18 October 2018•Update: 18 October 2018
ISTANBUL
Turkey's risk premium in international markets posed a “significant drop” for over a month, treasury and finance minister said on Thursday.
"CDS [Credit Default Swap] premiums, which are one of the main indicators of risk premium, showed a decline of over 200 base points and improved for more than a month," Berat Albayrak said at the Belt&Road Industrial and Commercial Alliance (BRICA) Summit in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, he said that Turkey has no liquidity problem, citing the demand for Turkish bonds was more than triple the bonds’ issue size.
"In the period that financial tightening, fluctuation and uncertainties are experienced so harsh in global markets, over triple demand on Turkish bonds is the success of the steps and right policies our country and economy administration took,” Albayrak said.
On Wednesday, the Treasury and Finance Ministry said in a statement that "the [bond] offering attracted an order book of more than three times the actual issue size from more than 250 accounts".
The ministry on Tuesday authorized three international institutions -- Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale -- to issue a dollar-denominated bond due 2023, as part of the 2018 external borrowing program.
On the Belt&Road Initiative, Albayrak said it paved the way for improvement of transportation infrastructure step by step.
"The comprehensive infrastructure move that we tried to actualize since November 2002 provide a great advantage to this initiative," he said.
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the Belt and Road Initiative -- which aims to revive the historical Silk Road with Ankara’s Middle Corridor Initiative -- was first raised by the Chinese president in 2013 and it “aims to connect Asia with Europe and Africa”.
That Turkish lira gains ground against other currencies motivates the country's private sector, Albayrak added.
“We will not ease off. We will resolutely continue to implement our policies to strengthen our weaknesses," he said.
Reporting by Handan Gunes and Musab Turan:Writing by Tuba Sahin
