and how it will affect Turkey.
