Nasdaq Signs Deal to Revitalize Turkey’s Stock Exchange (Borsa Istanbul) In Coming Years

Financial exchange operator Nasdaq OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) has cleared a partnership deal with Istanbul’s chief equities exchange group, Borsa Istanbul, with Borsa Istanbul seeking to turn Turkey into an international financial hub with Nasdaq's technology.

The point is to grow capital markets in Turkey and the surrounding region, pique interest in those markets and position Borsa Istanbul for an initial public offering in early 2016, Nasdaq spokesman Ryan Wells told the International Business Times in an email.

Specifically, Borsa Istanbul will use Nasdaq's technology to operate its own financial exchange, adopting trading and market surveillance systems. Nasdaq will also advise Borsa Istanbul on all things financial.

Borsa Istanbul and Nasdaq didn’t immediately return a request for information on how much the deal will cost Borsa Istanbul. In its news release, the two companies didn’t specify how long it would take before Borsa would be up and running with Nasdaq technology.

The companies said there would be further active collaboration in the region but didn’t elaborate.

Recent high-profile protests in Turkey could set its economy in serious jeopardy in the coming months and have already led to the EU postponing membership negotiations with Turkey.

Nasdaq owns and operates 26 markets in the U.S. and Europe, according to its website. It's in an ongoing battle with the New York Stock Exchange for the business of companies going public, with a string of recent technical failures at both exchanges making waves, the Wall Street Journal reports.