standing committee for economic and commercial ......mr. eker also informed the participants that...

PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1ST MEETING OF THE COMCEC FINANCIAL COOPERATION WORKING GROUP

“Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region”

(December 12th, 2013, Ankara, Turkey)

COMCEC Coordination Office

January 2014

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE 1ST MEETING OF THE COMCEC FINANCIAL COOPERATION

WORKING GROUP

ON


(December 12th, 2013, Ankara, Turkey)


January 2014

Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)

For further information please contact: Mr. Fırat YILMAZ Expert Mr. Okan POLAT Expert COMCEC Coordination Office Necatibey Caddesi No: 110/A 06100 Yücetepe Ankara/TURKEY Phone : 90 312 294 57 10 Fax : 90 312 294 57 77 Web : www.comcec.org e-mail : [email protected] [email protected]

http://www.comcec.org/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1

1. Opening Session................................................................................................................ 2

2. The COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial Cooperation ............................................. 3

3. The COMCEC Financial Outlook ......................................................................................... 4

4. Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region ................................................................. 5

4.1. A Brief Global Outlook on Capital Flows and the Factors that will Affect Capital Flows to Emerging Markets .......................................................................................................................... 5

4.2. The State of Play of Capital Flows in the COMCEC Countries: The Barriers and Opportunities ................................................................................................................................. 6

5. Member State Presentations ............................................................................................. 8

5.1. The Gambia ........................................................................................................................ 8

5.2. Mauritania ........................................................................................................................ 10

5.3. Tunisia .............................................................................................................................. 10

5.4. Turkey ............................................................................................................................... 12

5.5. Yemen ............................................................................................................................... 13

5.6. Cameroon ......................................................................................................................... 14

5.7. Sudan ................................................................................................................................ 15

6. International Institutions’ Experiences ............................................................................ 15

6.1. Global Capital Flows Trends ............................................................................................. 15

6.2. Global Capital Flows from Mature Markets to Emerging Markets .................................. 16

7. Closing Remarks .............................................................................................................. 18

Annex 1: Agenda of the Meeting ............................................................................................. 19

Annex 2: Program of the Meeting ........................................................................................... 20

Annex 3: List of Participants.................................................................................................... 23

Proceedings of the 1stMeeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group

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Introduction

The 1st Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group was held on December 12th, 2013 in Ankara, Turkey with the theme of “Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region”.

The Meeting was attended by the representatives of 14 Member States, which have notified their focal points for the Financial Cooperation Working Group namely, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Oman, Senegal, Sudan, The Gambia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Yemen. Representatives of the COMCEC Coordination Office, SESRIC, Secretariat of the OIC Member States' Stock Exchanges Forum, Secretariat of the COMCEC Capital Markets Regulators Forum, representatives from “Institute of International Finance” and World Bank Ankara Office have also attended the Meeting1.

After the opening speeches of Mr. Mehmet Metin EKER, the Director General of the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO), and Mr. Ali ARSLAN Director General, Undersecretariat of Treasury of Turkey and the Chairman of the Meeting, the representatives of the CCO made presentations on “the COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial Cooperation” and “the COMCEC Financial Outlook 2013”.

The presentation on the COMCEC Strategy highlighted that Financial Cooperation is defined as one of the six cooperation areas of the COMCEC. It was stated that for the realization of its objectives and expected outcomes in its finance section, the Strategy envisages the establishment of COMCEC Finance Working Group which will provide a regular platform for the experts from Member Countries to discuss common issues in finance sector and share their knowledge and experiences, disseminate knowledge, develop a common understanding and approximate finance policies among the Member States.

During the presentation on the COMCEC Financial Outlook 2013, the participants were informed about the recent financial developments in the global financial system and the financial outlook of the COMCEC Region. In this presentation, the COMCEC Region was analyzed in terms of four aspects which are financial depth, financial access, financial efficiency and financial stability.

The Meeting considered the theme of enhancing capital flows among the COMCEC Member States and the analytical study on “Barriers and Opportunities for Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Member Countries” commissioned by the COMCEC Coordination Office specifically for the Meeting with a view to enriching the discussions.

The Representatives of the Member States have shared their experiences, achievements and challenges in enhancing capital flows in the COMCEC Region in their respective countries. The experienced experts from the International Institutions have also shared their perspectives on the global capital flows trends with the participants.

1The list of participants is attached as Annex 3.


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1. Opening Session

In line with the tradition of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Meeting started with the recitation from the Holy Quran. At the outset, Mr. M. Metin EKER, Director General of the COMCEC Coordination Office briefed the participants on the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) which was established for enhancing economic and commercial cooperation among the 57 Member States and the COMCEC Working Group Mechanism envisaged by the COMCEC Strategy. Mr. EKER informed the participants that the COMCEC meets annually, usually in autumn, at ministerial level under the chairmanship of the Turkish President in Istanbul to discuss the common development challenges and to review the cooperation efforts. He also pointed out that the Follow-up Committee of the COMCEC convenes annually, usually in May, in the Republic of Turkey to evaluate the preparations of the Ministerial Meeting.

In his statement, Mr. EKER informed the participants regarding the new vision document, namely the COMCEC Strategy, which was adopted by the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Summit Conference, held in 2012, in order to give new impetus and to add new dimensions to the ongoing cooperation among the Member States. The mission of the COMCEC was defined to make this organization as a platform where the Member States will produce knowledge, share experiences and try to approximate policies in accordance with the common objectives defined in the Strategy. He stated that in order to fulfill its Mission, the Strategy brought some instruments in order to further the cooperation efforts under the COMCEC. Mr. EKER pointed out that one of those instruments is the Working Group mechanism, which was established in six cooperation areas, namely financial cooperation, trade, transport and communications, tourism, poverty alleviation and agriculture. The Working Group Meetings would be held twice a year in Ankara in each cooperation area defined by the Strategy. Mr. EKER argued that the WGs aims at bringing together experts of the member countries having necessary knowledge and expertise to regularly discuss the common issues of the member countries at the relevant field to produce knowledge, share experience and best practices and develop a common understanding.

Mr. EKER highlighted that the second operational instrument initiated by the COMCEC Strategy is the Project Cycle Management (PCM) which enables the Member States to propose multilateral projects in the cooperation areas defined by the Strategy. Mr. EKER also informed the participants that the first project call within the PCM was made in September 2013. The projects were evaluated and shortlisted by the CCO. 23 member countries and 3 OIC institutions submitted 98 projects to the CCO under the PCM. Mr. EKER underlined that the main objective of the PCM is to more actively involve the member states’ human resources and institutional expertise in the cooperation efforts under COMCEC.

