Turkey’s new surplus target to release 7 bln YTL
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Hurriyet English with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 09, 2008 12:53
Turkish Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said on Friday the decision to revise down the primary surplus target to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) will release 7 billion YTL ($5.5 bln) of funds in the budget.
Haberin Devamı
"Reducing the primary surplus target to 3.5 percent will create funds of seven billion lira in the budget," Unakitan said at an Istanbul Chamber of Commerce meeting.      Â
Turkish government says said additional funds released due to the new target would be used for investments in the impoverished southeast part of the country.
However financial experts warn the decision is related to the local elections to be held in March 2009, and risky amid a global credit crisis as the high primary surplus targets were the main pillar of Turkey’s economic program after 2001 crisis.
Unakitan also said Turkey's energy costs for 2008 will approach $40 billion. Last year's energy costs were approximately $32 billion.