Tough times ahead for Turkey's economy
Warned about their mounting foreign debts, Turkish companies are having problems finding external financing.
The election platforms of Turkey's political parties preparing for snap elections on Nov. 1 are overloaded with economic promises. The contest of who can provide the most enticing offers to the unemployed, the youth, retirees, workers, women, farmers and small enterprises raises the question of how it will all be financed. The Turkish economy runs on credits and debts, and millions of people cannot pay their debit and credit card debts.
Even more critical is the mounting debts of banks and private companies. Recent figures released by the Turkish Central Bank reveal difficult times for banks and the private sector in paying back their short-term debts.
Although there has been a slight decrease in foreign borrowing compared to the end of 2014, the sharp increase of foreign exchange rates contributes to fears that there may be difficulties in paying back these debts.
According to figures recently released by the Central Bank, at the end of July, the banks had $90.7 billion short-term debts. Other private sector companies have short-term foreign debts of $37 billion. When debts of public banks and other public bodies are included, the total that must be paid in one year or less is $170.8 billion.
