ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s manufacturing sector contracted at the slowest rate in eight months in December, a business survey showed on Thursday, in a sign that the sector is nearing stabilization.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 49.1 last month from 48.3 in November, moving nearer to the 50.0 threshold denoting growth, according to the survey by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global.
“December PMI data provided plenty of hope for the sector in 2025. While business conditions continued to moderate, the latest slowdown was only marginal as signs of improvement were seen in a range of variables across the survey,” said Andrew Harker, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The survey highlighted a softer moderation in production, which declined at the slowest pace in nine months, suggesting some improvement in demand. The rate of slowdown in new orders and purchasing eased, although demand remained subdued.
“If this momentum can be built on at the start of 2025, we could see the sector return to growth. The prospects for the sector should be helped by a much more benign inflationary environment than has been the case in recent years,” Harker said.
Despite the positive signs, employment in the manufacturing sector saw a renewed decline, reversing a rise in November, the survey showed.
Input costs increased sharply due to higher raw material prices, but the rate of output price inflation slowed to its weakest in over five years as some firms offered discounts to boost sales.
Turkish manufacturing sector nears stabilization in December, PMI shows
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Turkish manufacturing sector nears stabilization in December, PMI shows
- Employment in the manufacturing sector saw a renewed decline, reversing a rise in November
- Input costs increased sharply due to higher raw material prices
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