In accordance with the traditions of the OIC, as Head of Delegation of the host country, Mr. Ali ARSLAN, General Director, Undersecretariat of Treasury of Turkey was elected as the Chairman of the Meeting.

Mr. ARSLAN welcomed the all participants to the 1st Meeting of the Financial Cooperation Working Group and expressed his thanks to them for electing him as the Chairman. He emphasized the importance of finance for the economic and social development in the world and as well as in the COMCEC Countries. He underlined that the COMCEC Member Countries have a


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high cooperation potential in various sectors including financial cooperation. He also highlighted that the Working Group meetings are important steps for realizing this potential. Mr. ARSLAN introduced the programme of the Meeting and opened the working session of the Meeting.

2. The COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial Cooperation

Ms. Aylin ŞENOL GÜN, Expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office made a presentation on the COMCEC Strategy particularly focusing on its financial cooperation section.

In her presentation, Ms. GÜN first provided general information about the COMCEC. Secondly, she briefed the participants on the COMCEC Strategy, its background, mission and vision, principles as well as cooperation areas. Thirdly, she highlighted the main challenges faced by the Member Countries in the area of finance and demonstrated how the Strategy would address these challenges. Lastly, she mentioned the implementation mechanism introduced by the COMCEC Strategy.

Ms. GÜN informed the participants that the COMCEC Strategy has been built on three principles namely Enhancing Mobility, Strengthening Solidarity and Improving Governance. These principles addressed the core and persistent challenges of the Islamic World and guided the COMCEC efforts in six cooperation areas defined by the COMCEC Strategy.

Ms. GÜN also highlighted the importance of financial cooperation and stated that it facilitates cheaper and more efficiently allocated capital, better risk management and research opportunities, more sophisticated funding options, and better investment decisions. She pointed out the following challenges mainly affecting the performance of finance sector and financial cooperation in the COMCEC region:

• Lack of sound financial institutions, • Huge diversity in financial sector development across the COMCEC Region, • Small size of financial markets, • Lack of differentiated products, • Lack of reliable data.

Afterwards, Ms. GÜN stated that the COMCEC Strategy aims to address these challenges through its guiding principles, strategic objectives as well as output areas. It was expressed that the Strategic Objective defined by the COMCEC Strategy in its finance section is “Deepening financial cooperation among the member countries.” Ms. GÜN argued that with a view to achieving this Strategic Objective, Strategy envisages four output areas namely, Regulatory and Supervisory Cooperation, Capital Flows, Visibility of Financial Markets and Training, R&D Activities and Statistics.

Lastly, Ms. GÜN informed the participants on the new instruments introduced by the COMCEC Strategy to achieve the strategic objective of the Strategy regarding the financial cooperation. She stated that as one of the instruments, Finance Working Group Meetings would be held twice a year in Ankara with the participation of relevant experts from the voluntary Member Countries with a view to producing and disseminating knowledge, sharing experience and good practices,


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creating a common understanding and approximating policies among the member countries. She also mentioned that the Member Countries having registered to the Finance Working Group can propose multilateral cooperation projects in the field of financial cooperation under the new Project Cycle Management (PCM) mechanism which is the second instrument envisaged by the Strategy.

3. The COMCEC Financial Outlook

Mr. Fırat YILMAZ, Expert from the COMCEC Coordination Office, presented the key findings of the COMCEC Financial Outlook 2013.

In his presentation, Mr. YILMAZ focused on the recent financial developments in the global financial system and financial outlook of the COMCEC Region.

Mr. YILMAZ stated that the global economy has continued to cope with the consequences of the financial crisis and a new financial architecture has been built to achieve greater financial stability since the global financial crisis. He mentioned that non-stop quantitative easing, buoyancy in the United States’ economic market prospects and persistent low yields have been three main reasons which have increased the asset prices until May 2013. He argued that after May 2013, the global financial situation started to move to a different environment, the FED gave a signal of tapering asset purchase program in line with the improvements in the United States economy. He informed the participants that emerging markets encountered serious capital outflows for the first time since the beginning of the global crisis in 2008, accompanied with a sluggish growth.

Regarding the financial outlook of the COMCEC region, Mr. YILMAZ stated that, in the Outlook, the Member States were grouped according to their income levels and analyzed accordingly. According to this categorization, 19 countries were in OIC-Low Income Group (OIC-LIG); 15 were in OIC Lower Middle Income Group (OIC-LMIG); 16 were in OIC-Upper Middle Income Group (OIC-UMIG), and 7 were in OIC-High Income Group (OIC-HIGH). He pointed out that in the Outlook, the Member Countries were examined in four fields, namely financial depth, financial access, financial efficiency and financial stability. Mr. Yılmaz shared some figures to demonstrate the state of financial institutions and markets of the OIC Member States.

With respect to financial depth indicators, it was explained that the performance of the financial institutions of the OIC-LIG lagged significantly behind other OIC group countries. It was discussed that the banking sector of OIC-LIG countries do not have enough resources to support channeling savings to investment. He pointed out that the financial institutions of OIC-UMIG and OIC-HIGH countries operate in a deeper financial market compared to OIC-LIG and OIC-LMIG. It was also expressed that their security markets and banking sectors have been comparatively well developed compared to World average and the OIC-average.

Regarding the financial access, Mr. YILMAZ stated that concerning the access to basic financial services the OIC average is significantly lower than the World average. Mr. YILMAZ stated that the OIC-LIG and OIC-LMIG countries have lowest number of bank accounts compared to other groups. However Mr. YILMAZ underscored that there have been a remarkable progress for these two groups. It was also stated that more people were included in the financial system in these groups.


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In terms of efficiency of the financial institutions, Mr. YILMAZ stated that several OIC countries outperformed in the security markets and had higher volumes in the stock market as a result of more efficient financial markets. On the other hand, he discussed that some OIC countries especially in OIC-LIG and OIC-LMIG countries have limited liquidity in their financial markets which makes their markets inefficient. He also mentioned that net interest margin (NIM) rates are relatively high for less developed countries to attract more funds compared to more developed countries. It was noted that Higher NIM rates means higher intermediation cost and NIM rates in OIC-LIG and OIC-LMIG countries are higher than OIC-UMIG and OIC-HIGH countries.

With respect to the financial stability of financial institutions of the COMCEC Member States, Mr. YILMAZ informed the participants OIC-LIG countries are more likely to face problems of a default in the banking system according to analyzed Z-score values (probability of default of a country's banking system). Furthermore, he argued that the COMCEC low and middle income groups have higher NPL (Non-Performing Loans) rates than high income countries, hence, their probability to have insolvency in the banking sector is higher. Finally, Mr. YILMAZ stated that there is a room for the improvement in the above-mentioned categories to enhance financial development in the COMCEC Member States.

4. Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region

4.1. A Brief Global Outlook on Capital Flows and the Factors that will Affect Capital Flows to Emerging Markets

Mr. John Bowler, the Director of Country Risk Service from the Economist Intelligence Unit made a presentation titled “A Brief Global Outlook on Capital Flows and the Factors that will Affect Capital Flows to Emerging Markets”.

At the outset, Mr. BOWLER informed the participants on the forecasts for the global economy which is estimated to grow by 3.6% in 2014, the best showing since 2011. According to Mr. BOWLER, if the 2014 forecasts for the US, the euro zone and Japan hold, these three economies will experience their first positive growth together since the 2010 bounce-back from the recession. This will push overall GDP growth among the OECD economies to 2.2% in 2014, a full percentage higher than this year. Mr. BOWLER also pointed out that China has also performed better of late, with growth climbing to 7.8% year on year in the third quarter from 7.5% a quarter earlier. According to him, although global growth in 2014 will be well below the peak of 5.2% in 2007, the new year will be an important step in the recovery from the recession and the other shocks that have stunted global growth in recent years.

Mr. BOWLER also pointed out that the flight from emerging-market assets in mid-2013 gave a foretaste of what the start of the end of the era of easy money may mean for emerging markets and other risky asset classes. The Fed has announced that it will reduce its quantitative easing programme by USD10 billion a month from January. In order to mitigate the impact of a tightening of US monetary policy the Fed has stressed its intention to keep policy rates exceptionally low until at least 2015.


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According to Mr. BOWLER, a gradualist approach might avert the severe stress in financial markets experienced in past cycles of rapid tightening, such as 1994. According to him, even so, a period of risk aversion is likely in which emerging markets will suffer further capital outflows. This could force some emerging-market central banks into procyclical monetary tightening in an attempt to support their currencies and maintain investor confidence. He also claimed that at worst, it could lead to funding problems in emerging markets with large external financing requirements like India. While some emerging markets would be exposed, generally they have stronger external balance sheets than in the past (record levels of foreign-exchange reserves, more developed local currency funding markets and manageable levels of external debt). Finally, Mr. BOWLER expressed that this will provide a degree of protection against liquidity pressures. Beyond the short term, emerging markets should attract an increasing share of global capital flows, reflecting their superior growth prospects.

4.2. The State of Play of Capital Flows in the COMCEC Countries: The Barriers and Opportunities

In her presentation Ms. Vanessa FOO, Senior Analyst in the Economist Intelligence Unit, informed that the study titled “Barriers and Opportunities For Enhancing Capital Flows In the COMCEC Member Countries” assessed the barriers and opportunities to enhancing capital flows in COMCEC countries by grouping the countries into the four World Bank income groups, given the limited timeframe and resource constraints of the study. These groups were as follows:

• Low income group • Lower-middle income group • Upper-middle income group • High income group

Although, it was noted that analyzing countries by income group was not necessarily the most insightful way in which to assess the challenges and opportunities they had in terms of enhancing capital flows, Vanessa Foo pointed out that there are some common characteristics between various countries within each group that are worth highlighting.

She further mentioned that in the low-income group, many of the countries are both sub-Saharan countries and fragile states. These countries remain largely dependent on overseas development assistance (ODA) and are only able to attract small amounts of foreign direct investment (FDI). Low levels of infrastructure, weak governance and political instability characterize several of these countries. Those with abundant natural resources are more able to attract FDI, but those countries with greater absorptive capacity and more effective policy implementation are best able to make most use of the FDI.

Ms. FOO emphasized that for countries within the lower-middle income and upper-middle income groups, there are a number of challenges which are shared. She illustrated that equity markets remain underdeveloped, technical capacity to develop and implement financial reforms is often limited and political transition and the associated uncertainty weaken investor confidence. She expressed that countries such as Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Algeria and Lebanon are all considered to be either going through political transition directly or experiencing the ‘spillover’


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effects of transition. Some countries have strong and established banking systems which are highly liquid and able to provide capital to businesses, who remain largely suspicious of using the stock-market as means of raising capital and view transparency with disdain.

High income countries in the COMCEC membership are all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with the exception of Brunei Darussalam. She pointed out that they are all wealthy oil-exporting countries with well-regarded financial policies and judicial systems, and have put a raft of measures in place to attract capital flows, such as free trade zones, which remove limits on foreign ownership and on repatriation of profits, as well as providing fiscal incentives. It was noted that countries within this group also have significant capital outflows.

In her presentation Ms. FOO pointed out that although countries all can face similar challenges regardless of their income group, how they sequence their reforms is also extremely important and crucial for ensuring the capital flows in a safe and sustainable manner. She discussed that those countries having implemented key structural reforms, addressed governance and corruption and minimized the intervention of the state in restricting capital movement are those which are more likely to benefit from inward investment and able to then focus on a different set of challenges.

Ms. FOO expressed that opportunities for enhancing capital flows differ across the COMCEC Region but include bond issuance, developing mega projects to attract FDI and taking advantage of a demographic dividend and large, young population. Furthermore, building the capacity to enhance financial reforms and applying national treatment are also useful ways to improve investor confidence.

Before concluding her presentation she underlined the ways in which countries can enhance capital flows in a safe and sustainable manner, respecting the lessons learned in other countries and the guidance given by the IMF in terms of capital account liberalization. Vanessa Foo pointed out some broad examples in the presentation:

- Changing general investor perception of risk and business environment e.g. roadshows, information dissemination,

- Developing and implementing guidelines and regulations relating to financial markets such as through international reporting standards, auditing,

- Improving efficiency and depth of the capital market e.g. through updating trading technology and providing incentives for listing,

- Improving the business environment through policies to enhance political effectiveness e.g. through one-stop shops and online functionality,

- Identifying and eliminating policy barriers relating to mobility and treatment of foreign capital flows e.g. through opening up more to foreign ownership and relaxing capital controls prudently,

- Introducing investor-friendly fiscal measures such as the creation of free trade zones and provision of tax benefits.


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Question(s) & Comment(s): Yemen: Business culture is important to increase capital flows. In this connection, is the business culture same in every COMCEC Country?

Vanessa: There is a business culture relatively in most of the COMCEC Member Countries. However, it is hard to say there is a common and well-functioning business culture. In this framework, it can be argued that there is a very weak business culture with low transparency and market capitalization.

Yemen: In the report, the COMCEC Countries are classified in line with the World Bank’s Classification; Low income group, Lower-middle income group, Upper-middle income group and High income group. Is this classification convenient for the COMCEC Countries?

