World economy

The Eurogroup’s agenda set for this afternoon in Brussels is like a “Christmas bazaar”. Agenda highlights include the implementation of Greece’s adjustment program, specifically the upcoming implementation of the second set of milestones that would unlock the disbursement of the remaining 1 billion euros from the first tranche of financial assistance and bank recapitalization.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will decide in January whether it will participate in Greece’s third bailout program, the IMF’s spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday at a press conference in Washington.

He stressed that before they can announce their plan, the European Union must have first decided on Greek debt, which will be evaluated by the organization.

After months of a decline amid elections, security concerns and a slow recovery in Europe and the U.S., officials from the Turkish Prime Ministry Investment Agency have expressed hope about a rise in investments in 2016. 

Turkey currently attracts around 1 percent of global foreign direct investment (FDI) but it has the potential to increase this share three-fold, International Foreign Investors Association of Turkey (YASED) head Ahmet Erdem has said in an interview with Anadolu Agency. 

The head of the International Monetary Fund has urged world leaders to fully implement the newest G-20 agenda regarding worldwide growth and unemployment.

The BRICS group of emerging nations called on the Group of 20 (G-20) top developed and developing nations on Nov. 15 to strengthen their macroeconomic policy cooperation to prevent bad effects from a weak global economy and reduce risks to growth.

China and Turkey will renew a currency swap deal and expand its scale, according to a statement released by the Chinese central bank on Nov. 16, as reported by Reuters. 

The scale of the three-year agreement will expand to 12 billion yuan ($1.88 billion), based on the mutual consent, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has paid 53.4 million euros to acquire a 10.84 percent stake in Turkish port operator Global Ports (GPH), completing the transfer of stakes on Nov. 13. 

Global Investment, the parent company of GPH, said its stake had dropped to 89.16 percent due to the deal, in a written statement late on Nov. 12. 

“With global economic prospects repeatedly marked down over the last five years, there is a concrete risk of a world economy persistently mired in sub-par growth, with unacceptably high levels of poverty and unemployment,” the IMF points out in a report before the G-20 leaders’ summit which will take place in Turkey on Sunday.

Exports and absorption of European Union (EU) funds will support moderate economic growth in Bulgaria this year, broadly in line with last year's level of 1.7%, the IMF has said.