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Turkey to grow faster in 2015, says Deputy PM

16 January 2015 Friday

The present year will see stronger economic growth and lower inflation than the previous year, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the economy Ali Babacan said on Friday.

In an exclusive interview with The Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk at its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey’s top economic policy official Ali Babacan said 2015 will be a better year than 2014 for the country's economy.

"The Turkish growth rate for 2014 at 3 percent was fine; in 2015, Turkey will be one of fastest growing economies in the EU,” Babacan said.

Turkey will see strong capital and fund inflows this year, Babacan said.

Moreover, the oil price will be a positive factor for Turkish economy.

“Every $10 drop in the oil price decreases the current account deficit by $4.4 billion; the effect of the declining oil price will be felt in Turkey by June.”

Turkey's energy bill is expected to drop by half in 2015 if oil prices remain around the $50 per barrel mark, according to economists.

The total amount of the current account deficit in the January to November period narrowed to $38.7 billion, indicating a decrease of $18 billion compared with the same period in the previous year, the Turkish Central Bank said on Jan. 13.

Thanks to this decline in the price of oil, Turkey will also be able to reduce inflation to around 6 percent, perhaps even to the 5 percent level, and to boost its growth rate to 4 percent in 2015, Babacan said.

The number of participants in the Individual Pension System has increased to 5.1 million this year, up from about 3 million at the beginning of 2013, with the encouragement of the state contribution of 25 percent of pension deposits. The total volume of the pension funds has recently reached 37 billion Turkish liras ($16.1 billion), up from 20.3 billion Turkish liras ($9.5 billion), Babacan explained.

Regarding the improvement of the investment climate, Babacan announced that there is a package aimed at supporting industrial investments in preparation, and it will be announced within one month.

Babacan also said that Turkey expects a large amount of fund inflows and capital inflows in 2015.

The government wants to create a system for private companies seeking to borrow money using equity-based financing. The Turkish private sector has long-term debt of about $162 billion.

Babacan recalled that the government wants its citizens to keep their gold in banks instead of hiding it under the mattress.

It is believed that over 5,000 tons of gold, currently worth close to $200 billion, are thesaurized by Turkish residents as a form of personal savings, and therefore kept out of the banking system.

Babacan also said that, under its presidency of the G-20 in 2015, Turkey will work for the establishment of a permanent secretariat for the organization.

Regarding the Charlie Hebdo attack, Babacan said that all kinds of terrorist acts must be condemned, no matter their motives may be.

"Terror has no religion. Terror has no nationality, terror has no race. There is no concept like 'my terrorist- your terrorist.' We are against all terror and condemn all forms of terrorism," he said.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/153110/turkey-to-grow-faster-in-2015-says-deputy-pm.

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