Turkey

(i) No amount/estimate: 17 March 2020, In addition to one-week repo auctions, the main policy instrument, the Central Bank of Turkey (CBRT) may inject liquidity to the market through repo auctions with maturities up to 91 days with an interest rate 150 basis points lower than the one-week repo rate, i.e. the CBRT’s policy rate, and with quantity auction method; (ii) No amount/estimate: To further support the Primary Dealership system considering its contributions to the deepening of financial markets and to the effectiveness of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, the facility offered to Primary Dealer (PD) banks to sell GDDS to the CBRT has been revised. Accordingly the CBRT has decided that: (a) The limits offered to PD banks for outright sales of GDDS to the CBRT will be applied independent of the repo transaction limits and that PD banks will be offered a GDDS selling limit that is equal to the repo transaction limits, (b) The related purchases will also be carried out within the total maximum limit of 10% set for the OMO portfolio, (c) The GDDS to be purchased and the amount of purchases will be determined by the CBRT, and (d) Purchases will be conducted via the quantity auction method; (iii) 31 March 2020, To facilitate goods and services exporting firms’ access to finance and support sustainability of employment, Turkish lira-denominated rediscount credits for export and foreign exchange earning services will be extended. A total limit of TRY60 billion has been defined for the credits. Of this limit, TRY20 billion has been allocated for credit utilization via Türk Eximbank, TRY30 billion for credit utilization via public banks, and TRY10 billion for credit utilization via other banks. The credits will have a maximum maturity of 360 days. 5 June 2020, CBRT decided to reallocate TRY20 billion out of the TRY60 billion as advanced loans against investment commitment (see Measure 3A).

5 June 2020, CBRT has decided to reallocate TRY20 billion out of the TRY60 billion limit of Turkish lira rediscount credit facility (see Measure 1A) as advance loans against investment commitment for more effective utilization in order to support investments in selected sectors that are critical to our country. Advance loans against investment commitment will be extended through development and investment banks to firms that hold Investment Incentive Certificates and that will make investment in selected sectors. Loans will have maximum maturity of 10 years.

(i) No amount/estimate: 22 December 2020, The VAT rate in the import and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines approved by the Ministry of Health has been reduced to 1% until 31 December 2021; (ii) 11 January 2021, The government announced that mass vaccination would begin on 15 January 2021. 24 July 2021, Turkey has administered more than 65 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched a mass vaccination campaign in January 2021. 11 August 2021, The number of doses administered in the country against COVID-19 exceeded 80 million; 42.8 million people had their first doses in the vaccination program while another 31 million now had both their doses. 16 August 2021, Children aged 15 and above, and children aged 12 and older with chronic illnesses would now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. 25 August 2021, Turkey has administered more than 90.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Over 46.64 million people have received a first dose, while more than 35.67 million are fully vaccinated. Turkey has also given third booster shots to over 7.92 million people. 21 September 2021, Some 52.8 million people have gotten their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 42.3 million are fully vaccinated; over 85.1% of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine. 5 October 2021, The number of jabs administered has surpassed 110 million doses. 31 October 2021, Over 116 million COVID-19 vaccine shots administered in Turkey [update]. 2 November 2021, 72.4% of citizens aged 18 and above in Istanbul have been vaccinated with two vaccine doses [update].

20 May 2020, The Central Bank of Turkey tripled its currency swap agreement with Qatar from the original limit of USD5 billion to USD15 billion equivalent of Turkish lira and Qatari riyal.The core objectives of the agreement are to facilitate bilateral trade in respective local currencies and to support financial stability of the two countries.

(i) All travellers entering Turkey from virus-affected countries are taken under quarantine for 14 days, irrespective of nationality. Returning pilgrims will be kept under quarantine for one additional week. As of 4 April 2020, 15,756 persons were under quarantine in 78 converted student dormitories; (ii) Air traffic is stopped with all countries. Land borders with Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia are closed. Public employees’ travels to foreign countries are subject to prior approval by their superiors; (iii) Turkish citizens are advised to postpone their travel plans abroad. Public transportation vehicles are required to accept 50% of their capacity to allow social distancing; (iv) On 28 March 2020, additional measures were announced: intercity travel was prohibited, subject only to individual permissions by state governors; Turkish Airlines suspended its domestic and international flights. Starting from 4 April 2020 all domestic flights are suspended until 28 April; suspension extended until 28 May; (v) Grocery stores and supermarkets' opening hours are restricted, with a maximum of one customer for every 10 square metres of space; (vi) Turkey is starting to reduce coronavirus containment measures, lifting inter-city travel restrictions in seven provinces; (vii) 28 May 2020, intercity train services resume after a two-month gap; (viii) 1 June 2020, Travel bans between regions are waived and domestic flights restart; (ix) 4 June 2020, The country plans to resume flights in 40 countries within the month; (x) 28 June 2021, Turkey has halted flights and all direct travel from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka due to new variants of the coronavirus; (xi) 22 August 2021, the PCR test requirement for intercity trips by planes, buses, trains or other public transportation vehicles, excluding private vehicles, by those who are not vaccinated would come into force on 6 September 2021.