Vanessa: I agree it is useful to have another classification. It is useful to have countries in same grouping having similar characteristics. Classification is needed to be more based on political transition, fragile state, etc. For instance, Mozambique is classified in low income group but it is very good in attracting capital inflows than fragile states that belong to low income group.

Question: How we can convince investors to invest in our countries?

Vanessa: Joint investment is an effective way of attracting capital inflows. However, these investments should be in responsible ways.

Turkey: Capital inflows have both benefits and risks. In this regard, liberalization should be well planned and implemented within a time table. Furthermore, even if a country protects its local industry/sector, it should consider the level of productivity. If protectionism results in a positive way, this policy should be implemented. Otherwise, these kinds of policies should be abandoned.

5. Member State Presentations

5.1. The Gambia

Mr. Bai Madi CEESAY from Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia made a presentation regarding the general economic overview of The Gambia. He firstly gave an outline of his presentation which included 8 sections namely; Overview of The Gambia, Macroeconomic Indicators, Facts about the Gambian Economy, Investment Promotion, Capital Flows in The Gambia, Private capital Flows in The Gambia, Capital Flows Policies and Conclusion.

At the outset Mr. CEESAY gave general information about The Gambia and presented some macroeconomic indicator of the Gambian Economy.

He also informed the participants about the sectorial distribution of GDP in The Gambia; 58% services, 35% agriculture and 7% industry. Mr. CEESAY expressed that services sectors include financial services tourism and telecommunication. He also mentioned that re-export, trade and


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tourism as well as transport and telecommunication are the major drivers of growth in the Gambian Economy.

In his presentation, Mr. CEESAY informed that the private sector widely participates in economic activity in The Gambia. It was noted that financial sector has been stable since Gambian Banks have not been effected significantly from financial crises in Europe. Mr. CEESAY also stated that the Gambian Government has made significant reforms in the fields of fiscal, financial and economic areas. These reforms have provided macroeconomic stability and the necessary investments required for growth and development in the country.

Mr. CEESAY expressed that Gambian Government adopted a liberal, open economic environment and free-market pricing, with a firm commitment to private sector participation in all sectors of the economy. According to Mr. CEESAY Presentation, the most important step in promoting the investment was the restructuring and transformation of The Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zones Agency (GIPFZA, 2002) to the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA) in July 2010. GIEPA was mandated with export promotion and support for small and micro enterprise (SME) development.

Mr. CEESAY continued his presentation by giving brief information about the capital flows in The Gambia. He stated that as a signatory to Article 8 of the International Monetary Fund, The Gambia operates a fully liberalized capital account. He also give some information about the laws regulating capital flows, other laws and regulations that impact on businesses in The Gambia and Institutions overseeing capital flows.

Mr. CEESAY argued that collecting data in The Gambia is a major problem like most of the African Countries. He stated that capital flows remained generally at low levels. During the period of 2006-2008 the capital flows had experienced a significant increase due to FDIs in the field of telecommunication from neighborhood countries (Senegal, Sierra Leone) and FDI in the field of Banking sector especially from Nigeria. After 2008, along with the global financial crisis, there had been a decline in capital flows..

Mr. CEESAY concluded his presentation with providing information about the following opportunities and the obstacles regarding the capital flows in the Gambian Economy.

Opportunities :

• Tax Holiday • Tariff and Sales Tax Incentives • Export Promotion Incentives • Zone Investor Incentives • SME Support • Competitive Labor Costs • Business Friendly Environment • Market Access

Obstacles:

• Lack of natural resources • Small size of markets • Rudimentary financial infrastructure


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5.2. Mauritania

Mr. Fadel El AOUNE from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development of Mauritania made a presentation regarding Mauritania’s legal framework on investments. He gave an outline of his presentation consisting of four sections namely; General introduction about Mauritania, Business Climate in Mauritania, Investments Opportunities and Investments Code.

Mr. AOUNE firstly shared some demographic, geographical and economical information on his country. After the brief, he continued by sharing key information on Mauritania’s legal framework. He mentioned about the some developments in legal framework which includes reorganization of judicial system, new revised system of methods of payments, establishment of an international center for mediation, reorganization of commerce register.

Moreover, Mr. AOUNE pointed out in order to provide liquidity to local projects and reform of the Code of public procurement the Deposit and Development Fund was established. Mr. AOUNE also highlighted following reforms have been made in supporting the private sector:

• Regulations in laws of micro-finance institutions • Regulations in laws concerning credit establishment • Improvement in Financial Transparency • Reinforcement in the banking supervision • A well functioned market exchange • Modernization of payments methods • War against money laundering and terrorism funds • A new revised monetary policy • The opening of banking sector to the foreign competition

Mr. AOUNE also argued that due to successful implementation of these reforms, many foreign banks have invested in to the Mauritanian Economy. Mr. AOUNE also mentioned that Mauritania have taken several policies to support private investments such as establishing a national strategy to promote technical and Professional training, to create a positive environment that gives priority for the development of the private sector and to improve/maintain growth of the private sector.

By saying so, Mr. AOUNE highlighted some important areas to invest in his country such as breeding, agriculture, fishery, tourism, energy and mining and provide detailed information on each of them.

Mr. AOUNE concluded his presentation by sharing information on the Promulgation of the law 052 of July 30th, 2012 which was adopted to attract new investments. He stated that basic characteristics of this law are; to introduce an uniform approach to all sectors and to local and foreign investors to guarantee the availability of foreign exchange, transfer of capitals and earnings.

5.3. Tunisia

Ms. Sonia ZOGHLAMI from Ministry of Finance of Tunisia made a presentation regarding Tunisia’s experience in enhancing capital flows. She firstly gave an outline of her presentation consisting of


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three sections namely; gradual approach for financial liberalization, the development of the financial system as a prerequisite to the success of the liberalization of the capital account and banking sector and financial market.

Ms. ZOGHLAMI explained that gradual approach adopted by the Tunisian authorities for financial liberalization enables foreign investors to take part in listed or unlisted companies in the stock exchange market. It may stressed that on occasions where foreign investors aim to acquire voting rights or majority shares (50% or above of the shares) of companies established in Tunisia, approval of the Superior Investment Commission is required.

From receiving credits perspective, Ms. ZOGHLAMI stated that resident companies may receive credits from non-residents in foreign currency up to 10 million dinars (per calendar year) from credit institutions such as banks and financial institutions and 3 million dinars from other companies. She added that for a period of more than 12 months, these loans could be borrowed without any limitation from the credit institutions and within a limit of 10 million dinars from other companies. However, she expressed that the lending institutions must be subdued to a prior voluntary assessment of a rating agency, or listed on the stock exchange market.

