Top Merril Lynch economist: "Turkey deserves a better credit rating"

Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, is expecting credit agencies to upgrade Turkey's credit rating this year, said the chief economist at the US-based group. An upgrade would take the country's macro transformation "to the next level," Turker Hamzaoglu told a press conference in Istanbul yesterday. "Turkey already deserves an upgrade to investment grade." He added that that Turkey's cyclical recovery has proven to be strong so far. "Macro fundamentals have improved relative to its peers," he said. "This year will be a graduation year for Turkey after completing crucial reforms. We expect the increase in gross domestic product at year's-end to stand at around 5.3 percent."