Turkısh Economy Probably Grew 4%-5% In 4q Says Mınıster
The Turkish economy is likely to have grown 4%-5% in the final quarter of 2009, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Wednesday.
This rate of growth would bring the contraction for 2009 as a whole to below the government's previous estimate of 6%, Simsek said.
Turkey's economy contracted 14.7% in the first quarter of 2009, 7.9% in the second quarter3.3% in the third.
Gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter will be published March 31.
Turkey has set a growth target of 3.5% for 2010.
If we can get support from International Monetary Fund it will be favourable, Simsek said.
Turkey has been in talks with the IMF for a new standby loan since a previous $10 billion loan agreement expired in May 2008.
Turkish business leaders have been urging the government to sign a new agreement with the IMF immediately, criticizing it for being "unnecessarily" slow.
Turkish Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz said in January the country didn't need a new deal with the IMF to recover from the impact of the global financial crisis but only to boost economic growth further.
(SB-SB-E)