TURKISH DEBT REACHED 31.4 BILLION DLRS AT END-1986
Turkey's external debt rose to the
equivalent of 31.4 billion dlrs at end-1986 from 25.4 billion a
year earlier, Treasury Under-secretary Yavuz Canevi said.
    Canevi, who gave the figure at a briefing on the Turkish
economy arranged for Ankara-based diplomats, said the
short-term component was 9.6 billion dlrs at end-1986, up from
6.6 billion.
    Much of Turkey's debt is denominated in currencies other
than the dollar. Canevi said the increase expressed in dollar
terms was partly attributable to the fall in value of the U.S.
Currency.
    While the rise in total debt was about 24 pct in dollar
terms, it would be only 11 pct if expressed in special drawing
rights and would represent a fall of 11 pct if expressed in the
West German mark, he said.
    On the rise in short-term debt, Canevi said half the amount
was in Turkish citizens' foreign exchange deposits. "On a macro
level it is a liability but it is not really a liability
because it will be repaid in Turkish lira," he added.
    Canevi was Governor of the Turkish Central Bank until last
November, when he was promoted to Under-secretary for the
Treasury and Foreign Trade, a key economic management post.
    Canevi listed what he called the assets of the Turkish
economy, including liberalisation in the last three years, the
country's geographical position and the strength of its
agriculture and manpower skills.
    The debt picture was one of three liabilities, he said,
along with the failure to reduce inflation swiftly and
impatience. "We are an impatient nation ... We should be patient
enough to achieve better results," he added.
    Wholesale prices on an index issued by Canevi's department
rose 27.4 pct in the year to February, compared with 33.3 pct a
year earlier.
    On inflation, Canevi said: "We have chosen to reduce
inflation in a moderate way. We could have reduced it in two
years from 25 pct to five pct but we needed growth ... We
already have high unemployment."
    "I don't blame people who are sick and tired of living with
inflation but it was 100 per cent before. The trend is down, so
let's be patient and not distort overall policies and we will
achieve our targets in one or two years," he said.
 REUTER
