In his speech at the panel entitled “Capital Markets and Innovation” at the 5th İstanbul Finance Summit, held in İstanbul on September 15-16, NASDAQ OMX Group Vice President Sandy Meyer Frucher said, “Borsa İstanbul is a great example in terms of innovation in finance. Turkey is a leader in this respect”.

According to the news by Anadolu Agency (AA), NASDAQ OMX Group Vice President Frucher said in his speech that the long-standing cooperation between Borsa İstanbul and NASDAQ has been of a stable and positive nature, adding, “Founding Borsa İstanbul was indeed a very comprehensive project. It was a difficult job to centralize the trading of all markets under a single one. And this difficult job was realized in Turkey. It was a great performance”.

Indicating that a very successful public policy has been implemented at Borsa İstanbul, Frucher said the integration of the markets was a prerequisite for the process, which, in turn, required technological integration.

Pointing out to the fact that Borsa İstanbul completed such joint technological integration, Frucher added, “I have not seen anyone else in the world to accomplish that. So, we just looked at it, and said it’s a great opportunity”.

Borsa İstanbul sets a Great Example for Innovation

Frucher said that they are like a technology market rather than a financial market, and went on to say:

"Therefore, we also improved and transformed. Today, considering the pace of development, you must either catch up with this process, or if you can, get ahead of it. It is very important to be innovative. This innovative approach brought NASDAQ closer to Borsa İstanbul. Borsa İstanbul sets a great example in terms of innovation in finance. Turkey is a leader in this respect… Merging the markets supported this move legally. And also, the structure features a strong legal framework, transparency, balance, fairness and consumer protection”.  

"If Borsa İstanbul continues to do what it has been doing, it will attract more markets from the region, anyway” said Frucher, indicating the importance of increased liquidity and education.

“Borsa İstanbul does its Job Successfully”

Frucher made an evaluation of Turkey’s position in the region, saying:

"In order to attract other markets, first of all, the economy must be going well. It is very important for Turkey to be attractive for those coming from the other regions of the world. The growth rate must be maintained, and must even be increased, must be continuous, stable. Political stability is of key importance, and also continuance of the foreign investments is very important. The flow must be successfully managed, and Borsa İstanbul does its job successfully.”

We see Borsa İstanbul as a Global and Regional Market

Frucher said that they share the government’s strategy of making İstanbul a financial center, and went on to say:

"When we made this investment, we made a really very important announcement. We said that we see Borsa İstanbul as a global and regional market rather than an emerging market. The investment was related to that idea, anyway. This certainly included attracting other investors to here.

This is also very important. In many places, people ask, “why do you bring people from abroad?” The answer is, we need capital investment to enlarge the pie, and it is necessary to list them on the market, have them to operate here, and invest here. No matter where, a financial center must have a dynamic and mixed structure. Local must be combined with international. That, I can see in İstanbul”.