Türkiye obtains foreign funds at more favorable terms: Şimşek

ISTANBUL

Thanks to increased confidence and predictability, Türkiye now obtains longer-term external financing from international markets at more favorable terms compared to the past, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

In a post on the social media platform X, Şimşek referred to the news on a record Eurobond issue by Turkish glassmaker Şişecam. “This is a response to the claims that Türkiye is not attracting foreign funds,” he wrote.

While there was a net portfolio outflow of $2.9 billion in the first five months of 2023, there was a net portfolio inflow of $16.8 billion in the period of June 2023-February 2024, the minister said.

The foreign debt rollover ratio in banks increased from 96 percent to 149 percent in the same period, while in the real sector, it increased from 73 percent to 118 percent, Şimşek added.

In the first four months of the year, banks and the privates issued $10.7 billion and $1.6 billion worth of Eurobonds, according to the minister.

Şişecam said last week that it tapped international markets for a $500 million nominally valued five-year bond with an 8.25 percent coupon rate and an $800 million nominally valued eight-year bond with an 8.65 percent coupon rate.

Meanwhile, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said that Türkiye has entered a “very important period” as there will be no elections in the next four years, which offers “a window of opportunity.”

Such periods are important to focus on the medium and long-term works, Yılmaz said in televised comments on state-run broadcaster TRT Haber.

“The medium-term program is working, and we have started to see its results. We will see the effects of the program clearer in the second half of 2024 and afterward, especially on inflation,” he added.