Ms. ZOGHLAMI informed participants regarding Tunisian law on investments in the banking sector as well. She told that the law on credit institutions states that the Ministry of Finance’s approval on the basis of report of the Central Bank of Tunisia is required for "any acquisition, directly or indirectly, by one or more persons of capital shares in a credit institutions likely to cause the control and in any case any operation which lead to the acquisition of the tenth, one fifth, one third, half or two-thirds of voting rights". She said that there is no discrimination between domestic and foreign investors for assessing the quality and skills of the investors.

Ms. ZOGHLAMI also expressed that Tunisia has adopted OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational companies in 2012 with the objective of improving the climate for foreign investment, providing the conditions to support the contribution of multinational companies in the economic and social development and finally reducing barriers related to investment. She highlighted that Tunisia put Amendment of the Commercial Companies Code in action in 2009 which requires greater corporate disclosure, ensures the protection of fundamental rights of shareholders and allows minority investors to request in court the rescission of prejudicial related party transactions. She argued that due to all successful efforts Tunisia’s rank on World Bank’s Doing Business Indicator rankings has increased from 58th to 51st from 2009 to 2013.

Furthermore, Ms. ZOGHLAMI argued that a challenge in attracting capital is to provide a favorable macroeconomic condition including a stable macroeconomic framework with a sound financial system in order to sustain capital movements. She highlighted the following challenges on the development of the financial system: the fragmentation of the banking sector, small size of Tunisian banks, high level of non-performing loan and need for consolidation of bank governance. Ms. ZOGHLAMI briefed the participants that a restructuring of state owned banks in fact is in progress where three large commercial banks (Sociétetunisienne de Banque, BanqueNationaleAgricole, Banque de l’Habitat) have been audited by independent international experts through full, diagnosis and strategic audit methods. She explained that audit began in July 2013 and expected to be completed in February 2014.


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5.4. Turkey

Mr. M. Alper BATUR, Head of Department at the General Directorate of Financial Sector Relations and Exchange in the Undersecretariat of Treasury, made a presentation on the capital flows experience of Turkey. His presentation covered i) the period between capital account liberalization and crisis in 1994 and 2001, ii) transformation era and iii) reform agenda.

At the beginning of his presentation, Mr. BATUR gave brief information about the capital account liberalization of Turkey which started in 1989 after the amendment of the Decree No. 32 about the Protection of the Value of the Turkish Currency. He stated that Turkish economy had several problems such as huge budget deficit, fiscal dominance that leads to ineffective monetary policies, weak financial system, shallow bond market, real exchange rate misalignment.

At the second part of the presentation, Mr. BATUR mentioned that after the 2001 crisis, Turkey passed through a comprehensive transformation period. He pointed out the key policy areas for successful transformation as the following:

• Strong Fiscal Framework • Strong Monetary Framework • Strong Financial System • Increasing Role of Private Sector • Improving Investment and Business Environment • Improving Social Inclusion

Afterwards, Mr. BATUR touched upon the following indicators of the Turkish economy through comparing the year 2002 with 2012.

• Inflation rate decreased from 29.8% to 6.2% • GDP per capita increased from USD3,492 to USD10,504 • Exports increased from USD36.1 billion to USD152.5 billion • Foreign direct investment increased from USD1.1 billion to USD13 billion • EU defined general government gross debt stock decreased from 74% of GDP to 36.2% • Central government budget deficit decreased from 11.5% of GDP to 2.1%

Mr. BATUR also briefly informed the participants about capital flows to Turkey in terms of maturity between 2002 and 2012. He stated that Turkish economy showed a great performance in this period with respect to sustainability of capital flows, despite the remarkable increase in short-term capital flows after the 2008 financial crisis. While there was predominantly long-term capital flows to Turkey before the financial crisis, this situation was reversed after the crises for a short period. Mr. BATUR emphasized that Turkey still is attractive for foreign investors through its strong and sound economy and well-structured and regulated financial system.

Furthermore, Mr. BATUR shared policy lessons from Turkey’s experience for capital account liberalization. He briefly summarized these lessons as the following:

• A strong and well capitalized banking system should be enhanced • No fiscal dominance • A well regulated capital markets so as to reduce the volatility created by capital flows


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• Introducing rules and regulations that encourage long term investments and FDI

In the third part of his presentation, Mr. BATUR mentioned macro-prudential policies and structural reforms that are still being implemented in Turkey. He stated that with a well-designed policy mix including monetary and macro-prudential policies, Turkey increased FX reserves such USD113.4 billion where FX volatility is at low level in comparison with other emerging economies such as BRIC countries, South Africa and Indonesia.

Mr. BATUR also mentioned some structural reforms that were put into effect in 2012 and 2013, which are New Commercial Code, Code of Obligations, Code of Civil Procedure, Capital Markets Law, Borsa Istanbul, New Law on Non-Bank Financial Institutions (Leasing, Factoring and Consumer Financing Companies), New Private Pension System (with direct state contribution), Incentive System for Angel Investors and Venture Capital, Education and Judicial Reforms.

Moreover, Mr. BATUR briefly summarized Structural Transformation Programs in 10th Development Plan of Turkey. According to the Plan, Turkey determined new targets such as Increasing Domestic Savings, Energy Production Based on Domestic Sources, Improving Energy Efficiency, Supporting commercialization of R&D and Innovation, Improving Business and Investment Environment, Reducing Informal Economy, Enhancing the efficiency of Labor Market Policies, Improving Basic and Professional Skills, Rationalizing Public Expenditures, Increasing Quality of Public Revenues, making Istanbul an International Finance Center.

At the end of the presentation, Mr. BATUR addressed the importance of cooperation and coordination among policy makers to implement macro-economic policies efficiently. For this purpose, Economy Coordination Board and Financial Stability Committee played an effective role in fostering cooperation and coordination among economic and financial institutions in Turkey.

5.5. Yemen

Mr. Adel AL ASTHAL, General Manager in General Investment Authority of Yemen, made a presentation regarding capital inflows and investment climate in Yemen. He firstly gave an outline of his presentation consisting of five sections namely; Yemen’s competitive advantages, investment law guarantees, benefits and exemptions, the general investment authority, capital flows into Yemen and investment opportunities in Yemen.

At the outset he briefly informed the participants about Yemen’s geographical features and some economic figures. Mr. AL ASTHAL gave some details regarding Yemen’s competitive advantages:

• The Availability of natural resources such as Oil- Gas- Minerals- Fish and other resources • The strategic location only four Miles from very busy international shipping line • One of the largest market in the region • Long coastal line of 2200 Km • Unexploited 200 islands Law labor cost • Encouraging investment policies • Unexploited many sectors


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Furthermore, He stated that while Yemen has many political and economic obstacles, national currency exchange rate has been stable. He stated that cost of fuel in Yemen is one of the lowest in the region. He also expressed that the role of the private sector in the economy has been growing mainly in steel and cement industries, services sector, telecommunications, transport, health, education and insurance.

