Erdogan Reveals Gulf Pledges for Large Investments in Türkiye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar (AFP)
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Erdogan Reveals Gulf Pledges for Large Investments in Türkiye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has revealed receiving pledges from several Gulf countries to make significant investments in the country.

Erdogan hoped Thursday investment deals would be reached with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates during his visit to the Gulf countries next week.

Erdogan spoke to journalists who accompanied him on his return trip from Lithuania, where he participated in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit.

“There are pledges from Gulf countries ... to pump large investments in Türkiye, and we will put the finishing touches during our next tour. He pointed to several visits by Turkish officials to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE to prepare for his visits to the three countries.

Erdogan reiterated willingness to strengthen his country’s ties with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE during his visit to the region.

On Wednesday, the Turkish President received a phone call from his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, who said they would discuss the recent developments during their meeting.

The Turkish Finance Minister, Mehmet Simsek, concluded a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he was accompanied by the Governor of the Central Bank, Hafize Gaye Erkan.

Saudi Arabia and Türkiye signed 16 cooperation agreements worth more than SR2.3 billion in several fields and investment sectors on the sidelines of the Saudi-Turkish Business Forum, which started in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The Forum reviewed the Saudi-Turkish investment opportunities and the enhanced partnership between the two sides in the fields of urban development, building, contracting, and smart cities in cooperation with the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) and the Council for Foreign Economic Relations of Türkiye (DEIK).

The Forum was attended by the Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, Majed al-Hogail, and Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Polat.

Hogail said the Forum is an opportunity to enhance cooperation, joint work, and exchange expertise in the municipality and housing sectors.

He pointed out that Saudi Arabia is witnessing qualitative progress in different economic and development sectors, of them the municipality and housing sectors, which was achieved through effective strategic planning to realize the goals of Vision 2030.

The Minister expressed his aspiration to strengthen the cooperation between the two sides in real estate development, automation, and infrastructure projects.

Hogail confirmed that Saudi Arabia provides several diverse and promising investment opportunities in a qualitative environment suitable for investment.

Saudi Arabia has started building more than 300,000 housing units in an area exceeding 150 million square meters, with an investment value exceeding SR100 billion, Hogail stated, calling on Turkish companies to invest in real estate development in the Kingdom.



Firm Dollar Keeps Pound, Euro and Yen Under Pressure

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
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Firm Dollar Keeps Pound, Euro and Yen Under Pressure

US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo
US Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo

The US dollar charged ahead on Thursday, underpinned by rising Treasury yields, putting the yen, sterling and euro under pressure near multi-month lows amid the shifting threat of tariffs.

The focus for markets in 2025 has been on US President-elect Donald Trump's agenda as he steps back into the White House on Jan. 20, with analysts expecting his policies to both bolster growth and add to price pressures, according to Reuters.

CNN on Wednesday reported that Trump is considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal justification for a series of universal tariffs on allies and adversaries. On Monday, the Washington Post said Trump was looking at more nuanced tariffs, which he later denied.

Concerns that policies introduced by the Trump administration could reignite inflation has led bond yields higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note hitting 4.73% on Wednesday, its highest since April 25. It was at 4.6709% on Thursday.

"Trump's shifting narrative on tariffs has undoubtedly had an effect on USD. It seems this capriciousness is something markets will have to adapt to over the coming four years," said Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at InTouch Capital Markets.

The bond market selloff has left the dollar standing tall and casting a shadow on the currency market.

Among the most affected was the pound, which was headed for its biggest three-day drop in nearly two years.

Sterling slid to $1.2239 on Thursday, its weakest since November 2023, even as British government bond yields hit multi-year highs.

Ordinarily, higher gilt yields would support the pound, but not in this case.

The sell-off in UK government bond markets resumed on Thursday, with 10-year and 30-year gilt yields jumping again in early trading, as confidence in Britain's fiscal outlook deteriorates.

"Such a simultaneous sell-off in currency and bonds is rather unusual for a G10 country," said Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank.

"It seems to be the culmination of a development that began several months ago. The new Labour government's approval ratings are at record lows just a few months after the election, and business and consumer sentiment is severely depressed."

Sterling was last down about 0.69% at $1.2282.

The euro also eased, albeit less than the pound, to $1.0302, lurking close to the two-year low it hit last week as investors remain worried the single currency may fall to the key $1 mark this year due to tariff uncertainties.

The yen hovered near the key 160 per dollar mark that led to Tokyo intervening in the market last July, after it touched a near six-month low of 158.55 on Wednesday.

Though it strengthened a bit on the day and was last at 158.15 per dollar. That all left the dollar index, which measures the US currency against six other units, up 0.15% and at 109.18, just shy of the two-year high it touched last week.

Also in the mix were the Federal Reserve minutes of its December meeting, released on Wednesday, which showed the central bank flagged new inflation concerns and officials saw a rising risk the incoming administration's plans may slow economic growth and raise unemployment.

With US markets closed on Thursday, the spotlight will be on Friday's payrolls report as investors parse through data to gauge when the Fed will next cut rates.