Business morale improves by 3 percent

ANKARA

The real sector confidence index rose from 105.2 in March to 108 in April, which marked the index’s highest level since May 2022, data from the Central Bank have shown.

Any index figure above the 100 mark indicates optimism among companies.

The sub-index for production volume in the next three months increased by 1.5 percent in April from March to stand at 124.6, while the index for export orders in the next three months jumped from 119 to 123.6.

The index measuring companies’ assessment of the general business situation, however, declined from 94.4 to 93.2.

The gauge for fixed capital investment expenditure rose from 118.2 to 124.3, while the index for total employment in the next three months increased from 106 to 113.

The index for total orders in the past three months exhibited a robust 6 percent increase on a monthly basis to 100.4.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) unveiled the confidence indices for the services, retail and construction industries.

The confidence index in the retail sector fell by 1.3 percent month-on-month in April after plunging 4.4 percent in March, while the pace of decline in the confidence index for the construction sector slowed from 1.5 percent to 0.1 percent.

The confidence index for the services sector, which was up 1.1 percent in March, also rose by another 1.1 percent in April, TÜİK said.

New company launches

The number of newly launched companies increased by 1.2 percent last month from a year ago, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) announced on April 24.

Last month, a total of 11,319 companies were established in Türkiye. More than half of the new enterprises and cooperatives were launched in Türkiye’s three largest cities: Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir.

Most of the newly launched companies in October operate in the trade, manufacturing and construction sectors.

Over 1,400 companies went out of business in March, up nearly 7 percent from a year ago.

In the first three months of 2023, a total of 35,000 companies were launched, pointing to an 8 percent increase compared with the same period of 2022.

The number of company shutdowns rose 33 percent to 4,195.