Turkey hopes to attract US $15bn in FDI
Turkey is hoping to attract US$15 bn of foreign investment between 2005 and 2007 through reforms designed to overhaul its economy and ease the country's entry into the EU, Deputy PM Sener said yesterday. Sener held a press conference to unveil the Pre-Accession Economic Programme to be presented to the EU. Major aspects of the program disclosed by Sener are as follows:
• Foreign investment flow is estimated to reach US$2.9 bn at the end
of 2004.
• Under the three-year programme,
Turkey is aiming for a yearly growth
rate of 5%. Growth is expected to be around 10% in 2004, double the
year-end target of 5%.
• Inflation, which is expected to undershoot the Year end04 target of
12% this year, will be brought down to 4% at Year end07.
• The programme aims to reduce gross public debt stock some 10 pps to
68.3% of the GDP.
• Tourism revenues, which hit US$13.2 bn in 2003, are expected to
reach about US$21 bn in 2007.
• The government plans to bring unemployment, which stood at 10.5%
last year, to 9.3% in 2007 and create 1.65 mn new jobs in three
years.