Turkey expects primary surplus at $ 1.26bn

The Turkish government expects its primary surplus at 5.8 billion lira ($1.62 billion) in 2018, as part of its latest medium-term plan. The government also announced in its Official Gazette that it targeted primary surplus of 11.8 billion lira in 2019 and 25.5 billion lira in 2020 as part of the plan, which is updated annually.

The ratio of primary surplus to GDP was seen at 0.2 percent in 2018 and 0.3 percent in 2019, the Official Gazette said, reaching 0.6 percent in 2020. Meanwhile, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said that in 2018, an additional 18 billion lira ($5 billion) would be allocated to the Ministry of National Defense and military industries.

The new allocations will help buy weaponry to modernize the military. Simsek told a TV interview that the Turkish government intends to lower spending in the 2018 budget.

Also this week, according to released data, the total market value of companies listed on the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), which stood at 616 billion lira ($172 billion) as of December 30, 2016, have increased, reaching 801 billion lira ($223 billion) in September.