Speaking at the opening of the event, BUSİAD Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Yasemin Uyar Duman, said, "While we wish to enjoy the spring to the fullest, both the state of the country's economy and the re-ignition of the never-ending conflict environment in the world prevent us from breathing this beautiful air into our lungs and leave an unpleasant taste in our mouth. However, despite this, we cling to our work with hope, saying that human beings are the embodiment of the concept of hope.”
TAIDER Family Business Association Chairman Fatma Olten, while giving information about TAIDER, stated that they are trying to ensure the transition from generation to generation. Olten said, “90 percent of companies in Turkey are family businesses and only 10 percent can pass on to the third generation.”
“THERE IS A NEED FOR TRUST…”
QNB Finansinvest Research Group Manager Can Alagöz said, “Turkey has a strategic importance for the world between the east and the west, with its young population that has grown more than the developing countries in the last 10 years. However, after the pandemic, we experienced a period in which the effects of inflationary pressures on the economy became evident due to the rise in commodity prices globally and the volatility in the exchange rate. He summarized the process until the May 2023 elections:
Noting that good news started to come after the elections, Alagöz said, “We have entered the normalization period. The Central Bank started to increase interest rates. Our outlook has been changed to positive by Fitch. With the steps taken after the election in monetary policies, we have started to act in accordance with global norms in the fight against inflation. We think that we may enter a period in which we will feel the effects of tightening steps in fiscal policies more. The steps taken and expected to be taken in this right direction will have an impact on the real economy. However, we think that we can complete the year with a growth of 3.4 percent, with a healthy growth path where the increase in net exports can be felt, especially in the second half of the year. "We estimate that we may see weakness in household consumption due to the impact of the tightening steps taken," he said.
Alagöz devoted the last part of his speech to risks. Alagöz listed commodity prices, a possible contraction in exports and a slowdown in global capital flows as risks for Turkey.
Regarding the capital markets, Alagöz said, “When we look at the adjusted basis, Borsa Istanbul is trading close to its historical peak level in US Dollar terms. We are entering a more challenging period for company profitability compared to the post-pandemic period. On the other hand, the high interest rate environment and the expectation of real appreciation in TL may cause the interest of individual investors, which has increased rapidly in the last 3 years, to decrease slightly. On the other hand, the steps taken on the macro side may be effective in directing foreign investor interest towards Borsa Istanbul again in the medium-long term. Of course, we estimate that foreign investor interest may be primarily in the high-yield bond market. Our target for BIST-100 by the end of the year is 12 thousand.
At the end of the event, participants were presented with a donation certificate in their names to the CZECH Wildflowers Let's Read campaign.
