External reasons, the most significant factor behind the hike in commodity prices, will take time to be stabilized, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking after the Cabinet meeting, President Erdogan said the country has been exposed to an exorbitant price hike which can’t be explained by the surge in FX rates and costs. Erdogan also added that annual inflation will decline to some 40% in a few months, and they are determined to reduce it to some 20%.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also announced after the Cabinet meeting that Turkey discovered 150 million barrels of net oil reserves in a southeastern mountain area, valued at USD 12bn. “Turkish Petroleum accelerated its exploration and production activities during the pandemic. With 34 more discoveries in 2021 alone, we added another 71 million barrels to our current reserve,” Erdogan noted. Erdogan also added that Turkey has reached a natural gas reserve of 540 billion cubic meters. “We’ll start with a daily gas production of 10 million cubic meters and raise it to 40 million cubic meters,” he said.
The regulation regarding the victims of delayed pension age (EYT) which is being awaited by hundreds of thousands of employees, has been pushed to the new year, according to AK Party sources. They said the talks for the regulation cannot be held in December due to the budget schedule.
Turkey’s benchmark stock index ended yesterday at 5,193.30 points with an increase of 3.76%. Starting the day at 5,057.53 points, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index gained 188 points from last week’s close of 5,005.30. The index’s lowest value during the day was 5,057.53, while its daily high was 5,222.55 points. The total market value of the BIST 100 was around TRY 4.17tr by market close, with a daily trading volume of TRY 134bn.
On the foreign policy side, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to Turkmenistan today to attend the first summit between the leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. Erdogan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Turkmenistan’s Serdar Berdimuhamedov will meet in the western Turkmen city of Awaza to address steps to further deepen the cooperation between the three countries in all areas, particularly in trade, energy, and transportation, the Presidency said in a statement. At the summit, the leaders will sign several agreements which aim to strengthen cooperation. Erdogan also will hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit.
DAILY AGENDA
The Industrial Production Index increased by 2.4% in October, compared to the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The index rose by 2.5% on an annual basis.
Meanwhile…
>> The total amount in the FX-protected TRY deposit accounts (KKM) has totaled nearly TRY 1.5tr as of December 12, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati. The number of KKM owners has amounted to 2.2 million.
>>Turkey’s defense exports, which were at USD 248m 20 years ago, are set to top USD 4bn this year, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan also said the number of defense companies rose from 56 to over 1,600 in this period.
>> The terms of trade dropped by 4.8 points from 79.2 to 74.4 in October, compared to the same month last year, according to TurkStat.
>> Turkish startups received USD 1.5bn in funding in the first nine months of the year, according to Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank. He also said the investment received by Turkish startups totaled USD 154m in 2020 and USD 1.6bn in 2021.
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>> 86% of stocks are held by 3.6% of investors
Daily EKONOMI Editorial Coordinator and Columnist TalipAktas examines the portfolio distribution and investor profiles of Borsa Istanbul.
