Economy Turkish debt markets have a busy summer ahead Ankara faces a busy summer of funding its borrowing programme, rolling over existing bonds and issuing new securities to bridge a widening budget deficit, as it contends with high interest rates and persistent inflation. On Tuesday, the finance and treasury ministry conducted three lira-denominated auctions of bonds and treasury bills with a combined value of […] June 12, 2025
Markets Turkish bourse anticipates return of foreign investors Investors are continuing to exit Turkey’s stock exchange, despite Borsa İstanbul’s main index recovering from losses sparked by concerns over political instability. However, anticipated cuts in interest rates could see a return to the share market as traders seek richer earnings. More than 1.8 million investors stepped away from the exchange in the year ending […] June 11, 2025
Tech Gulf investors help finance growth of Turkish data centres Turkey’s data centre sector is riding a wave of new investment that is likely to support expansion in the country’s digital economy, with much of the funding coming from the Arabian Gulf. Last month, Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol announced it was partnering with the UAE’s Castle Investments, headed by Gulf Data Hub founder Tarek Al […] June 10, 2025
Analysis Health Healthy prognosis for Turkish medical tourism Turkey is looking to build on its already strong health tourism sector in the coming years, reaching out to new markets and offering a broader range of products to attract more foreign visitors seeking affordable treatment at a high standard. Last year, Turkish medical and wellness facilities provided treatment and care to 1.5 million overseas […] June 9, 2025
Analysis Economy Debate, but no turning back for the team driving Turkey’s economy Two years after reversing a policy of fiscal unorthodoxy, Turkey’s economy and its finance minister are at a crossroads. Criticism has mounted that the reforms put in place by Mehmet Şimşek since mid-2023 have either not gone far enough to restore stability or gone too far in clamping down on inflation, causing a slowdown in […] June 5, 2025
Industry Turkey offers incentives to support regional industry Turkey has unveiled an investment incentive scheme to foster industrial growth, with a key pillar of the programme to encourage a shift in production capacity away from the country’s main economic centre of Istanbul to underdeveloped regions. Four sectors that have strong investment potential will be identified in each of Turkey’s 81 provinces, Mehmet Kacır, […] June 3, 2025
Analysis Economy Turkish economy cools as major sectors struggle Turkey’s economic growth slowed in the first quarter of the year, as declining activity in industry and agriculture offset expansion in other sectors, notably construction and information and communications. Gross domestic product expanded 2 percent year on year in the first three months of 2025, according to data issued by the state statistics agency Turkstat […] May 30, 2025
Banking and Finance Turkey to guarantee loans to struggling manufacturers Turkey’s government has launched a loan guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized manufacturers, aiming to ease pressure on a sector hard hit by rising interest rates. Treasury and finance minister Mehmet Şimşek announced last week that almost $770 million of credit would be made available through the Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF), a scheme revived since […] May 27, 2025
Agriculture Turkey may need foreign grain as drought hits farmers Turkey could be forced to increase international grain purchases this year as the domestic wheat harvest is forecast to fall short, with drought cutting yields across the country. Turkey’s wheat crop for this year is estimated at 19 million tonnes, at least 2 million short of last season’s harvest, despite an increase in land under […] May 23, 2025
Energy Turkey hopes to strike it rich on shale oil find Initial estimates of reserves at a shale oil prospect in Turkey’s southeast are up to 6.1 billion barrels, equal to 15 years of domestic consumption, according to the country’s energy and natural resources minister. Work will start soon to assess and then bring online the shale oil find in the province of Diyarbakır, Alparslan Bayraktar, […] May 23, 2025
Banking and Finance Turkish bond attracts keen interest despite concerns Ankara’s second issue this year of dollar denominated eurobonds was heavily oversubscribed, attracting domestic and international investors, according to the Turkish ministry of treasury and finance. When the $2 billion bond, with a seven-year maturity, was issued on Wednesday the order book was oversubscribed two and a half times, with buyers drawn by the 7.25 […] May 23, 2025