He also mentioned about following steps taken to improve investment climate of the country:

• Foreigners are granted the right to establish their own companies without local partners • No minimum capital requirements as perquisites for the companies’ registration • Granting the ownership of Land to Non- Yemenis • Encouraging infrastructure projects such as electricity power plants , water treatment,

recycling, and highways • Standardization of procedures accompanied by facilitation and simplification of

procedures in most governmental agencies

Afterwards, he highlighted some guaranties, benefits and exemptions of investments such as right to 100% ownership for foreign investors, freedom of investors to transfer abroad profits, interests and labor wages, insurance against non-commercial risks and exemption of all taxes and fees. Mr. AL ASTHAL continued his presentation by introducing General Investment Authority of Yemen which is applying One-Stop Shop system and gave information about this system.

He briefed the participants in terms of the capital inflows to Yemen from the COMCEC Member Countries. He expressed that the most capital inflow came from Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also stated that Lebanon, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey are other main investors in Yemen.

He finalized his presentation by giving brief information regarding some investment opportunities in mining, industrial, electric power, water and environment and transportation sectors.

5.6. Cameroon

Mr. Donatus ARONGAGBOR, Inspector of Treasury, Ministry of Finance made a presentation on his countries experience in terms of capital flows. He also argued that the number of Financial and Capital transactions increases worldwide and stakeholders in the sector looking for innovative approaches to enhance the capital flows and a long term strategy to increase private and public investments as well as attract foreign direct investments. He stressed that, there is a need for urgent and solid policy reforms to promote a well-constructed financial management. He also discussed that the development of a solid financial environment is a catalyst for providing an efficient system against corruption and mismanagement of resources.

He emphasized that Cameroon is providing a promoting atmosphere for capital flows. He illustrated that, outstanding credits rose by 8.4% relatively to the first quarter of the year 2013. By august 2013, the monetary situation on the annual variation is characterized by 6.8% increase in net foreign assets, a rise of 14.9% of local credit and 10.2% of monetary or cash stock.


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5.7. Sudan

Mr. Ibrahim Attallah HASSAN, Senior Economist in the Ministry of Finance, briefed the participants on his country’s budgetary situation. Firstly, he mentioned that GDP of Sudan is nearly 60 billion US Dollars and he added that the revenue from agriculture, petroleum, mining and electricity are the main components of the budget of Sudan before the separation. As he expressed, agriculture, service sector and exportation of electricity are major sources of his country’s revenue. Lastly, he voiced that investment climate of Sudan is very favourable, particularly in airport and road infrastructure and water resources. Then, he invited all member countries to make investment in Sudan.

6. International Institutions’ Experiences

6.1. Global Capital Flows Trends

Mr. Jose G. REIS from the World Bank Ankara Office made a presentation titled “Trends in International Capital Flows”. Mr. REIS firstly shared some information regarding overall trends in international capital flows. He stated that despite the negative effects of the recent global crisis, international capital flows have been increasing for the last 10 to 15 years. Mr. REIS expressed that when examining the type of capital flows, equity investments done by parent firms into new or existing affiliated firms abroad constitute a major share. He added that reinvested earnings have also been increasing.

HE also demonstrated that, despite recent declines, the past 13 years have witnessed a steep upward trend of FDI flows into developing economies, which reflects, at least in part, attractive investment opportunities in terms of both new markets and cost considerations, as well as a greater openness to such investment. Mr. REIS told that by examining regional distribution of FDIs, it is seen that East Asian region (followed by Latin America & Caribbean region) is the most important recipient region in the world. He explained that in fact three major countries namely Brazil, China and India together have almost half of the global FDIs between the years 2002 to 2012. On the other hand, Mr. REIS argued that new group of developing economies are also becoming to participate more in the global FDIs.

Mr. REIS highlighted that a recent phenomenon is the increase of outward FDI countries from developing countries. He noted that south to south even south to north FDI flows are being observed. Mr. REIS told that there are several explanations for this phenomenon; most importantly increased level of South-South trade as well as among developing countries. He expressed that investments follow the increased trend in international trade. He argued that increased investment agreements, spread of trade and investment policy reforms and acceleration of mobilization are some of other elements contributing to the increased FDI flows among developing countries.

Furthermore, Mr. REIS expressed that from long term perspective there are several important characteristics exist for capital flows. He argued that structural changes occurred in recent decades: collectively domestic savings of the developing countries was 21% of their GDP in 1970


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whereas it reached 34% in 2010. Likewise, investments rose from 22% in 1970 to 33% in 2012. Mr. REIS informed the participants that two scenarios were built by the World Bank to forecast future trends and potential consequences of the said structural changes. One of the scenarios based upon the assumption of gradual catch-up of income per capita of developing countries to the level of developed countries while second scenario forecasts accelerated catch-up. Mr. REIS stated that results showed that developing countries will play much more important role in terms of capital flows. He argued that by 2030 developing countries will have a share of 60% of the global flows. Mr. REIS mentioned that regional distribution of FDIs will change in future as developing countries will have more share both in inflow and outflow FDIs.

Furthermore, Mr. REIS argued that according to empirical evidences shows levels of capital inflows (FDI, portfolio flows, and bank lending) are associated with:

1. Increasing financial development and openness (measured by domestic credit to the private sector as a percentage of GDP and the index of capital account openness, respectively)

2. Higher GDP growth, a lower dependency ratio.

3. Global monetary conditions.

It was argued that coping with volatility is important to sustain capital inflows. Mr. REIS cited a recent IMF study that identifies two group of countries: more resilient countries to changes in capital flows and less resilient countries to changes in capital flows. He stated the less resilient countries tremendously affected from the global crisis. On the other hand, he expressed both more and less resilient countries affected from the crisis in terms of GDP but negative effects were worse for the less resilient countries. Mr. REIS mentioned about several policy reforms to increase the resilience of countries, which are for attracting capital flows, better financial institutions, flexible exchange rates and sound macro-economic framework.

In final part of his presentation, he highlighted the importance of establishing a favorable investment climate, paying attention to service sector and providing financing for infrastructure through PPPs and other means in order to maintain economic growth.

