Economy Turkish unemployment rate falls on economic woes Turkey’s unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points month-on-month to 9.6 percent in August, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labour under-utilisation fell to 19.8 percent, data showed on Monday. The labour under-utilisation measure, which stood at 22.4 percent in July, has been on a falling trend since peaking at 29.6 percent in January 2021 due […] October 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Erdogan vows to cut rates ‘as long as he remains president’ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday that the central bank would continue to cut its policy interest rates every month for as long as he stayed in power, after it surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months. “As long as this brother of yours is in this position, the interest […] October 9, 2022
Banking and Finance EBRD head raises concerns over Turkey’s rate-cutting policy The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) raised some concerns with Turkish authorities over their “outlier” policy of seeking to drive economic growth with low interest rates, she told Reuters on Friday. Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the EBRD, was in Istanbul after meetings that she called “frank and transparent” with Turkey’s […] October 9, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey receives $780m from South Korea under swap deal South Korea made a transfer worth $780 million to Turkey’s central bank last week, a portion of the $2 billion agreed under a swap deal signed in 2021, two bankers told Reuters. The total amount transferred to Turkey from South Korea under the deal is now worth almost $1 billion, said bankers, citing calculations based […] October 7, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey inflation hits new 24-year high of 83% after rate cuts Turkish annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high of 83.45 percent in September, data showed on Monday, still lower than forecast, after the central bank surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months. Despite soaring prices, the central bank was expected to cut its policy rate again this month, after President […] October 4, 2022
Tourism Iranians flock to Turkey’s eastern province on tourism rebound Visitors from Iran, Iraq and Armenia have started flocking Turkey’s Van province, helping the eastern region exceed the pre-pandemic figures, Daily Sabah newspaper said. Provincial culture and tourism director Erol Uslu disclosed that Iranian visitors had shown great interest in the city since the beginning of the year. The official said Van had exceeded the […] October 3, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Arab banks shun Russian Mir payments system after pressure Along with losing ground on the battlefield in recent weeks, Moscow’s foothold in the Arab world’s financial system has also hit setbacks. Turkey’s finance minister Nureddin Nebati last Thursday announced that three state banks – Vakifbank, Ziraat Bank and Halkbank – had suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system which is the country’s […] October 3, 2022
Retail Domino’s Pizza operator to focus on coffee market in Turkey DP Eurasia, which runs the Domino’s Pizza brand in Turkey and Russia, said on Friday the group would focus on its Turkish market and growing its coffee business, as Western sanctions and the uncertainty of war overshadow Russian sales. “The Turkish market has been growing faster than two-to-three years ago and our coffee business is […] October 2, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey adds another 9 tonnes of gold, retaining its top buyer spot Turkey added another nine tonnes of gold to its central bank reserves in August, building on the fact that it has been the biggest buyer of the precious metal this year, boosting its reserves by 83.8 percent in 2022. “Gold-related activity among central banks was muted in August; only a handful of banks meaningfully contributed […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey’s state banks suspend use of Russian Mir payment system Turkey’s three state banks have suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati told Reuters on Thursday. The suspension comes as the United States cracks down on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions and as Western nations grow concerned over increased economic ties between NATO-member Turkey and Russia. Turkish […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish clearing house move halts sharp decline in some bank shares Turkish clearing house Takasbank took action to provide liquidity to brokerages and take on some stock as collateral, the market authority said on Thursday, stabilising shares in Turkish lenders Sekerbank and TSKB. Banking shares on the Borsa Istanbul fell sharply in recent weeks, after surging more than 150 percent up to mid-September from the beginning […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Erdogan hopes policy rate will fall to single digits by year-end Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said he hopes the central bank’s monetary policy committee will deliver another cut to its policy rate next month and bring it down to single digits by year-end. Erdogan, speaking in a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, said Turkey aims to strengthen the lira by reducing interest rates. […] September 29, 2022
Tech Malaysia and Indonesia interested in buying Turkish armed drones Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed keen interest in buying armed drones from Turkish defence firm Baykar, according to Ankara’s foreign minister. “Many Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, show great interest in our defence industry products. Agreements are being signed,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Cavusoglu, who was in Japan […] September 27, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish lira hits record low against dollar after unexpected rate cut Turkey’s lira hit an all-time low against the dollar in early trade on Monday, bringing its losses so far this year to more than 28 percent and extending its decline following an unexpected rate cut last week. The lira stood at 18.4440 against the greenback, as of 0453 GMT, weakening from Friday’s close of 18.4280. […] September 26, 2022
Turkey mulls new regulations to prevent stock market manipulation Turkish authorities are expected to make stock market regulatory changes within a few days to prevent market manipulation after sharp falls in prices due to margin calls on futures positions, market participants and analysts said. They said the issue was likely to be among those discussed at a meeting which President Tayyip Erdogan convened on […] September 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey to hold meeting on Russia’s Mir, possible Western sanctions Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will convene a top tier economy-focused meeting on Friday at which Russian payment system Mir and possible Western sanctions will be discussed, two sources with information on the matter told Reuters. The meeting with government officials and others will also address agreements with Russia, recent heavy volatility on the Istanbul stock […] September 23, 2022
Banking and Finance Fitch sees Turkey holding interest rates steady until 2023 elections Turkish central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 13 percent until the national and presidential elections next year, a Fitch Ratings official said on Wednesday. In a webinar on the impact of commodity prices, inflation and rising rates on banks in Turkey, Middle East and Africa, the official said they […] September 22, 2022
Economy Turkish president says inflation not ‘insurmountable threat’ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said inflation is not an “insurmountable economic threat,” adding it will begin to fall at the end of the year after it surged to more than 80 percent in August. Under Erdogan’s economic programme, Turkey gradually cut interest rates by 500 basis points at the end of last year, sparking a […] September 21, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish banks suspend Russian Mir payments after US sanctions Turkish lenders Isbank and Denizbank have suspended use of Russian payment system Mir, the banks said on Monday, following a US crackdown on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The moves, announced separately, came after Washington expanded its sanctions last week to include the head of the entity running […] September 20, 2022
Turkey’s VP rebukes Pelosi for ‘biased’ remarks in Armenia Turkey’s vice president Fuat Oktay has branded Nancy Pelosi’s speech on clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan “biased”, suggesting that her comments “sabotage diplomacy efforts”. The Speaker of the US House of Representatives visited Armenia this weekend, in an unprecedented show of American support for the country, which has been locked in conflict with its neighbour […] September 19, 2022
Retail Turkish florists rush to meet surge in UK demand after Queen’s death Turkish florists are resorting to cargo planes instead of trucks as they rush to send as many flowers as they can to the United Kingdom to meet a deluge of orders after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Orders for cut flowers have soared by 90 percent since the queen died, said Selcuk Celebi, a member […] September 18, 2022
Tech Turkish fintech Fimple plans Dubai office before 2024-end Fimple, a Turkish fintech startup that provides advanced cloud-based financial services, is planning to open an office in Dubai before the end of 2024 as part of its expansion in the Middle East and Africa. The startup has already drawn $2 million worth of investments in two months, said Fimple co-founder and managing director Mucahit […] September 16, 2022
