Turkish GDP Growth to Exceed 3.5% Forecast This Year

Turkey's State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey would revise official growth projections within a few months, and said Turkey was heading towards a better growth rate.

"Even if there is not any deal with the IMF, everyone says that the growth rate will be much higher than 3.5 percent," Babacan told the private CNN channel. Babacan said the IMF had projected Turkey's growth around 3.7 percent.

Talks between the IMF and Turkey were ended earlier this month, due to differences over the IMF's strict requirements. The talks had been meant to agree a new IMF standby agreement for Turkey, and had been ongoing since the last agreement for ($10 million) ended in May 2008.

The end of the talks has not ended confidence in Turkey, and in fact the country has continued to go from strength to strength with an extremely successful bond issuance, and a multi-million investment from private equity funds in the days immediately following the announcement of the talks' collapse.

According to Julian Walker, director of UK based Turkish property agent Spot Blue, the bond issuance was the biggest sign that Turkey would be fine without the IMF in standby, he said:

"The investments were great, but were taken with a long-term view and not necessarily a sign of short-term confidence in Turkey. Also, because they were long-term plays things like the IMF being agreed or not was not factored into the equations according to those close to the deal.

"The bond issuance on the other hand was a big indication of confidence in Turkey's ability to stand without the IMF. It is also a stamp of approval for a Turkey without the IMF, because without the standby agreement, Turkey will be reliant on its ability to borrow from capital markets using vehicle's like bonds."

Spot Blue is currently marketing property in Turkey priced from as little as £25,000.

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