Turkey will follow through its pledges to carry out economic and legal reforms, Treasury and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan said yesterday, in an effort to lure much-needed foreign investment.
“We will solve every issue in line with market economy and in a transparent, accountable, rational and predictable way,” Elvan said in a message to members of the International Investors Association. “We will implement policies to boost credibility for investors. No one will be left with question marks in their minds.”
The pledges follow a dramatic change in policymaking last month, after the central bank governor was dismissed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the resignation of the finance minister. Both seats were filled by experienced, technocrat-minded officials.
The Turkish lira briefly trimmed losses after the statement and was down 0.2% at 7.8236 per US dollar as of 11.23am in Istanbul. The currency has weakened 24% against the dollar this year.
Turkey, which suffers from chronic current account deficits, is looking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), which stood at less than 1.2% of gross domestic product in 2019, down from 3.7% in 2006, World Bank data show. FDI inflows totalled $4.3bn in the first eight months of 2020, down 33% from last year. Elvan said the government is determined to curb inflation, which accelerated past 14% in November. “Our monetary and fiscal policies will be co-ordinated,” he said.
The Turkish central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which boosted its benchmark rate by 4.75 percentage points last month, meets on December 24 to discuss interest rates.
Pigeons fly over the Taksim Square during a nation-wide weekend curfew imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease in Istanbul on December 5. Turkey will follow through its pledges to carry out economic and legal reforms, Treasury and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan said yesterday, in an effort to lure much-needed foreign investment.
