Istanbul - Turkey is in talks with the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq about possible strategic partnerships for its stock exchange in Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday.
Turkey is in the process of merging the Istanbul Stock Exchange, the Gold Exchange and Derivatives Exchange into Bourse Istanbul - an important step in the government's bid to privatise the company and create a regional financial hub.
“We are holding talks with London and Nasdaq for strategic partnerships on Bourse Istanbul,” Babacan told reporters at a conference in Istanbul.
Once the Bourse settles on a strategic partner, which could involve it selling a stake in return for technology support, it will also seek opportunities for co-operation with other exchanges, such as cross-listings or joint indexes.
Bourse chairman Ibrahim Turhan said talks were continuing with international organisations including Deutsche Bourse and the CME Group, owner of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), as well as Nasdaq and the LSE.
“Our aim is to finalise talks by July and progress to the level of signing a memorandum of understanding,” Turhan said.
Turhan said last year that the company wanted to decide on future strategic partners by the middle of this year and that other bourses, technology firms, sovereign wealth fund managers and investment banks were interested. - Reuters