Stable economic policy, lower inflation needed to instill confidence in foreign investors, says chairman of Istanbul Chamber of Industry
Türkiye is expected to receive larger foreign capital and resource inflows next year as its economy becomes increasingly more stable and incentives investors, Erdal Bahcivan, chairman of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), told Anadolu.
Bahcivan said the global economy is entering disinflation with inflation going down, especially in the EU.
“The political uncertainties in France and Germany will reveal what will happen to Europe, while, the second Trump era's more protectionist and closed economy becomes a strong discourse, it may bring along a number of other question marks that we cannot fully predict,” said Bahcivan.
He highlighted that Türkiye's place in the US market may be subject to change due to China, and Türkiye may find itself at a competitive disadvantage because of China's lowering prices in rival markets.
“There are opportunities still, but we should not lose sight that there are threats, too, and things can change very quickly,” he noted.
Bahcivan stated that the most negative aspect of Türkiye's Medium-Term Program (MTP) was inflation, which continues its resilience.
“The current account deficit is much better than expected and the unemployment rate has been stable, while the budget deficit is almost in line with the target,” he said.
“We should not focus too much on growth when we're combating inflation, and although we have achieved much in our fight against inflation, there is still a long way to go, which is why the most important agenda of 2025 should be finding the solution to it,” he added.
Bahcivan highlighted that some serious sacrifices need to be made in the fight against inflation, noting that the industry and production sectors are the ones making the greatest efforts to achieve the inflation target.
He noted that a slight increase in Türk Eximbank-issued credits, Turkish lira rediscount credits became cheaper and foreign currency rediscount credits opened up, while a softening in the upper limits of Turkish SMEs and slightly lower cost in certain employment-oriented sectors will be on the agenda.
Bahcivan said the new economic administration will continue its determination and implement policies needed to keep fighting inflation, as the priority for the ISO is for inflation to be reduced permanently.
He said Türkiye boasts high potential and new investments can benefit many areas of the country so long as confidence in its financial stability and credibility in international communities is established.
He added that credit default swap (CDS) figures are steadily going down, which brings positive added value to the perspective of foreign investors.
Bahcivan noted that the biggest incentive for investors is to create an understanding that a stable economic policy will be implemented and there needs to be a long-term permanent confidence for investors, as well as solutions to the structural problems.
He not that establishing a stable exchange rate also poses significance in attracting investor confidence and building trust in the Turkish lira.
