12/4/2019
TÜSİAD Higher Advisory Council Meeting Held
TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski: "Talking about a balancing in our economy, we should be aware of the fact that the ratio of our external debt to our gross domestic product is all-time-high 62%."
TÜSİAD Higher Advisory Council Chairman Tuncay Özilhan: "Turkey is not rich in resources. We are not rich in natural resources, capital or skilled labor. For this reason, we should avoid spending scarce resources irresponsibly. We should use them most efficiently. We should leave every task to competent people. Spending should be transparent so that nobody can doubt that the money is used correctly and fairly. "...
TÜSİAD Higher Advisory Council (YİK) meeting was held in Ankara on December 4, 2019. We are presenting below the important parts of the speeches of TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski and TÜSİAD HAC Chairman Tuncay Özilhan. TÜSİAD Chairman Simone Kaslowski: Although the economic growth has been restored, it is not possible to say that the investment environment has improved and fragility has gone yet. We must restore the confidence. This is only possible by truly sticking to the principles of a constitutional state, not compromising on the principles of a competitive market economy, and acting coherently and predictably with monetary and financial policies. Accordingly, talking about a balancing in our economy, we should be aware of the fact that the ratio of our external debt to our gross domestic product is all-time-high 62%. While the private sector repays some of its debts in foreign currency, we see that the public sector has borrowed largely in foreign currency this time. The budget deficit goes above 5% excluding one-off items of income. Perhaps for this reason, the new taxation bill that includes provisions that cause concern in economic circles was passed by the Parliament. Putting more burden on the registered sector, this regulation lacks the reforms that will spread taxation to the base, ensure fair taxation and reduce unregistered economy, and is rather intended to close the public deficit. However, destruction of the tax base is a more serious issue than the public deficit." TÜSİAD HAC Chairman Tuncay Özilhan: "We have assembled with a relatively quiet agenda after the exhausting pace of the recent years. The fact that we have left the worst behind, of course, does not mean that the current state is too bright. We have not fully gotten over the effects of the troubled times. For instance, we see that inflation is falling but it does not mean that life is not expensive. It is just the rate of increase in prices that has fallen. We may even see a bit of an increase in upcoming months once the base effect has disappeared. The decline in interest rates and credit expansion implemented by the public banks have started to drive the consumption. "Turkey is not rich in resources. We are not rich in natural resources, capital or skilled labor. For this reason, we should avoid spending scarce resources irresponsibly. We should use them most efficiently. We should leave every task to competent people. Spending should be transparent so that nobody can doubt that the money is used correctly and fairly. Otherwise, we fail to achieve our objectives. Moreover, we end up wasting our resources and damaging the environment, losing time and money. This is how we pay the price for our planning mistakes in infrastructure investments and urban transformation."
Annual Report
