A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), headed by the head of the organization’s Turkish desk, Carlo Cottarelli, was scheduled to begin talks in Ankara on Monday, February 12, as part of the sixth review of the IMF’s standby arrangement with the Turkish government.
The IMF’s visit was actually starting its visit five days ahead of schedule, because reportedly the organization was concerned that the Turkish government was deviating from the agreed-to economic program. One such indication, wrote the Turkish Daily News, was an announcement by the government last week regarding a tax concession, which would allow deferred and defaulted taxes to be paid in installments over an 18-month period. This followed a summit between the government and industrialists, which studied an acute cash shortage in the real economy.
In its sixth review, the IMF will focus on banking, privatization, structural reform and fiscal performance in the first month of the year.
Turkey’s cash-flow situation still leaves much to be desired. The country ran a current account deficit of $9.32 billion in January-November 2000, compared to a deficit of $275 million during the same period in 1999, reported the central bank in Ankara.
The government expected the current account deficit to reach 5 percent of GNP, or $10 billion by the end of 2000. According to its arrangement with the IMF, it aims to keep the deficit at about 3.5 percent of GNP in 2001. – (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
