Uludağ Economic Summit begins

BURSA

DHA photo

A major problem with the Turkish economy is a lack of savings, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said, while speaking at the Uludağ Economic Summit on March 25. 

“What we lack is savings. Really, in Turkey, savings are low. With this low rate of savings it is quite difficult for us to grow like China or India. Let’s be realistic. For this reason, we should increase our savings,” he said at the summit that gathered prominent businesspeople and economists together on Mount Uludağ in the northwestern province of Bursa. 

 “As a matter of fact, at the essence of the interest rate debate today, lies this. In other words, if savings were adequate in Turkey, if capital markets were deeper, with this fiscal policy performance and with this reform agenda, Turkey’s risk premium in this global conjuncture and Turkey’s interest rates could be very low. The reason is that the global conjuncture, the fiscal policy and also the reform agenda call for this. What is our problem? We have too few savings,” Şimşek said. 

“We should deepen the system, increase our savings…. Now our expectation is that our citizens should save a certain amount of resource for the future. Make a saving. We should introduce incentives [like] ‘save 100 Turkish Liras and we will give you 25 liras.’”

One of Turkey’s most important economy summits, the Uludağ Economy Summit is organized by Capital and Ekonomist magazines and sponsored by Garenta. The fifth meeting of the summit was held at the Grand Yazıcı Hotel at Uludağ, Bursa.

The opening day of the two-day summit was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Deputy Chair of the executive committee of Doğan Holding Hanzade Doğan Boyner and several other businesspersons.

Themes of the summit include “tomorrow’s competitive sectors,” “the future of industry” and “Industry 4.0.” Mustafa Koç, a leading Turkish businessperson who lost his life recently after a heart attack at the age 52, was commemorated at the summit with the showing of a film about his life.