Tusiad: Primary Surplus Will Continue To Be Important In 2005

ANKARA - The Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) said on Friday in a report to the government that ''the primary budget surplus will continue to be important in 2005.''
TUSIAD delegation headed by Omer Sabanci submitted a report to government officials on ''Views of TUSIAD on Economic, Political and Social Development, and Turkey-EU Relations''.
The report said, ''Turkey's economy would grow more than the target of the government in 2005, and the proportion of current accounts deficit to the national income would drop. We estimate that 5 percent growth target in 2005 will increase to 6-7 percent.''
''Although accumulation of capital continues in 2005, it would not lead to an evident increase in employment. Together with the expected stagnation in 2005, impact of the growth on employment would remain limited,'' it said.
Noting that employment would increase by 1.5-2 percent in 2005, TUSIAD said, ''since the increase in employment is under the necessary threshold to preserve the rate of unemployment, the rate of unemployment is estimated to be 10 percent.''
The report added that Turkey fell in step to the increasing competition of foreign capital, and confidence index for foreign capital dropped.