Yilmaz: I see that there will be a serious flow of funds to Turkey
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said, "When we look at the upcoming period, especially in relation to the global conjuncture, I see that there will be a serious flow of funds to Turkey, both financially and in terms of direct investments." Making assessments on the agenda, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz emphasized that predictability has increased with updated policies in the economy and that this has very rapid results on the field. Yılmaz said, "Increasing Central Bank reserves, decreasing current deficit, decreasing budget deficit, all these have reduced our risks. Therefore, our risk premium, which we call CDS, has decreased. This makes Turkey more advantageous in external borrowing; it can borrow with its public and private sector at lower costs. Credit rating agencies have also started to make positive statements, although not as fast as we would like. This will gradually improve." Yilmaz, who stated that the Turkish lira has strengthened and that there has been a serious dissolution in the Currency Protected Deposit (CCD) that has reached a serious size, stated that with the policies and regulations implemented by the Central Bank, the CDM has been gradually withdrawn without causing instability in the financial markets, that there has been no development in foreign exchange accounts, and that Turkish lira deposits have increased. Yilmaz said that this is a positive situation and said, "The main thing is to keep deposits in our own currency." Yilmaz, who pointed out that the improvement of the investment environment creates opportunities for domestic and foreign investors, said, "Therefore, we expect much more direct international investment in the coming period. There has been a certain flow of funds, but perhaps they are looking at our policies and making preparations for longer-term investments for a while longer. When we look at the upcoming period, especially in relation to the global conjuncture, I see that there will be a serious flow of funds to Turkey, both financially and in terms of direct investments." "Our goal is to reduce both inflation and interest rates to single-digit figures in the long term" Stating that as inflation developments continue in a positive direction, Turkey will enter a different period and that it takes some time to eliminate the difficulties in the fight against inflation, Yılmaz said, "If you have entered the right path, if you are walking towards the right goal, each passing period will bring you closer to your goal. Therefore, our goal is to reduce both inflation and interest rates to single-digit figures in the long term and we are resolutely using all tools and instruments in this direction. On the one hand, our Central Bank makes its own decisions within the framework of instrument independence. On the other hand, we integrate this with our fiscal policy. On the other hand, there is a third leg to this; structural reforms." Yılmaz, explaining that there will be a significant decrease in inflation on an annual basis starting from the middle of the year, said, "2025 will be a year when we see the results of this struggle much more clearly. We expect around 15 percent in the Medium Term Program. We will reach our main goal in 2026. That is single-digit inflation. Turkey has succeeded in the past. In the upcoming period, we will catch single-digit inflation again in the perspective of 2026 with monetary policies, fiscal policies, structural reforms, effective coordination and a determined attitude." Regulation regarding cryptocurrencies Stating that the need for regulation regarding cryptocurrencies is felt all over the world and that Turkey will make regulations within this framework, Yılmaz said, "It will be a framework regulation that authorizes institutions and creates a legal infrastructure regarding how they will position themselves according to developments. This is also important in terms of the gray list. There are certain conditions in the gray list that countries must meet. We have completed all the legal conditions. Only this was missing. When we do this, we will have taken a positive step in terms of that list." Underlining that the fight against informality is important in terms of social justice and preventing unfair competition, Yilmaz noted that they will transition to a control system based on more data and risk analysis, especially with the opportunities provided by digitalization and artificial intelligence.