Türkiye’s central bank chief is set to hold her first meetings with international investors since taking the job, at the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) forum in Marrakech scheduled on Oct. 11-13, a source familiar with the plan said Thursday.
The meetings will include representatives and clients of Blackrock, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, as well as other central bankers, the person said, marking Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan’s first such interactions with foreign banks and funds since becoming governor in June. The central bank declined to comment.
Last month, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) raised its key interest rate by 500 basis points to 30%, tightening policy for four months. Since the June policy U-turn, it has hiked rates by 2,150 basis points to rein in inflation, which rose to 61.53% in September.
Earlier this week, the governor reiterated the bank’s dedication to maintaining financial stability and ensuring price stability amid a shift toward a more conventional policy framework after the May elections.
“At this point, the objective should be to steadfastly continue the process of disinflation while not deviating from the growth composition necessary for sustainable growth,” Erkan noted.
Meanwhile, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek is expected to hold more meetings with investors after he kicked off the investor roadshow at Goldman Sachs’ headquarters in New York last month.
The meetings, along with the government’s medium-term program, unveiled last month, have garnered major interest from foreign investors in the big emerging market economy.
Şimşek last month said Türkiye had secured $10.4 billion (TL 286.60 billion) in external financing since June. Out of this, the banking sector secured over $6.7 billion, the real sector attracted $3.26 billion, and the non-banking financial sector accounted for $367 million.
According to the reports, he is set to hold more investor meetings in London on Thursday and in Paris on Oct. 19. The minister, who also met investors in Gulf states earlier this year, plans such trips this month and is expected to hold similar talks with investors in Asia by year-end.
International agencies, including Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), have welcomed the shift in economic policies, with both recently revising their outlook from “negative” to “stable.”
