ANKARA - State Minister Ali Babacan said on Tuesday that ''whenever we feel ready, we will give the decision with Central Bank to put into practice the inflation targeting system.''
Speaking to economy correspondents in Treasury Undersecretariat, Babacan said that they didn't hold a meeting with IMF about the process of relations with that organization after 2004.
Underlining the fact that even countries which didn't have any connection with IMF meet with IMF officials once in a year, Babacan said that ''as we want to have a sound Turkish economy, we don't want to sign another stand-by agreement with IMF after 2004.''
Regarding the inflation targeting, Babacan said that certain conditions had to be formed first for adoption of that system.
Upon a question, Babacan noted that an economic programme which was not found reliable by the people and the business world could not be successful, adding that the trust in the government continued to increase.
Asked whether establishment of Investment Promotion Agency delayed or not, Babacan said that several ministries were interested in work under the Recovery of Investment Atmosphere Board (YOIK) and stated that it was natural for some legal arrangements to take time.
Stating that work on legal arrangements under YOIK was about to be completed, he said that he thought that all of legal arrangements would be completed within few months after the parliament opened. He added that but work on YOIK was a process which would continue.
Babacan said that YOIK meeting would be held on August 26 or 27 and noted that foreign investors would also be invited to this meeting.
Upon a question on not signing a stand-by agreement with IMF after 2004, he reiterated that they did not take up new stand-by issue with IMF.
Babacan said that Turkey has already used loan over its quota and he thought that IMF would not welcome a new loan and stated that however they should start to pay those debts.
When reminded Treasury's borrowing interest rate was still high and asked why it did not settle on a sound ground, Babacan said that debt of a country was estimated according to ratio which was obtained proportion of total public debt to GNP.
Babacan said that they thought that this ratio which was about 92 percent at the end of 2001 would reduce to 69.6 percent at the end of 2003.
He stated that decreasing debt stock was a process which needed determination and said that Turkey was one of the countries which gave the highest non-interest surplus recently.
(Öª-EÖ-AÖ) 05.08.2003