Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) President Mustafa Gültepe, in an interview with Emre Eser from CNBC-e, had evaluated the recent situation in exports and made statements regarding the economy, saying that a country has no chance of surviving with 50 percent interest.
Emphasizing that the high course of interest rates negatively affects expectations in the business world, Gültepe had said, "The country is sinking; a country has no chance of surviving with 50 percent interest."
HE BACKTRACKED
Mustafa Gültepe stated that his remarks regarding the economy and interest rates were misunderstood. In response to the public reaction following his use of the phrase "The country is sinking; it is not possible for a country to survive with a 50 percent interest rate," Gültepe said that he was actually expressing the difficulties that companies are experiencing.
In a written statement, Gültepe used the following expressions:
"In the interview, I wanted to emphasize that it is difficult to increase investment, production, employment, and ultimately exports with interest rates exceeding 50 percent. High interest rates negatively affect expectations in the business world; therefore, companies are under serious pressure. While explaining the issue, I inadvertently said 'the country is sinking,' but I actually meant to say 'companies are sinking'."
News Source: 12punto
