ICC
President predicts speedy Turkish recovery
 |
| Kemal Dervis: Turkey's
man of the moment |
Istanbul, 18 April, 2001 - ICC President Richard
D. McCormick said today he was confident that Turkey will recover from its economic
crisis rapidly and possibly before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Turkish business
must pressure the government to follow through on economic reforms.
Visiting Turkey for talks
with business and government leaders, Mr McCormick said in interviews with the
national media: "The upturn will come sooner than people are thinking.
Reforms will take place quickly and the rebound will be fast."
The ICC President was speaking
after Turkey's new economy minister Kemal Dervis had announced an extensive
economic recovery programme that produced a favourable stock market response.
"You have seen the worst. It will be downhill from now on." Mr McCormick
predicted.
He said one of Turkey's
biggest assets in the crisis was "an enormously talented and dynamic private
sector." The country needed to push ahead with privatization and unleash
the private sector, while reforming the banking system and improving the country's
infrastructure.
Political and social as
well as economic reform were all critical elements, not only for overcoming
the current crisis, but also in advancing Turkey's long-standing bid to join
the European Union. Mr McCormick added: "These things go hand in hand."
He said Turkey should still
be considered one of the world's top ten emerging markets. In 1994, Mexico went
through a similar crisis but emerged from it with a stronger economy than before.
"This temporary setback for Turkey is completely unrelated to the country's
potential."
International investors
would be interested in Turkey if they could be sure of the rules, if they had
confidence in the central banking system and found good and transparent governance.
"Things may look bleak to anyone living here, but for an outsider looking
at this country and people, there is no limit to what Turkey can do. Maybe it
should not be considered an emerging market, but an arrived market."
Mr McCormick described Mr
Dervish, a respected eco
nomist brought in from the World Bank, as someone who
commanded immense credibility abroad. " I hope people will listen to what
he has to say. I hope the various reforms are taken seriously so that Turkey
can look to brighter days."
Asked what would happen
if the belt-tightening reforms did not happen, Mr McCormick said:
" I don't know how patient the rest of the world will be."
He advised Turkish business
to derive maximum efficiency from their own operations, to look out for export
opportunities presented by the fall in the Turkish Lira exchange rate, and to
look to seek joint venture partners around the world.
Finally, Turkish business
should "forcefully advocate" to the government that it should follow
through with its reforms, particularly in the banking sector. "Business
should put pressure on the government to clean up its act," Mr McCormick
said.