Indicators point to 7% growth in first quarter, says minister

ANKARA

Leading indicators suggest that the Turkish economy grew between 6 percent to 7 percent in the first quarter of 2022, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has said.

Industrial production increased by 10.7 percent on an annul basis, while 12-month exports stood at $235.6 billion in the first quarter and the unemployment rate eased to 10.7, Nebati said in a gathering with businesspeople organized by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO) on April 27.

“Sustainable economic growth is the government’s priority and the Turkish Economic Model is focused on boosting investment. We also prioritize taking measures to increase investments,” the minister added.

The Turkish economy grew by 9.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 from a year ago, while the annual GDP growth was 11 percent last year. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) will unveil the growth data for the first quarter of 2022 on May 31.
At the event Nebati also unveiled the details of a 150 billion Turkish Liras loan package to be extended to exporters and companies in the tourism industry.

“The maturity of the loans will vary between 3 years to 10 years and their cost will be as low as 9 percent. 100 billion liras of the financing will be provided to exporters and the remaining 50 billion liras to the tourism industry.”

The loan package is designed to encourage investments which will boost exports and reduce imports, particularly the investments for the domestic production of machinery and equipment, he said.

Meanwhile, Nebati held an online meeting with his Saudi counterpart, Mohammed Al-Jadaan.

“We exchanged views on trade and investment as to how to improve cooperation between the two countries,” the minister wrote on Twitter.