Lack of dialogue must be overcome
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by Jale Özgentürk - Referans
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 30, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL-Calling on Ankara to empathize with the problems of production centers of Turkey, chairman of Anadolu Group urges dialogue between politicians, business circles and bureaucracy. Even if the crisis is psychological, the measures to overcome the crisis should be announced, he says
As the global economic crisis continues to take a bite out of Turkey, it is crucial to analyze the reasons of the distress, according to the chairman of a leading business group in Turkey, who complained about the lack of dialogue between the political world and businesses.
The distress concerning the global crisis is very serious and deeper than it seems, said Tuncay Özilhan, chairman of Anadolu Group, a company that operates in several sectors, including automotive, finance, food, beverages and stationary.
There is a big debate going on in Turkey related to the crisis, said Özilhan. Some say the crisis will "miss" the country, while some others say crisis is just "psychological," said Özilhan, who is also the chief executive officer of the company, which reaps $4 billion in turnover and employs 20,000 people. "Whatever the situation is, we need to accept the existence of the problem."
The United States and Europe announced packages, but the Central Bank has not yet given any signals of a package, he said. "The crisis has less of an impact on Turkey compared to developed countries. However the impacts are quite visible. Considering that many plants have been halting production, shutting down and dismissing staff, the reasons should be analyzed well," he said. Even if the crisis is psychological, the measures to overcome it should be announced, he said. Noting that Ankara "does not feel the crisis, or feels it late," Özilhan said. "In 2000, I served as the chairman of the Turkish Industrialists' And Businessmen's Association, or TÜSİAD. I witnessed at first hand that ministers and bureaucrats did not feel [the crisis of the period] much."
Ankara has a system, in which everyone gets salaries, hence tradesmen of the city do not feel the crisis, he said. "There is not much delay on the operation of the mill. The state pays and public investments continue. However, when production centers, such as Denizli and Gaziantep are considered, great distresses are evident there."
Different picture
Back in 2001, Turkey managed to overcome another economic crisis, he said, adding that the liquidity abundance around the world helped the country to overcome the crisis easily. "However, the picture is different now as all the walls between the counties have been torn down. The slightest development somewhere in the globe affects the entire world," Özilhan said.
In Turkey, it was construction that first felt the impacts of the crisis, which have gradually affected various sector, he said, adding that finance sector, hence, has started to be influenced. "Predicting that the crisis was about to come to Turkey, finance sector took some measures, and slowed down loans."
Finance, Turkey’s most robust sector, which was restructured during the 2001 crisis, is likely to face problems, he said. "In 2000-2001, banking was caught amid open position. In the recent crisis, banking does not have open position, but real sector does, because private sector had to take on debt in foreign currency. A fragility occurred, leading banks to act cautiously."
Regarding the delay in the deal with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, he said, "Turkey should paint a realistic picture of itself. The IMF has been an important anchor for Turkey. It helped Turkey to become a reliable country. As the crisis approached, the IMF anchor should have been speeded up. If it was not for the crisis, Turkey might not have needed a new IMF deal."
Özilhan also opposed the government’s hope to attract Gulf capital. "I do not believe there is noteworthy capital there. As oil has fallen to former levels, their incomes have also dropped."
The distress concerning the global crisis is very serious and deeper than it seems, said Tuncay Özilhan, chairman of Anadolu Group, a company that operates in several sectors, including automotive, finance, food, beverages and stationary.
There is a big debate going on in Turkey related to the crisis, said Özilhan. Some say the crisis will "miss" the country, while some others say crisis is just "psychological," said Özilhan, who is also the chief executive officer of the company, which reaps $4 billion in turnover and employs 20,000 people. "Whatever the situation is, we need to accept the existence of the problem."
The United States and Europe announced packages, but the Central Bank has not yet given any signals of a package, he said. "The crisis has less of an impact on Turkey compared to developed countries. However the impacts are quite visible. Considering that many plants have been halting production, shutting down and dismissing staff, the reasons should be analyzed well," he said. Even if the crisis is psychological, the measures to overcome it should be announced, he said. Noting that Ankara "does not feel the crisis, or feels it late," Özilhan said. "In 2000, I served as the chairman of the Turkish Industrialists' And Businessmen's Association, or TÜSİAD. I witnessed at first hand that ministers and bureaucrats did not feel [the crisis of the period] much."
Ankara has a system, in which everyone gets salaries, hence tradesmen of the city do not feel the crisis, he said. "There is not much delay on the operation of the mill. The state pays and public investments continue. However, when production centers, such as Denizli and Gaziantep are considered, great distresses are evident there."
Different picture
Back in 2001, Turkey managed to overcome another economic crisis, he said, adding that the liquidity abundance around the world helped the country to overcome the crisis easily. "However, the picture is different now as all the walls between the counties have been torn down. The slightest development somewhere in the globe affects the entire world," Özilhan said.
In Turkey, it was construction that first felt the impacts of the crisis, which have gradually affected various sector, he said, adding that finance sector, hence, has started to be influenced. "Predicting that the crisis was about to come to Turkey, finance sector took some measures, and slowed down loans."
Finance, Turkey’s most robust sector, which was restructured during the 2001 crisis, is likely to face problems, he said. "In 2000-2001, banking was caught amid open position. In the recent crisis, banking does not have open position, but real sector does, because private sector had to take on debt in foreign currency. A fragility occurred, leading banks to act cautiously."
Regarding the delay in the deal with the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, he said, "Turkey should paint a realistic picture of itself. The IMF has been an important anchor for Turkey. It helped Turkey to become a reliable country. As the crisis approached, the IMF anchor should have been speeded up. If it was not for the crisis, Turkey might not have needed a new IMF deal."
Özilhan also opposed the government’s hope to attract Gulf capital. "I do not believe there is noteworthy capital there. As oil has fallen to former levels, their incomes have also dropped."