Analysis Tourism Turkey cruising towards growing tourist trade Turkey is working hard to improve its appeal as a holiday cruise destination, adding new ports of call for visiting ships and developing broader itineraries to take advantage of the country’s 8,000 kilometre-long coastline and diverse historical and natural beauty spots. With advance bookings already up on last year, Turkey’s tourism industry is bullish about […] May 18, 2025
Analysis Mining Turkey keen to cash in on rare earth potential Turkey plans to become one of the world’s leading suppliers of rare earths, seeking to parlay its extensive reserves into a position of international strength by investing in extraction and processing while also looking to develop downstream industries. In 2022 Ankara identified a massive mineral deposit in the central Turkish province of Eskişehir containing 10 […] May 9, 2025
Agriculture Turkey’s red meat output tumbles as costs keep climbing Rising costs and falling returns have contributed to a drop in red meat production in Turkey, threatening the government’s plan to halt imports by 2028. Red meat production fell by almost 12 percent in 2024, according to the state statistics agency Turkstat. Just 2.1 million tonnes were processed last year, down on the 2.38 million […] May 7, 2025
Economy Turkey’s annual inflation falls but target remains distant Turkey’s annualised inflation has fallen for the eleventh month in a row, though the rate of decline is slowing, reducing the chances that the central bank will hit its year-end target. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 3 percent in April while the annual rate of inflation declined to 37.9 percent, according to data issued […] May 6, 2025
Trade Turkey trade deficit widens paced by consumer goods imports Turkey’s trade deficit widened in the first quarter by 11 percent, paced by a jump in the import of consumer goods and muted growth in high value exports, fresh government data show. Imports in the three months to March 31 rose more than 4 percent to almost $88 billion, while exports expanded by less than 3 […] May 2, 2025
Tourism Turkish tourism hits record highs in first quarter Despite economic and political turmoil, foreign visitors flocked to Turkey in record numbers in the first quarter of the year. Although the figures provided a welcome boost to revenue and expectations for growth through the rest of the year, some commentators have warned that future earnings may be weighed down by an overpriced local currency. […] May 1, 2025
Economy Risks for Turkey’s economy despite stable credit rating Turkey’s economic outlook has retained its “stable” rating, according to ratings agency S&P Global, despite heightened political and economic uncertainty since March, with more downside risk than upside opportunity. The agency had raised Ankara’s sovereign debt rating to its present BB-, just below investment grade, in November, the second increase in 2024. It affirmed that […] April 29, 2025
Development Turkey hopes for funding surge from global institutions Turkey is hoping to attract more than $40 billion in project funding from global financial institutions over the next three years to increase environmental investment, boost infrastructure and reduce risk from natural disasters. Treasury and finance minister Mehmet Şimşek said on April 26 he anticipated Turkey would receive $41 billion in low-cost, long-term finance from […] April 29, 2025
Tourism Turkey’s domestic tourism sector heats up Turkey’s domestic tourism sector surged in 2024, with more Turks holidaying at home than ever before, shrugging off high inflation and economic uncertainty by taking to the road in record numbers. Between them, Turkey’s 85 million citizens took 67 million domestic trips last year, an increase of 9 percent on 2023, according to state statistics […] April 28, 2025
Manufacturing Factory activity in Turkey falls to lowest in two years Turkey’s manufacturing sector has posted its fifth monthly decline in activity, reflecting a slowdown in domestic demand and the impact of political and economic instability. The manufacturing capacity utilisation rate – how much a factory’s full potential is being used – fell to 74.3 percent in April, according to a report issued this week by […] April 27, 2025
Analysis Construction Quake lends urgency to Istanbul rebuild programme Istanbul, Turkey’s economic hub, has received a timely reminder that it is at the centre of a high-risk earthquake zone, having been rattled by a tremor of magnitude 6.2 on Wednesday. The hope is that the quake will jolt the city authorities into action to speed up a slow-moving building renewal scheme. Damage from the […] April 24, 2025