6.2. Global Capital Flows from Mature Markets to Emerging Markets

Mr. Felix HUEFNER, Deputy Director Global Macroeconomic Analysis at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) presented the latest IIF Capital Flows to Emerging Markets report. At the outset, he described the IIF Capital Flows dataset which covers non-resident capital inflows to the 30 largest Emerging Markets, broken down by category of flow (FDI, Portfolio Equity, Bank lending and other private creditors), with FDI flows constituting the largest share. Overall, flows have seen a rapid increase during the 2000s, driven by flows to Emerging Asia.

The driving forces for this increase can be divided into so-called “push” and “pull” factors. With growth in emerging markets (EM) significantly outpacing growth in mature economies during the 2000s, capital was being “pulled” into EMs. At the same time, monetary policy was very loose in mature economies, notably after the Great Recession of 2008/09, thereby “pushing” capital out of


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the mature economies and into EMs which promised higher returns. Looking at the behavior of capital flows before/after the announcement of quantitative easing measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve since 2009 clearly illustrates this relationship.

Mr. HUEFNER expressed that recently, the driving forces for capital flows have reversed somewhat. Specifically, relative growth dynamics have rotated in 2013 with EMs experiencing a broad-based decline in GDP growth rates while mature economies have seen some strengthening. He also mentioned that the relative attractiveness of investing in EMs has thus deteriorated somewhat, weakening the strength of the “pull” factors. In addition, the recovery of growth prospects in mature economies (led by the U.S.) has led to a gradual re-assessment of monetary policy expectations. Notably, the announcement of the intention of the Federal Reserve to scale back their asset purchase program in the near future raised yields on U.S. Treasuries and thus weakened the “push” factor of capital flows (as the yield differential between mature and emerging economies decreased).

As a result, the latest IIF projections for capital flows to EMs (as noted in its most recent October report) have been reduced and overall flows are seen to be lower in 2013 and 2014, compared to 2012. EM countries are affected to differing extents by these developments. Those EMs which have larger external financing requirements are expected to suffer more from the relative scarcity of capital flows – and accordingly will be forced to tighten policy, thus hampering growth prospects. Also, more challenging funding conditions for domestic financial institutions are adversely affecting bank lending conditions in those countries, thus impacting negatively on growth. By contrast, those EMs which benefit from the growth pick-up in mature economies are projected to experience less difficulties in attracting capital flows.

Looking ahead, Mr. HUEFNER argued that – notwithstanding a more challenging environment in the short-term – the prospects for capital flows to EM remain favorable. For example, even though future EM GDP growth rates may be lower, they will still contribute more than half to global growth, given that the share of EM in global GDP has risen substantially. Also, capital inflows as a share of world GDP only stand at their mid-1990s level, indicating that the current level is not looking excessive. With financial deepening, the role of capital inflows is likely to increase from a structural perspective.

Question(s) & Comment(s):

Representative of Turkish Capital Markets Board as the Secretariat of “the COMCEC Capital Markets Regulators Forum” directed a question to Mr. HUEFNER and Mr. REIS. She firstly stated that Mr. REIS’ presentation argues that the role of emerging economies is increasing on capital flows and capital market activity. She said that it has also been argued in the presentation that capital inflows directly associated with strong financial markets. She said that on the other hand, most of the emerging markets do not have advance capital markets but they have banking sectors that dominates the capital markets. Therefore does this situation create any drawback for emerging economies?

Mr. HUEFNER agreed that most developing countries have different financial market structures but this fact does not pose a barrier for FDI investments. He expressed that countries with relatively smaller capital markets could also attract large volume of FDIs. He also argued that he does not see a strong correlation between the strength of the banking sector and capital markets.


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Mr. REIS discussed that developing countries have different financial market structures but this is not an issue to prevent investment inflows. He argued that diversification, ability to deepen financial markets and ability to generate long term financing options are all critical elements for development of advanced financial markets which eventually attract more FDIs.

Representative of Turkey had the floor to share his observations. He told that due to uncertainties and special characteristics of global financial systems, all countries should have sound financial fundamentals and increase their resilience for the adverse effects of crisis.

Mr. REIS agreed that world is now much more complex which hardens the managing of policy environment. He added that some emerging economies such as Turkey and Brazil come up with creative, experimental monetary policies to address the difficult situation posed by global economy. Mr. REIS expressed that he is very optimistic regarding the future of FDIs.

7. Closing Remarks

The Meeting ended with closing remarks of Mr. Ali ARSLAN, Chairman of the Meeting and Mr. Metin EKER, Director General of the COMCEC Coordination Office. In his remarks, Mr. ARSLAN thanked all the participants for their valuable contributions and the COMCEC Coordination Office for the excellent arrangements made for this Meeting. Mr. ARSLAN summarized what was discussed throughout the Meeting briefly. He highlighted that the presentations of the member countries and international institutions are vitally important for drawing lessons from their experiences for developing sound policies for the future.

Afterwards, Mr. Metin EKER thanked all the participants for their attendance and precious contributions. He informed the participants that the 2nd Meeting of the COMCEC Financial Cooperation Working Group will be held in March 2014 with the theme of “Enhancing Financial Inclusion in the COMCEC Member Countries”. Mr. EKER invited all the participants to the said Meeting. He pointed out that an analytical study on the theme of the Meeting and a Financial Outlook will be prepared for the next Meeting. He underlined that the observations, comments and critiques of the participants on the documents prepared specifically for the Financial Cooperation Working Group Meetings would be mostly welcomed in order to improve their quality.

Mr. EKER also recalled that the first project call was made in September for two months period. He stated that, during this period 98 project proposals have been received. He also stated that the 2nd project call will be made in September, 2014. He invited the participants, especially who have not submitted project for the 1st call, to submit project proposal for the second project call. He underlined that the PCM is an important instrument for the member states’ contribution to the COMCEC cooperation efforts.


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Annex 1: Agenda of the Meeting

1st MEETING OF THE COMCEC FINANCIAL COOPEARTOIN WORKING GROUP

(December 12th, 2013, Ankara)


DRAFT AGENDA

Opening Remarks

1. The COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial Cooperation

2. The COMCEC Financial Outlook

3. Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region

4. Member State Presentations

5. International Institutions Experiences Closing Remarks

------- ----


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Annex 2: Program of the Meeting

PROGRAMME 1st MEETING OF THE COMCEC FINANCIAL COOPERATION WORKING GROUP

(December 12th, 2013, Ankara)

“Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region” 08.30-09.00 Registration

09.00-09.15 Opening Remarks

09.15-09.30

The COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial Cooperation - Presentation: “The COMCEC Strategy and Deepening Financial

Cooperation” Ms. Aylin ŞENOL GÜN Expert


09.30-10.00 The COMCEC Financial Outlook - Presentation: “Outlook of the Finance Sector in the COMCEC Region”

Mr. Fırat YILMAZ Expert COMCEC Coordination Office

- Discussion

10.00-11.00 Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region - Presentation: “A Brief Global Outlook on Capital Flows and the Factors

that will Affect Capital Flows to Emerging Markets” Mr. John BOWLER Director of Country Risk Service Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) -Discussion Question(s) How

willemergingmarketsreacttothetighteningglobalmonetaryconditions?

