Qatar pledged $15 billion (Dh55.09 billion) of investment in Turkey that will be channeled into Turkish financial markets and banks, a government source told Reuters yesterday. The investment package was announced after Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani met President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, as Turkey grapples with a collapse in the lira and tensions with Natoally the United States. The currency has lost nearly 40 percent against the dollar this year, driven by worries over Erdogan’s growing influence on the economy and his repeated calls for lower interest rates despite high inflation.
Following the announcement, the lira firmed briefly to 5.8699 from 6.04 to the dollar, but later eased back to 6.0200.
The Turkish lira had rebounded some 6 percent on Wednesday after the central bank squeezed lira liquidity in the market, effectively pushing up rates and supporting the currency.
