CORRECTS - Turkey to raise credit rate again: Deputy PM

CORRECTS QUOTE IN THIRD PARA

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey will push to raise its credit rate again following Moody’s downgrade from Baa3 to Ba1 last week, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

Speaking at Anadolu Agency's Editors' Desk in Ankara, Simsek, who is responsible for Turkey’s economy, said Moody’s rate cut is "not the end of the world".

"Moody's downgrade rating [is a] serious matter, [but] it is not the end of the world because investors do not only look at Moody's, S&P and Fitch," Simsek said.

"We will make extra efforts to raise the credit rating again," he added.

Simsek said the deadly July 15 defeated coup was not the cause behind the downgrade, but rather ongoing structural problems, which he said, "Turkey will resolve".

"If the country rapidly implements structural reforms within one or two years [then] its outlook will turn positive and [the] rating upgrade will follow," Simsek said.