Turkish banks to support SMEs with $3.7 billion loan package
ISTANBUL
Some 13 Turkish lenders have launched a 20 billion Turkish Lira ($3.7-billion) finance package for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the treasury and finance minister has announced.
SMEs which have an annual turnover of less than 25 million liras ($4.6 million) may benefit from the six-month-non-refundable loan package with a 1.54-percent monthly interest rate, Berat Albayrak said on Jan. 10.
“Firms in the manufacturing and export sectors will receive 1 million liras, and in other sectors will receive 500,000 liras,” he noted in a press meeting at the Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul.
The SME credit package was created by lenders and it will not affect the country’s treasury, Albayrak underlined.
The lenders are state-run Halk, Vakıf, Vakıf Katılım (participation) Ziraat, and Ziraat Katılım (participation), and private Alternatif, Albaraka (participation), Deniz, Garanti, Şeker, TEB, QNB Finans, and Yapı Kredi.
The minister also said around 20,000-40,000 SMEs will be benefited from this package.
Touching on the country’s 2018 targets, he highlighted that Turkey reached all targets with recovery in inflation, foreign currency, interest, and CDS premiums.
“The period in the last 3-4 months and its outputs show the rebalancing process is continuing step-by-step,” he added.
Turkey aims to ensure a healthy, balanced and sustainable economic growth, Albayrak said on Jan. 9.
“Turkey’s economy is gearing up in its region day by day with its strong infrastructure,” Albayrak stressed.
“Our priority is to fight against fragilities in our economy,” he said at an event in the capital Ankara.
He underlined that the government will remain committed to budget discipline.
One of the world’s top 20 economies
Turkey is currently the 13th largest economy based on purchasing power parity (PPP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan. 9, speaking at an event organized by the Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD) in Ankara.
“We hope that the country will rank as the 12th-largest economy based on PPP by the end of the year [2019],” he added.
Erdoğan also noted that international investment in Turkey amounted to over $201 billion in the past 16 years.
“The country remains attractive to foreign investment,” he said.
