Economic reforms needed, says YASED

"We had expected the foreign direct investment inflow to reach $10 billion by the end of this year," said Piraye Antika, YASED chairwoman, speaking at a press conference held Tuesday in Istanbul. "However, we had to revise our outlook," she added. "Foreign direct investment received by Turkey during the first quarter of the year has totaled only $2.2 billion. There also is a decline in the number of company mergers. Therefore we expect that the foreign direct investment obtained by the country by the end of the year will be lower than $10 billion."

"There are six topics that need to be focused on . They include are unregistered economy, certainty and predictability of the law, taxes and incentives, employment and education," said Antika. "Turkey also needs to focus further on intellectual and industrial property rights as well as research and development investments."