Honourable Minister,
Most Esteemed Executives of our Public Institutions,
Distinguished Branch Presidents, Members of the Board of Directors, Sector Representatives and Members of the Advisory Council of MÜSİAD,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Esteemed Members of the Press,
First of all, I wish that this new year we have stepped into may bring blessings to our country and may be a year in which peace and tranquillity come to the fore in this critical period the world is passing through, and in which the changes taking place in our region turn to good.
On behalf of the MÜSİAD Family, I extend my particular thanks to our esteemed Minister for making possible this consultation meeting that we have made a tradition at the beginning of each year.
Welcome to you all; you have honoured us.
The fundamental purpose of our being here today is not to present a list of demands, but to share with you, within a constructive framework, the pulse of the real sector as it comes from the field, and to contribute to the road map for 2026.
The year 2025 was not an easy one for the real sector. We have left behind a year in which the balances of power in international trade shifted, in which trade wars were experienced more visibly, and in which protectionism came to the fore for almost every country in the world.
The assessment survey we conducted with our members shows us the following clearly:
A significant portion of our companies experienced contraction this year in domestic sales, in exports and in investments. This contraction also affected employment and cash flow in a chain reaction. The real sector’s perception of 2025 was largely not that of a “year of balance”, but of a transition year in which costs and uncertainty were managed.
However, I should like to emphasize the following at once in particular:
The real sector today is not without hope; but it is cautious. The greater part of our members are in a “wait and see” position as they enter 2026. The reason for this waiting is not that the desire to invest has disappeared, but that risks such as financing costs, predictability and the weakness of domestic and foreign demand must be managed at one and the same time.
Our survey reveals a very clear ranking of priorities.
Access to finance ranks first as the issue that will most affect the economy in 2026. For the real sector today the matter is not merely finding credit; it is the maturity and cost of the credit and its compatibility with the cash flow of the investment. Indeed, for their 2026 investments our companies have begun to speak of equity, partnership or capital market instruments rather than classical bank loans. This picture shows that the credit channel has narrowed in the eyes of the real sector.
The second fundamental heading is inflation and cost pressures. We see that results are being obtained in the struggle against inflation; we value the resolve of the program and we have supported it openly from the outset.
However, in the field we also see this reality: as the process of combating inflation lengthens, the cost of financing and the contraction in domestic demand create a more fragile structure, particularly for companies of SME scale.
Over the past two years a situation we had not frequently encountered before has become striking: on the one hand, the total of final-use products in imports has surpassed the total of raw materials, which shows that production in our country carries the risk of cooling; on the other hand, the consumption of luxury imported products has doubled, which indicates that the gap between the socioeconomic strata in our country is widening still further.
For this reason it is of great importance that the program be supported in the period ahead with complementary micro policies that will keep the real sector and production on their feet.
In the period ahead in particular, it is inevitable that coordinated policy sets in the fields of agriculture, trade and industry, complementing monetary policies, be put into operation.
Honourable Minister,
Among our members’ expectations for reform, the simplification of tax legislation ranks first by a clear margin.
Here I should like to underline the following: the fundamental demand of the real sector, before any reduction of tax rates, is that the manner in which tax is applied should become simple, predictable and manageable. The complexity of legislation, the uncertainty in audit processes and compliance costs direct companies’ time, energy and capital towards areas outside production.
The second important reform expectation is the development of alternative financing mechanisms for SMEs. The real sector wishes to move forward not only with public banks or classical credit models, but with a broader, more flexible and more market-friendly financing architecture.
In summary, I can sum up as follows:
The real sector wishes to enter 2026 with the will to increase investment and employment once again. For this, the steps to be taken under three fundamental headings will be decisive:
1. Facilitating access to finance and rationalizing costs, 2. Simplification of the tax system and strengthening of predictability, 3. Managing the contraction in domestic demand in a way that protects production and employment.
Honourable Minister
Esteemed Guests
As I stated at the beginning of my remarks, the world is passing through difficult days. Geopolitical risks should no longer be seen today as temporary fluctuations. In the medium and long term, the effects of geopolitical risks on economies will be seen through energy supply security problems, control of critical minerals, supply chain disruptions and financial markets.
Today the world economy is passing through an age of tremors in which wars redraw not maps but markets, inflation silently gnaws at the prosperity of societies, the weapon of interest strangles growth, the US–China rivalry divides the global system into camps, and energy and food
are transformed into elements of strategic power, debt now produces not development but fragility, costs harden with the climate crisis, and the digital economy opens the very nature of money to debate.
As if all that has been experienced in the world were not enough, over the past 2 years our country has also had to bear the heavy burden of the 6 February Earthquake placed upon public finances and the costs of certain political implementations. Despite this, considerable success has been achieved in combating inflation, in ensuring fiscal discipline and in improving international financial relations. In this vein we thank the entire economic administration, foremost our esteemed minister.
As the business world we are here with an understanding that does not criticize but wishes to be part of the solution. We value our State’s sensitivity to fiscal discipline and its macro targets. At the same time we believe that when the sustainability of the real sector is secured, these targets will be supported far more strongly.
As I conclude my words, I hope that this consultation will be the beginning of a process that renews confidence as we enter 2026, revives the appetite for investment and strengthens collective wisdom; and I thank our esteemed minister, who has once again honoured us with his participation, and offer him my respects.