How will the role of capital flows evolve over the medium to long term –


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will they become more important for the COMCEC countries and why?

How do the challenges for dealing with capital flows differ for the COMCEC countries as they improve their economic growth and development?

11.00-11.15 Coffee Break

11.15-12.45 Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region

- Presentation: “The State of Play of Capital Flows in the COMCEC Countries: The Barriers and Opportunities” Ms. Vanessa FOO Senior Analyst Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

- Discussion Question(s) What could be effective policies to enhance capital flows among the

COMCEC Member Countries?

What barriers are easier to overcome in improving enabling conditions for the COMCEC Member Countries to enhance capital flows?

12.45-14.00 Lunch

14.00-16.00 Member State Presentations

- Sharing Experience and Best Practices in Enhancing Capital Flows in the COMCEC Region

- Discussion Question(s) What are the policies and programs implemented in your country to

enhance capital flows? What are the challenges faced by your country in this regard?

16.00-16.15 Coffee Break

16.15-17.30 International Institutions’ Experiences

- Presentation: “Global Capital Flows Trends”

Mr. Jose GUILHERME REIS Sector Leader World Bank Ankara Office

- Presentation: “Global Capital Flows from Mature Markets to Emerging Markets”


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Mr. Felix HUEFNER Deputy Director Institute of International Finance (IIF)

- Discussion Question(s) What are the recent trends and policies for enhancing capital flows in

the global financial system? What are the challenges and prospects for the Emerging Markets in

attracting Capital Flows?

17.30-17.45 Closing Remarks


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Annex 3: List of Participants

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

OF THE 1st MEETING OF THE COMCEC FINANCE WORKING GROUP

(December 12th 2013, Ankara) A. INVITED STATES BURKINO FASO - Mr. PHILIPPE PALENFO Director, Ministry of Finance REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON - Mr. ARONGAGBOR DONATUS Inspector of Treasury, Ministry Of Finance REPUBLIC OF GAMBIA - Mr. BAI MADI CEESA

Director, Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN - Mr. AHMAD HASAN HMAIDAT

Head of Borrowing Division, Ministry of Finance STATE OF KUWAIT - Ms. ASMAA AL-HADBAH

Foreign Relations Researcher, Ministry of Finance ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA - Mr. FADEL EL AOUNE

Deputy Director, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Development SULTANATE OF OMAN - Mr. AHMET BIN MOHAMMED AL-MUZAINI

Economic Researcher, Ministry of Finance

- Mr. ABDUL MALIK BIN ABDULLAH AL-HINAI Advisor at Ministry of Finance


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REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL - Mr. OUSMANE NDIAYE Charge at Programmes, Ministry of Finance REPUBLIC OF SUDAN - Mr. IBRAHIM ATTALLAH HASSAN Senior Economist, Ministry of Finance REPUBLIC OF TOGO - Mr. ADOUVO KWAMI MICHEL Research Officer, Ministry of Economy and Finance REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA

- Ms. SONIA ZOGHLAMI JEMLI

Director, Ministry of Finance

REPUBLIC OF TURKEY

- Mr. ALİ ARSLAN General Director, Undersecretariat of Treasury

- Mr. M. ALPER BATUR Head of Department, Undersecretariat of Treasury

- Mr. VEYSEL ERGENÇ Junior Treasury Expert, Undersecretariat of Treasury

- Mr. SELMAN DAL Assistant Specialist, Central Bank of the Republic Turkey

- Mr. TOLGA SİVRİKAYA Junior Expert, Undersecretariat of Treasury

- Mr. FATİH DENİZ Head of Section, İstanbul Stock Exchange

- Ms. AYŞEGÜL EKŞİT

Head of Department, Capital Markets Board (SPK) - Mr. BARBAROS YALÇINER Chief Expert, Capital Markets Board (SPK)


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- Ms. SEÇİL SAYIN Chief Expert Lawyers, Capital Markets Board (SPK) - Mr. AYHAN KOÇ Expert Lawyers, Capital Markets Board (SPK) REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

- Ms. JOYCE RUHWEEZA

Principal Economist, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN

- Mr. ADEL AL ASTHAL Management and Finance Consultant, Chairman Office General Investment Authority

GUEST - Ms. VANESSA FOO

Economist Intelligence Unit - Mr. JEREMIE KREITZ

Economist Intelligence Unit - Mr. JOHN BOWLER

Economist Intelligence Unit

- Mr. BERNARD KENNEDY Economist Intelligence Unit

B. INVITED INSTITUTIONS INSTITUTION OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCE - Mr. FELIX HUEFNER

Deputy Director, Institution of International Finance WORLD BANK - Mr. JOSE GUILHERME REIS

The Lead Trade Economist, World Bank Ankara Office - Mr. ALPER OĞUZ

Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Ankara Office


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- Mr. CAN SELÇUKİ Economist, World Bank Ankara Office

STATISTICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER FOR ISLAMIC COUNTRIES (SESRIC) - Mr. NADİ SERHAN AYDIN Researcher C. COMCEC COORDINATION OFFICE - Mr. METİN EKER

Director General, Head of COMCEC Coordination Office

- Mr. MUSTAFA TEKİN Head of Department

- Mr. DENİZ GÖLE Expert, Drafting

- Mr. FIRAT YILMAZ

Expert, Drafting - Mr. UTKU ŞEN

Expert, Drafting - Ms. AYLİN ŞENOL GÜN

Expert, Drafting - Mr. AHMET OKUR

Expert, Drafting

- Mr. MUSTAFA ADİL SAYAR Expert, Drafting

- Mr. MEHMET AKİF ALANBAY Expert, Drafting

- Mr. MEHMET FİDAN Expert, Drafting

- Mr. OKAN POLAT

Expert, Protocol Relations

- Mr. EREN SÜMER Expert, Drafting


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- Mr. ORHAN ÖZTAŞKIN Protocol Relations - Ms. MÜKERREM ÖZKILIÇ

Coordinator of Registration Office

- Ms. EMİNE DEMİREL - Coordinator of Documentation Center - Mr. KEMAL ARSLAN

Coordinator of Meeting Rooms

- Mr. ERCAN İBİK Coordinator of Transportation

- Ms. Z. LEYLA AŞK Social Program

standing committee for economic and commercial ......mr. eker also informed the participants that...

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