30.06.2021 Ankara
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, speaking at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Councils Joint Meeting, attended by Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan, said they hoped to reach the highest quarterly growth figure in history in the second quarter.
TOBB Chambers of
Commerce and Industry, TOBB Chambers of Commerce, TOBB Chambers of Industry,
TOBB Commodity Exchanges and TOBB Chambers of Maritime Commerce Joint Council
Meeting was held with the participation of Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi
Elvan.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that they attach great importance to show that the 7 percent growth recorded in
the first quarter of the year has been achieved in place of the support given
to the private sector. In addition, we think that this year we will reach
record levels in both industrial production and exports.”
- “Support steps should continue for sectors which didn’t
achieve sufficient growth”
Pointing out that all
these developments increase their morale and their enthusiasm to work,
Hisarcıklıoğlu noted:
“On the other hand, we
are aware that this situation is not reflected equally in all sectors, and that
not everyone benefits equally from the abundance of growth. We want to continue
the support steps for our sectors, especially the services sector, which have
been most adversely affected by the pandemic and have not received enough share
of the growth. In order to sustain strong growth, we also think that the
reduction in loan interest rates and inflation, the stability of exchange
rates, can be achieved again, as we have done in the past.”
- “With exchange rate and price stability, financing costs
can be permanently reduced”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that they know that great importance is attached to financial discipline and
financial stability, and stressed that they support this as the Turkish private
sector.
“We also believe that
you will continue policies that support the business world, production,
investment and the employment market,” he said, noting that they also
anticipate that financing costs can be permanently reduced by ensuring currency
and price stability.
- “It is worth restoring KGF to provide continuous support
to SMEs”
While taking steps
towards stability, Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that plans should be made for
sustainable growth and high value-added investments in 2022 and the future, and
noted that the global economy is undergoing an important transformation
process.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said
that both the transformation of the global supply chain after the pandemic and
the steps taken within the framework of the green deal and climate change
include important opportunities and threats.
“As Turkey, we need to
take the necessary steps quickly in order to position our country and our
business world well in this new period,” Hisarcıklıoğlu said, explaining that
for this reason, it is necessary to further tighten the public-private dialogue
and to be among the winning countries in this process with common purpose.
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated
that they see the revival of Breath Credits as a very valuable step, “I see
benefits in the new period in a structure that provides continued support to
SMEs with much more focused and investment-oriented programs.”
- Minister of Treasury and Finance Lütfi Elvan
Treasury and Finance
Minister Lütfi Elvan noted that the global economy witnessed one of the most
severe contractions of the post-World War II period last year, noting that the
health of both societies and economies has been severely damaged by the
pandemic.
Stating that the
Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated a number of structural transformations in the
global economy, Elvan said that digitalization, green transformation and
reshaping of value chains will be the most important agenda items of the coming
period.
Minister Elvan stated
that they will also change the collateral policies they provide through KGF,
and that one of the issues that KGD will address when providing guarantees will
be the guarantee of loans that will go to the right place and the right work.
Elvan stated that new
support mechanisms will be created within the scope of KGF to increase access
to financing and address collateral shortages of micro- and SME scale companies.
“In addition to the
support we provide to our existing exporters through Eximbank, we are designing
a mechanism to enable the emergence of new exporters. By July, two new
KGF-backed mechanisms will be implemented, and I want to give the good news.
First, we will provide long-term loan support in regions 5 and 6 with KGF
guarantee to investments that prioritize exports. Secondly, in order to
increase the contribution of small companies to employment and reduce liquidity
shortages, we will also provide access to credit with KGF bail for each person
they employ. Social insurance and unemployment insurance premiums paid by the
company for 12 months for each person added to employment will be deducted from
the loan interest balance as a contribution to the company.”
- “We will take important steps in the field of tax”
Elvan said that they
have created a very strong reform program in the fields of economy and law in
order to be best prepared for the post-Covid-19 period, and that they are
working closely with relevant NGOs, especially TOBB, in determining the
policies to implement.
Referring to the
progress of the Reform Package, Elvan said that 31 of the 35 action titles they
put in place at the end of June have been completed.
“We have finalized the
technical work of 2 of the remaining 4 actions. In fact, both of these studies
have been completed. For the two actions, we look forward to the appreciation
of our Grand National Assembly. Thus, we have successfully completed the
actions we envisaged for the first half of the year.”
Elvan stated that there
are two messages sent by the global pandemic. “The first is to be able to see
change and adapt. With the outbreak, Turkish industry has proven its mettle. We
quickly adapted to changing conditions and became our hope even in the most
difficult times with their production and innovation capabilities.”
Noting that the other
message of the outbreak is the need for the best risk management, Elvan said,
“It is useful for each business to apply risk management in the most effective
way, regardless of scale.”
The council meeting
continued closed to the press after Minister Elvan's speech.