‘İMKB is inflated, real sector stagnant’

Speaking on Thursday at a meeting of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), Büyükekşi stated that the İstanbul Stock Exchange benchmark index (İMKB-100) increased from around 23,000-25,000 to above 50,000 and that the Turkish lira gained value. Now, Turkey, like the rest of the world, is considering adopting the same policies of the last six to seven years despite the absence of any real recovery taking place in the real sector, he remarked. “The bourses are inflating, even though there is no improvement in economic indicators like industry production, exports, capacity utilization or the unemployment rate.”

Büyükekşi recalled that the companies which made the most profits were the banks in the third quarter of this year with a 30 to 60 percent increase in profits, while the real sector suffered a loss in profits in the same period.

MÜSİAD Chairman Ömer Cihad Vardan speaking at the meeting said Turkey won the approval of several countries for its economic performance during the recent crisis compared to its performance in the previous crises of 1994, 1999 and 2001. The increasing trend experienced in the country’s export levels in terms of both value and quantity played an important role in this performance, he remarked.

Turkey’s exports, which were once about $30 billion, managed to increase to some $130 billion; however, with the crisis this figure declined to some $100 billion, Vardan stated, stressing that recovery from the crisis has started to take place.

“Turkey’s foreign trade strategy in line with its recent foreign affairs policy has undertaken a very important role in this recovery process,” he said, continuing that in previous terms Turkey’s exports were dependent on European Union countries with nearly 60 percent of the country’s total exports going to Europe. This situation then resulted in the loss of Turkey’s foreign trade elasticity, he remarked, adding that now diversity has been achieved and that 48 percent of Turkey’s exports go to the European Union.