Oecd's Gurria Optimistic On Turkish Economy

Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Paris-based OECD, has said the Turkish economy is "picking up" and would grow four percent next year.



On the sidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's annual retreat meeting in Istanbul on Friday, Gurria told Anadolu Agency that the global economy is slowing down.



"Investment is dormant. Trade is now growing less than three percent. It should be going 5-6 percent," Gurria said.



The Mexican diplomat stressed that he was worried about the U.S. Federal Reserve and Chinese economic growth: "China is going to be all right, but slowing down," he said.



The world economy has been affected by uncertainty over a possible U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike, the ongoing slowdown in the Chinese economy and weak commodity prices.



The Fed is set to decide whether to increase interest rates for the first time since 2006; Federal Reserve governor Janet Yellen said in a speech on Sept. 22 that a rate hike would take place this year.



There is concern among investors that a rate hike will spur an outflow of funds from emerging markets, as it did in January 2014.



Amid a grim outlook on the world economy, Gurria said the Turkish economy would grow three percent this year and would grow four percent next year.



"Turkey is picking up," Gurria added.



The Turkish economy grew 3.8 percent in the second quarter, according to Turkish Finance Ministry statistics. Industrial production was up 0.3 percent in July, TurkStat said, and domestic demand was up 0.4 percent in the same month.



With foreign direct investment still substantial, at $9.71 billion from January to July, according to the central bank, Turkey is holding out well despite the difficult global climate for investment. - İstanbul