Economy Turkey’s trade deficit hits $61bn as exports drop Turkey’s foreign trade deficit increased by 18.7 percent to $61.2 billion in the first half of this year, with exports down by 1.9 percent compared with a 4.1 percent rise in imports. Exports from January through to June dropped to $123.3 billion, while imports climbed to $184.6 billion, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. The […] August 1, 2023
Aviation Indonesia buys drones worth $300m from Turkey Indonesia has bought 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace worth $300 million, its defence ministry said, the latest in a series of purchases aimed at modernising the country’s ageing military equipment. The deal comes after Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July warned his cabinet to maintain a “healthy” budget as he highlighted outsized spending by […] August 1, 2023
Tourism Turks decide there is no place like home for a holiday A sharp decline in the lira has boosted domestic tourism in Turkey as a growing number of people opt to holiday at home. Turks are spending more money than ever on food and drink and helping to spread the country’s wealth to poorer, rural areas, analysts have observed. In the first quarter of 2023, Turks […] July 31, 2023
Economy Turkey’s central bank chief expects inflation to hit 58% Turkey’s new central bank chief pitched a comprehensive monetary policy in her first formal address to the media, while her acknowledgement of stark inflation pressures was welcomed by foreign investors. Laying out her philosophy in her debut news conference, Hafize Gaye Erkan pledged that her holistic approach would – in addition to interest rate hikes […] July 28, 2023
Logistics DHL buys Turkish firm to tap into e-commerce sector DHL Group has bought Turkish parcel delivery company MNG Kargo, as the German logistics giant looks to tap into Turkey’s fast-growing ecommerce industry. “E-commerce remains one of the biggest growth drivers for logistics services and especially for parcel volumes,” CEO Tobias Meyer said. “We, therefore, continuously work to expand our footprint.” DHL will buy MNG […] July 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey raises credit card interest to tame inflation The Turkish central bank on Tuesday detailed moves it was taking to support monetary tightening, including raising the monthly maximum interest rate on credit card cash usage and overdraft accounts to 2.89 percent. It said the increase in the rate, from a previous 1.91 percent, was designed to control inflation and balance domestic demand. The […] July 26, 2023
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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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 and 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
