Local industrialist predicts more firms to bankrupt

ISTANBUL

The number of firms going bankrupt will increase after March due to a shrinkage in the markets and interim payments, the head of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), Nurettin Özdebir, has said.

Many companies have already gone bankrupt because of a market contraction, Özdebir said at a press event on Feb. 24, adding that there were other factors that were creating pressure in the markets.

Özdebir also said he expected many more firms would declare bankruptcy beginning in March.

Production is crucial

However, the economic performance in the industry remained the same last year, he said, noting that the industry did not grow. “The part that makes $90 billion in exports consists of goods produced abroad. We can fix the current account deficit as long as we produce most of this amount,” he said.

The ASO president said the monetary policy adopted by the Central Bank led people to anticipate that the interest rate would fall but added that banking sector professionals had said credit costs would increase along with interest rates.