Transport UK keeps Turkey’s high speed railway on track with $865m backing The UK government’s export credit agency has underwritten $865 million of financing to support construction of a 286km high-speed electric railway in southern Turkey. With financing provided by UK Export Finance (UKEF), Turkey’s Rönesans Holding will finish construction of the Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep High Speed Railway on behalf of the Turkish Ministry of Transport. The deal is […] July 25, 2023
Renewable Energy Total signs deal to expand Turkey’s green energy output France’s TotalEnergies and Turkey’s Ronesans Holding have entered into a partnership to expand renewable power generation capacity in Turkey. TotalEnergies will take a 50 percent stake in Ronesans Enerji and jointly develop 1,000 megawatt (MW) of wind and solar farms over the next three years, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing Ronesans Holding president Erman […] July 24, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey raises rate to 17.5% as inflation likely to soar Turkey’s central bank hiked its policy rate by 250 basis points to 17.5 percent on Thursday, continuing to reverse President Tayyip Erdogan’s low-rates policy. However, the tightening fell short of expectations with inflation expected to rise sharply. It was the second meeting under new governor Hafize Gaye Erkan. He is leading a change of course […] July 21, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s monetary tightening faces funding setbacks Bankers warned on Wednesday that the effectiveness of recent monetary tightening in Turkey could be negatively impacted after funding conducted through open market operations (Omo) by the central bank turned negative for the first time in over a decade. The central bank has boosted its reserves by $20 billion since the beginning of June, mostly […] July 20, 2023
Real Estate Turkish home sales drop by 44% after earthquakes Macroeconomic trends, a quirk of the calendar and the market fallout from February’s earthquakes have led to a 44 percent drop in Turkish home sales, experts have told AGBI. A total of 83,636 homes were sold in Turkey in June, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to 150,509 during the same month last year. […] July 19, 2023
Trade Turkey and UK plan talks to build on $31bn trade ties Turkey and the UK are to begin talks on a revised free trade agreement, building on a relationship that was worth £23.5 billion ($30.7 billion) in 2022. The deal would replace the existing UK-Turkey agreement, which was put in place after Brexit and does not cover services or digital industries. The UK is the second […] July 18, 2023
Trade Saudi and Turkey strengthen energy and defence ties Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signed energy and defence agreements with plans to boost direct investments and build on bilateral trade worth over $6 billion last year. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were present as the agreements were signed, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The deals included two contracts […] July 18, 2023
Economy Turkey hikes fuel tax to balance budget spend Turkey raised tax on petrol on Sunday to help fund a 1.12 trillion lira ($42.2 billion) increase to its 2023 budget. February’s earthquakes and the May presidential election sent spending soaring. The additional fuel tax will help with a budget deficit that jumped to 263.6 billion lira in the first five months of the year, […] July 17, 2023
Analysis Trade Deals and state visits fuel UAE-Turkey trade hopes The trade corridor with Turkey is expected to become one of the UAE’s fastest growing for the rest of the decade on the back of a new economic deal and high-profile state visits. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Turkey last month, an event described by his minister of economy as taking […] July 14, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s forex reserves rise to $13bn as lira support ends Turkey’s central bank’s net international reserves rose more than $3 billion to $13.17 billion in the week to July 7, continuing a strong rebound from record lows after the bank stopped using the reserves to support the lira. The central bank’s net reserves fell to $5.7 billion in the week to June 2, their lowest […] July 14, 2023
Trade Saudi Arabia and Turkey sign trade deals worth $610m Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signed trade deals worth SR2.3 billion ($610 million) as the two countries continue to forge stronger diplomatic and economic ties. The agreements, finalised at the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum in Istanbul, will see investment in real estate, construction, engineering consultancy and other sectors, according to a report by the state-run Saudi […] July 13, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey takes measures to control rising budget deficit Turkey is taking measures to re-establish fiscal discipline and control the level of the budget deficit, finance minister Mehmet Simsek said. The budget deficit for the first five months of the year was 263.6 billion lira ($10.12 billion), compared with 124.6 billion lira a year ago, due to increased spending ahead of May’s elections and […] July 10, 2023
Manufacturing Local brand powers Turkey’s rocketing EV sales The sale of electric vehicles (EVs) in Turkey surged 465 percent year on year in the first half of 2023, driven by the country’s first local car and the launch of new brands. 12,792 EVs were sold in the year to June, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing data from the Automotive Distributors and Mobility […] July 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey expects investments of $10bn from GCC nations Turkey expects Gulf countries to make direct investments of about $10 billion initially in domestic assets as part of President Tayyip Erdogan’s trip to the region in two weeks, according to two senior Turkish officials. Erdogan is scheduled to visit leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE on July 17-19, in part to drum […] July 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey to raise corporate tax to fund quake rebuilding Turkey will raise corporate taxes to fund the recovery from major earthquakes that struck the country in February, according to a draft law presented to parliament by President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party. The earthquakes in southern Turkey killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless. Business groups, economists and the government have said […] July 6, 2023
Economy Turkish inflation jumps 3.9% in June on weaker currency Turkish monthly inflation jumped 3.92 percent in June, still less than expected, as it was stoked by a plunge in the lira currency after the re-election of President Tayyip Erdogan, official data showed on Wednesday. The median of estimate in a Reuters poll predicted inflation would climb 4.84 percent month-on-month. Annual inflation dipped a bit […] July 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkish banks hike consumer and housing loan rates Consumer and housing loan interest rates at Turkish state banks have surged after the central bank almost doubled its key rate last month, while private banks have begun making limited consumer loans as regulations are eased. The central bank raised its key annual rate to 15 percent from 8.5 percent on June 22 and described […] July 5, 2023
Economy Turkey to continue hawkish policy to stem inflation Turkey will continue its monetary policy U-turn, which began with a sharp post-election rate hike last month, until the inflation outlook improves significantly, the central bank said. The hawkish policy guidance came as data showed the central bank’s net foreign reserves recorded their biggest weekly leap on record as the bank eased off interventions in […] July 4, 2023
Manufacturing Turkish manufacturing faces stifling cost pressures Turkish manufacturing output grew by the end of the second quarter, but new order growth softened and price pressures mounted because of currency depreciation, the latest industry tracker showed. The headline Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing, from Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global, stood at 51.5 in June. This was the same as […] July 4, 2023
Lifestyle Animated film helps revive Turkish cinema An animated film about children who help aliens stranded on Earth return to their home planet has helped revive the Turkish cinema industry after it slumped during the Covid lockdown. Rafadan Tayfa: Galaktik Tayfa, the third in a series of films spun off from a popular Turkish children’s TV show, has earned $6.7 million so […] June 28, 2023
Energy Turkey tops destination for Russia’s diesel exports in June Turkey will again be the top destination for Russian diesel exports in June, while total shipments are set to rise after seasonal refinery maintenance, traders said and Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Russia’s estimated offline primary oil refining capacity for June could total 4.029 million tonnes versus 4.95 million tonnes in May, Refinitiv data shows. Since […] June 27, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s lira hits new low after bank rules’ rollback The Turkish lira slid as much as three percent to a record low against the dollar on Monday, after the central bank took steps to simplify policy, while an official and bankers said the bank had stopped using its reserves to support the lira. The lira weakened as far as 26.05 against the US currency, […] June 27, 2023