Turkey’s Economic Confidence Index Highest in 5 Years

Lines of cars are pictured during a rush hour traffic jam on Guomao Bridge in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Lines of cars are pictured during a rush hour traffic jam on Guomao Bridge in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
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Turkey’s Economic Confidence Index Highest in 5 Years

Lines of cars are pictured during a rush hour traffic jam on Guomao Bridge in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Lines of cars are pictured during a rush hour traffic jam on Guomao Bridge in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Turkey's economic confidence index increased by 2.5 percent to 106 points in August, its highest level since July 2012, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said this week.

The institute noted that monthly hikes in real, services, retail trade and construction sector confidence indexes maintained the rise in economic confidence.

Among all indexes, the construction confidence index rose the most, by 3.3 percent, to 88.3 points. While the index measuring confidence in the services sector was up 1.6 percent, reaching 105.4 points, TurkStat said.
The retail industry confidence index gained 1.1 percent, reaching 108.5 points, it added.

Meanwhile, a recent analysis by Deloitte, one of the world's largest professional services companies, said Turkey's automotive sector will continue to be the country's export champion in 2017.

The report said exports increased by 28.5 percent compared to the same period of last year as sales hit 714,000 automobiles. Meanwhile, the total export value also increased by 22.1 percent, hitting $14.5 billion.

It estimated that export income from the automotive sector this year would be around $26.5 billion.

But automobile sales in the Turkish automotive market in the first six months of this year declined by 9.6 percent compared to the same period of 2016, reaching 306,000 automobiles.

During the same period, 95,000 light commercial vehicles were sold, a 5 percent drop compared to the first six months of 2016.

As for the heavy commercial vehicle market, sales tumbled by 22.4 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 9,500 vehicles.



GAIN Summit in Riyadh to Showcase Global Experiences on AI Use in Supporting Business Leaders

GAIN Summit in Riyadh to Showcase Global Experiences on AI Use in Supporting Business Leaders
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GAIN Summit in Riyadh to Showcase Global Experiences on AI Use in Supporting Business Leaders

GAIN Summit in Riyadh to Showcase Global Experiences on AI Use in Supporting Business Leaders

The third edition of the Global AI (GAIN) Summit, organized by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) will be held in Riyadh on September 10-12.

The summit will showcase the global experiences in the field of artificial intelligence technologies, including those that focus on the importance of business leaders' understanding of rapidly developing AI technologies, and reflecting on how to increase production driven by strategic decision-making.

The deliberations of over 300 speakers, including experts, specialists, and decision-makers from 100 countries will present business leaders and those interested in the field of data and AI with promising options and opportunities to benefit from the technologies.

The speakers will deliberate on the most effective methods of utilizing AI to make strategic decisions, support responsible leadership, analyze the extent of the impact of AI on the growth of business activities and productivity, and motivate employees within an attractive work environment that meets the aspirations of business leaders.

The summit will underscore the importance of senior leaders and policymakers in making strategic decisions, determining the scope and directions of work, and achieving a competitive advantage for business. These decisions are guided by organizational policies, available resources, future plans, and other decisions based on AI.

According to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, productivity growth and improvement of manufacturing processes were five times faster when AI was used to adjust processes, identify shortcomings, and reduce waste and errors.

Predictive maintenance can also reduce downtime and speed up the pace of production, allowing the plant to increase production with the same or fewer inputs.