Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 5
By Huseyn Hasanov– Trend:
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Turkmenistan will reach 5.6 percent in 2019, 5.1 percent in 2020 and 4.9 percent in 2021 compared to 6.2 percent in 2018, Trend reports with reference to the Global Economic Prospects report published by the World Bank (WB) in June.
Earlier, the WB reported that foreign investment continued to drop owing to challenges in the foreign exchange market.
Throughout 2018, the authorities continued to impose tight foreign exchange controls on international trade and access to hard currency reduced in early 2018.
“Market trends suggest overvaluation of the official manat rate,” the report said.
The official exchange rate of the Turkmenistan manat to dollar from January 2015 remains at the level of 3.50 Turkmen manats.
“Liberalizing business regulations and easing foreign exchange controls will be necessary to improve investor confidence,” the report noted.
According to a report by BP, Turkmenistan ranks fourth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves and currently exports it to China and Iran.
The country set a course for diversifying the local economy. The oil, gas, chemical, and building material industries are actively developing.