 |
JCR upgrades Turkey’s credit note on resilience to external shocks
The Tokyo-based credit rating agency upgraded Turkey’s foreign and local currency long-term senior debts from BB- to BB, with a stable outlook on the rating. According to a press release issued yesterday, the ratings reflect improved resilience to external shocks in the face of the global financial crisis. The agency cited the government’s improved fiscal condition compared to previous economic crises, such as the one in 2001. Moreover, JCR also took note of the stability of the financial system in justifying their upgrading of Turkey’s credit rating.
JCR especially underlined Turkey’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and stressed the importance of Turkey being able to overcome the crisis without external aid, though still underlining that previous IMF agreements had an important role to play in implementing structural reforms to strengthen the fundamentals of the Turkish economy. In addition, the release noted that the stability of the financial system also stems from IMF-supported reforms.
The release also stated that the government’s fiscal position had significantly improved relative to the crisis in 2001, though noting that it has turned upward again due to fiscal measures implemented to stimulate the economy. JCR was of the belief that the public debt would be at manageable levels in the future due to the country’s economic recovery. The agency expects Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by more than 5 percent in 2010, even though it contracted by an estimated 5.0 percent in 2009. The agency expects that a new stand-by deal with the IMF will play an important role in further improving international confidence.
This upgrade represents the third for Turkey in the span of two months, as international credit rating agency Moody’s recently upgraded Turkey’s government bond rating from Ba3 to Ba2 with a positive outlook, and Fitch upgraded Turkey’s long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) from BB- to BB+.
Rogoff: Turkey in safe waters with strong banking
Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard University, said on Monday that the Turkish economy managed to remain strong against last year’s global financial crisis thanks to structural reforms in the banking industry implemented after Turkey’s 2001 economic crisis.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency during a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Rogoff, previously the chief economist and director of research at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), noted that Turkey’s finance sector was well off when compared to such EU countries as Greece, Spain and Ireland, which suffered from high debts. The economist asserted that a resilient finance industry strengthened Turkey’s hand in the global business arena. İstanbul Today’s Zaman
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| If the judiciary can't call MİT to account for its deeds, then Parliament should | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| Beware! | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Partition of Syria among the Great Powers: The solution? | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| MİT | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Every child matters | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| New veterinary hospital regulations (1) | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Systemic gaps in government authority in Turkey | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| MİT crisis and old state | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Gas is cut while Europe freezes | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| Time for Turkey to match words with deeds | |||
| FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK |  |
||
| Unusual days for Turkey | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Eclipse of the minds | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The Kurdish issue has divided the state | |||
| CUMALİ ÖNAL |  |
||
| US, Israel will not attack Iran | |||
| DOĞU ERGİL |  |
||
| ‘Religious youth’ | |||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
