The Extended Presidents Meeting of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSİAD) was held under the title "2022 Assessment and 2023 Expectations" with the participation of Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati. Speaking at the program, President of MÜSİAD Mahmut Asmalı said: "Türkiye will be one of the best growing countries in 2023 and will achieve a growth performance above the world average in the hundredth year of our Republic".
Making assessments at the event held at the MÜSİAD Head Office, President of MÜSİAD Mahmut Asmalı said that 2022 was the scene of extraordinary developments on a global scale and seriously disrupted the economies that were tending to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. Stating that the Russia-Ukraine War, which broke out in February of last year, quickly went beyond being a regional risk and turned into a great threat for the global economy, Asmalı expressed that, although approximately 1 year has passed since the war, the uncertainties regarding global energy, global food and global supply continue.
"Türkiye maintained its strong growth trend in 2022 as well and became the star of 3 very difficult years"
Conveying that leading economies such as the USA and the Euro Area had to face the highest inflation rates in their history, Asmalı stated that in 2022 all countries struggled with significant difficulties in supporting households and producers against price increases. Stating that, while the global economy was experiencing one of the most difficult periods in its history under the shadow of the war, the Turkish economy of course also went through an important year of testing, Asmalı noted the following:
"The Turkish economy, which grew by 1.9 percent in 2020, when the global economy was shaken by the COVID-19 shock and contracted by 3 percent, and which ranked at the summit of the G20 countries with a growth performance of 11.4 percent in 2021, maintained its strong growth trend in 2022 as well and became the star of 3 very difficult years. The Turkish economy, which grew by 6.2 points on an annual basis across the first 3 quarters of the year, will probably again rank in the top 2 among OECD countries and in the top 3 among G20 countries across 2022 as a whole once the last quarter data is announced.
The fact that the highest contribution to the growth of 6.2 percent in question came from domestic demand at the band of 13.4 percent indicates that the effort of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye to keep economic activity alive with its monetary expansion policy found a response in the market. In the January-September 2022 period, the Turkish economy recorded an across-the-board increase in gross domestic product by receiving a positive contribution from domestic demand, net external demand and investments in their entirety."
"2023 has a highly critical importance"
Emphasizing that it is essential for the Turkish economy to maintain its strong growth performance, Mahmut Asmalı used the expression: "In this context, 2023, the 100th anniversary of our Republic, has a highly critical importance as it contains both many risks and many opportunities".
Drawing attention to the fact that the increase in global producer and consumer prices, which reached the highest levels of the last 50 years under the pressure of energy and food prices, resulted in many countries shifting to a contractionary monetary policy, Asmalı continued as follows:
"The interest rate hike decisions taken by leading economies such as America, the European Union and England in order to rein in inflation have placed the risk of a global recession on our agenda as a high probability. An economic contraction to be observed on a global scale will have many negative effects, above all the narrowing of foreign trade volumes and labour markets.
"Türkiye will succeed in positive decoupling in 2023 as well"
Thanks to its existing manufacturing potential, flexible production capacity and proximity to large markets, Türkiye will, God willing, succeed in positive decoupling in 2023 as well. In the coming months, together with the price stability to be established as inflation begins to decline, this will also support Türkiye in reaching its long-term economic targets."
Asmalı expressed that reaching historic record levels in exports and employment, the positive course of the non-energy current account balance and the continuation of the increases in industrial production without losing speed are each proof of Türkiye's strong macroeconomic infrastructure, and said that with the new minimum wage and the EYT regulation, which meet the expectations of both employees and employers, the uncertainties regarding labour markets were reduced and thus the real sector was enabled to see its way ahead better.
"Türkiye will be one of the best growing countries in 2023 as well"
Asmalı used the following words: "The taking of a historic step towards escaping the vice of debt, interest and exchange rate under the leadership of our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by pulling the policy rate down to single digits increases our belief that the growth process focused on production, exports and employment will continue. We believe that Türkiye will be one of the best growing countries in 2023 as well and will achieve a growth performance above the world average in the hundredth year of our Republic. On this occasion, I want to state once again that we as MÜSİAD are ready, as always, to shoulder our share of the burden so that the claim of the Century of Türkiye makes a start worthy of its name".
