The World Bank's private investment arm implemented a record $3.6 billion investment package for Türkiye in its financial year to the end of June, according to a senior executive.
This confirms Türkiye's position as the third largest country of activity of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), said Hela Cheikhrouhou, its vice president for the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"We approved and mobilized $3.6 billion for Türkiye, which confirms its position as the third largest country of activity of IFC with the private sector only coming after India and Brazil," Cheikhrouhou told Anadolu Agency (AA).
"This is a testimony to the vibrancy of the private sector and to the opportunities that it offers across the sectors."
The World Bank last year increased its financing to Türkiye to $35 billion from $17 billion as part of the macro-fiscal stabilization. Cheikhrouhou said $17 billion includes portfolio activities and $18 billion new activities.
Meanwhile, a report this week suggested the World Bank is holding talks with Türkiye to increase financing to Ankara beyond the $35 billion.
World Bank financing to Türkiye mostly focuses on renewable energy, flood management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and support for the export sector.
Cheikhrouhou said there was consensus at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings on the positive steps toward macro-fiscal stabilization in Türkiye that began in mid-2023, improvements in the country's sovereign ratings, and an increased interest from foreign private investors eager to explore opportunities for investment and job creation.
IFC seeks to help Türkiye accomplish the vision its government has put forward in its medium-term economic program, she highlighted.
"And we want to ensure, you know, prosperity comes through jobs, preserving jobs, creating jobs. So, we will be all things equal, looking at all the activities we can undertake that will ensure the preservation of jobs and the creation of jobs," Cheikhrouhou stressed.
IFC has issued the first green bonds, the first blue bonds in Türkiye as well as, sustainability or gender loans in the manufacturing, agribusiness and services, including to support the higher tech push in the country, she added.
There is an ambition to localize some of the global supply chains that are looking to be closer to the markets, and Türkiye is very much open to Europe, Cheikhrouhou said, expressing the need to create higher value-added manufacturing activities.
The IFC also looks to support logistics, energy and cleaner energy to prepare Türkiye for the carbon border adjustment mechanism of Europe that will take effect very soon, she noted.
Outlook increasingly positive
Cheikhrouhou also referred to the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye's southeastern region in February 2023, killing more than 50,000 people and destroying hundreds of thousands of homes.
She said the IFC provided $530 million for micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including priority for women and agribusinesses for the provinces that were affected by the quakes.
"We also are very active in the manufacturing, agribusiness and services industry, particularly those export-oriented," Cheikhrouhou added.
"I and my institution are very much admirative of the resilience of the Turkish private sector. It is truly the engine, a key engine to the Turkish economy," she said.
The wish of the Turkish private sector and the government is to provide its people, 85 million, with an economy that is prosperous and creates job opportunities on an ongoing basis, she stressed.
"Therefore, there is competition to attract investment. We have seen over the last several years, international investors retrenching into the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). We want to attract a significant share of that into Türkiye," she noted.
Cheikhrouhou said the outlook for the economy will be increasingly positive as enabling policies and institutional setup offer stability, certainty and positive enabling that the private sector, local and international and regional would require.
"Everybody is looking for opportunities where they can have greater stability for their outcomes as a result of their investment. Türkiye can be that, especially now that it is adopting a more orthodox macro-fiscal policy," she stressed.
"The Turkish economy is very well diversified and that's very important nowadays. We want to be there across as you see the industries, because that's the name of the game, not to be too dependent on one industry, but also increase the value add that it brings, so that you can elevate the quality and number of the jobs."
