Cansen Basaran-Symes, President of the Turkish Industry and Business Association (TUSIAD) underscored the importance of the independence of the central bank. She delivered opening remarks at the launch of the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect Report, hosted jointly by TUSIAD in Istanbul.
Basaran-Symes said, “As TUSIAD, we value the independence of independent institutions. I want to once again underline the importance of this for the Turkish economy. TUSIAD’s position on the issue will not change under any circumstances. I hope to see recent developments, which have been confusing to the public and the business community, come to an end.”
She also noted that the primary objective of the central bank is to achieve and maintain price stability, rather than creating prosperity.
Highlights from the World Bank Report
According to the World Bank’s new report, several major forces are at play in the global outlook, affected by soft commodity prices and low interest rates, but also by increasingly divergent monetary policies across major economies and weaker world trade.
“In particular, the sharp decline in oil prices since mid-2014 will support global economic activity and help offset some of the headwinds to growth in oil-importing developing economies. However, it will dampen growth prospects for oil-exporting countries, with significant regional repercussions. Overall, global growth is expected to rise moderately, to 3.0 percent in 2015, and average about 3.3 percent through 2017,” said the report.
Risks to the slow-moving global recovery remain significant, while financial markets’ volatility could sharply raise developing countries’ borrowing costs, an unwelcome development after several years of heavy capital market issuance by some developing countries.
“Intensifying geopolitical tensions, bouts of volatility in commodity markets or financial stress in a major emerging market could lead to a reassessment of risk assets. If the eurozone or Japan slips into a prolonged period of stagnation or deflation, global trade could weaken even further,” stated the report.