AGL 41.65 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (0.36%)
AIRLINK 127.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.60 (-0.47%)
BOP 6.65 Increased By ▲ 0.39 (6.23%)
CNERGY 4.15 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.48%)
DCL 8.56 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.42%)
DFML 40.85 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.39%)
DGKC 87.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.40 (-0.46%)
FCCL 33.85 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-0.73%)
FFBL 65.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-0.95%)
FFL 10.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.57%)
HUBC 109.50 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (0.74%)
HUMNL 14.89 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (2.97%)
KEL 4.86 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (4.52%)
KOSM 7.65 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (4.37%)
MLCF 42.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-0.63%)
NBP 61.10 Increased By ▲ 0.26 (0.43%)
OGDC 182.77 Increased By ▲ 3.80 (2.12%)
PAEL 25.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.78%)
PIBTL 6.23 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.81%)
PPL 148.50 Increased By ▲ 2.35 (1.61%)
PRL 24.98 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (0.28%)
PTC 16.25 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.68%)
SEARL 69.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-0.78%)
TELE 7.35 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (1.8%)
TOMCL 36.45 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (0.69%)
TPLP 7.84 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TREET 15.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.71%)
TRG 52.40 Increased By ▲ 2.04 (4.05%)
UNITY 26.94 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.15%)
WTL 1.25 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.81%)
BR100 9,850 Increased By 55.8 (0.57%)
BR30 30,039 Increased By 391.9 (1.32%)
KSE100 92,448 Increased By 426.8 (0.46%)
KSE30 28,779 Increased By 114.3 (0.4%)

Turkey's government will maintain fiscal discipline to lower the ratio of net government debt to gross domestic product in 2008 and in the coming years, Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday. Simsek said Turkey's net government debt to GDP ratio was 29 percent in 2007, versus 47 percent in benchmark emerging market Brazil.
The global financial crisis has hit Turkish markets hard with stocks down 42 percent since the start of the year and the lira at a 13-month low on Monday. But Simsek said Turkey was still attractive for medium- and long-term investment despite the ongoing financial turmoil. He did not give further details.
"The government debt is no longer a source of concern ... We revealed a medium-term financial roadmap in May and we will maintain the fiscal discipline to lower the debt ratio this year and in coming years. A lessening of (our) determination is out of question," he said.
Simsek said Turkish banks were healthy, the banking sector woes were not specific to Turkey and its insurance sector has a strong capital structure. "Turkish banks are profitable and they have made profits including this year. Their return on equity was 25 percent last year," he said. The ratio of non-performing loans to total loans was only around 0.5 percent in the first half of 2008, he said.

Copyright Reuters, 2008

Comments

Comments are closed.