Deputy PM: Faster economic growth after referendum
The Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) organized a Foreign Investment Forum yesterday with Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Turkey Director Jean-Patrick Marquet and DEİK Foreign Investments Business Council Chair Volkan Kara in attendance.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Şimşek said the only uncertainty left in the short term is the referendum, and that Turkey has left its major troubles behind.
Şimşek said Turkey can comfortably make all the remaining reforms between the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018 because it is in an environment where the country is normalized, can see the future and has overcome its systemic problems.
Noting that starting in April, the domestic economy will begin to recover swiftly and that the international perception of Turkey will rapidly improve, Şimşek stressed the importance of April, saying: "The only uncertainty left in the short term is the referendum. Referendums and elections contain some uncertainties, even if they are short-term. People sometimes put off their big investment decisions."
Pointing at a chance for reduced uncertainty and ongoing reforms as favorable effects of the post-April optimism, Şimşek listed the reasons behind the post-April referendum, saying: "First, the uncertainty will diminish. Second, a really difficult period of Turkey will be closed and left behind. Third, we will both reinforce the foundations, and re-build the future with reforms. And fourth, Turkey's foreign perception will rapidly improve."
Şimşek also stressed that Turkey has very serious opportunities, and that the threats are diminishing, adding that the current system is prone to cause a crisis. "We are making a very important reform in April. Many people seem to think that a constitutional amendment was brought to the agenda when everything was going well when there is no such thing. The current system of Turkey is a very favorable system for creating a crisis," Şimşek noted.
Volkan Kara, the chair of DEİK's Foreign Investments Business Council, stated that Turkish foreign investments, which have increased more than 10 times in the last 15 years, have moved to a new dimension at this point. In his opinion, Turkish companies have proved themselves in the global market, and he stressed that companies have adopted global positioning as a strategic goal rather than as mandatory requirements in the domestic market. Suggesting that they expect this recent upward trend to continue in the coming period, Kara said the size of global brands bought by Turkish companies and investments made from scratch in just the last five years in a wide geographical area, extending from America to Africa and from Europe to Asia, have approached $30 billion. "According to the Economy Ministry, foreign investments made by our companies to date have exceeded $60 billion," he added.
Speaking at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Şimşek said the only uncertainty left in the short term is the referendum, and that Turkey has left its major troubles behind.
Şimşek said Turkey can comfortably make all the remaining reforms between the second half of 2017 and the first half of 2018 because it is in an environment where the country is normalized, can see the future and has overcome its systemic problems.
Noting that starting in April, the domestic economy will begin to recover swiftly and that the international perception of Turkey will rapidly improve, Şimşek stressed the importance of April, saying: "The only uncertainty left in the short term is the referendum. Referendums and elections contain some uncertainties, even if they are short-term. People sometimes put off their big investment decisions."
Pointing at a chance for reduced uncertainty and ongoing reforms as favorable effects of the post-April optimism, Şimşek listed the reasons behind the post-April referendum, saying: "First, the uncertainty will diminish. Second, a really difficult period of Turkey will be closed and left behind. Third, we will both reinforce the foundations, and re-build the future with reforms. And fourth, Turkey's foreign perception will rapidly improve."
Şimşek also stressed that Turkey has very serious opportunities, and that the threats are diminishing, adding that the current system is prone to cause a crisis. "We are making a very important reform in April. Many people seem to think that a constitutional amendment was brought to the agenda when everything was going well when there is no such thing. The current system of Turkey is a very favorable system for creating a crisis," Şimşek noted.
Volkan Kara, the chair of DEİK's Foreign Investments Business Council, stated that Turkish foreign investments, which have increased more than 10 times in the last 15 years, have moved to a new dimension at this point. In his opinion, Turkish companies have proved themselves in the global market, and he stressed that companies have adopted global positioning as a strategic goal rather than as mandatory requirements in the domestic market. Suggesting that they expect this recent upward trend to continue in the coming period, Kara said the size of global brands bought by Turkish companies and investments made from scratch in just the last five years in a wide geographical area, extending from America to Africa and from Europe to Asia, have approached $30 billion. "According to the Economy Ministry, foreign investments made by our companies to date have exceeded $60 billion," he added.