Turkey's large firms see debt surge to 7.6 trillion lira

A study by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry shows that the combined debt of Turkey's 500 biggest industrial firms rose from 1.5 trillion lira in 2021 to 7.6 trillion lira in 2024, a five‑fold increase in five years. Financing costs have also climbed sharply, with the 1,000 largest firms projected to spend 993.1 billion lira on interest and other financing expenses by 2025. The interest burden on these companies grew 4.3 times between 2021 and 2025.

Commentator Öner Günçavdı notes that industry’s share of the Turkish economy has fallen below 15 percent, far short of the 30 percent levels once seen in South Korea. He warns that chronic savings deficits and high current‑account gaps are limiting access to capital for industrial investment, making the sector more vulnerable to rising borrowing costs.