Turkish minister claims coup attempt cost economy $100 billion

A Turkish minister has claimed that last month's foiled coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cost the Turkish economy some 300 billion lira ($100 billion).

Customs and Commerce Minister Bulent Tufenkci was quoted by Hurriyet newspaper on Tuesday, saying the coup's heavy toll on the economy may even increase.

However, he insisted that Turkey's economic fundamentals were solid.

"Warplanes, helicopters, weapons, bombs, buildings: 300 billion lira [$100 billion]. Maybe I am underestimating a bit," he said, referring to the heavy destruction on the night of the coup. "It might go up even more," he said.

He said the images of tanks on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara could tarnish the image of the country, making foreign business people less likely to invest in the country.

"The putschists made Turkey seem like a third world country," the minister said.

"They (investors) are not coming after the images revealed tanks were deployed on the streets, parliament was bombed," he said.

Some foreign orders had been cancelled in the wake of the coup, he said, but despite this Tufenkci said Turkey will soon get back on its feet.

"Had the coup taken place in another country, markets would not have opened earlier than in a week," he said.

The coup took place on Friday 15 July, but financial markets in Turkey opened as normal after the weekend.

"The interest rates didn't rise extraordinarily. The stock exchange's losses have been limited. There's no need to revise growth or export figures. The nation has stood firm."

The government has suspended the public sector's annual leave in the wake of the coup attempt.

Ankara has blamed supporters of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen for trying to overthrow the government.

The measure however has affected tourism, which has already suffered in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks over the summer along with diplomatic crisis with Russia, which saw a huge drop in holidaymakers from the neighbouring state.

"Because of a ban on annual leave, one million (tourism) reservations had been cancelled," the minister said.

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey dropped over 40 percent in June to its lowest level this year, but there is optimism the Russians will come back after Ankara mended fences with Moscow.

"From now on tourism will also rally," said Tufenkci.

Agencies contributed to this report.