World Exchanges Convened in İstanbul

Borsa İstanbul Hosts the 64th World Federation of Exchanges General Assembly and Annual Meeting

The 64th General Assembly and Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Exchanges was held in İstanbul from October 21–23, 2025, hosted by Borsa İstanbul. Recognized as one of the most prestigious gatherings in global capital markets, the event brought together over 200 Chairpersons, CEOs, and senior executives of exchanges from nearly 50 countries. This significant occasion turned the spotlight of the international financial media toward Türkiye’s capital markets.

The World Federation of Exchanges, which includes more than 250 exchanges and clearing houses worldwide, has 37% of its members in Asia Pacific, 43% in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 20% in the Americas. Founded in 1961, this prominent global industry association is headquartered in London. The nearly 50,000 publicly traded companies listed on the federation's member exchanges have a market capitalization exceeding $116 trillion and a trading volume exceeding $155 trillion.

This year’s meeting featured opening remarks by the WFE CEO and the CEO of Borsa İstanbul, followed by a video message from the President of the Republic of Türkiye addressed to the participants.

Technology Collaboration Initiative Award for Borsa İstanbul

As part of the event, Borsa İstanbul was honored with the Technology Collaboration Initiative Award presented by the World Federation of Exchanges. This award highlights Borsa İstanbul’s efforts and achievements in technology export, while also underscoring its collaborations with other exchanges and its contributions to their technological advancement.

In addition to developing its BISTECH trading system, Borsa İstanbul provides a comprehensive suite of services for exchange technology infrastructure, including software development, system integration, data transfer, application testing, technical training, and post-launch support. Within this framework, Borsa İstanbul has established market practices and technology-driven partnerships with countries across Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, and Central Asia. These collaborations reinforce Borsa İstanbul’s pioneering role in regional knowledge and technology transfer. The Technology Collaboration Initiative Award presented by the World Federation of Exchanges affirms Borsa İstanbul’s evolution from a trading platform into a regional technology center serving capital markets. Its technology cooperation efforts with regional exchanges are expected to continue expanding. During the event, Borsa İstanbul also presented commemorative plaques to World Federation of Exchanges officials in recognition of their contributions to the industry. The plaque ceremony was featured in the program as a meaningful symbol of international cooperation in the field of technology.

Promoting Türkiye's Investment Potential, Contributing to İstanbul Financial Center and the Brand Value of Borsa İstanbul

Within the scope of the Türkiye Century vision and the strategic goals of positioning İstanbul as an international financial center, Borsa İstanbul is emerging as a key regional hub through its global collaborations and infrastructure investments. As a member of the World Federation of Exchanges, Borsa İstanbul closely monitors developments in the exchange industry and has established a market with a capitalization nearing USD 400 billion enabling domestic companies to meet their capital and financing needs with ease. As a vital stakeholder in financing the Türkiye Century vision’s goals such as participation finance, sustainability, economic development, and the advancement of domestic and national industries, Borsa İstanbul plays a significant role in supporting the growth of local companies operating in critical sectors including information technology, defense, healthcare, transportation, communications, renewable energy, and mining. Through its markets and instruments, Borsa İstanbul continues to make meaningful contributions to their expansion.

As part of its membership in the World Federation of Exchanges, Borsa İstanbul actively participates in various working groups where exchanges from around the world collaborate on exchange-related activities. These groups not only monitor developments in capital markets and the global economy but also provide a platform for cooperation among exchanges. As an active member of the World Federation of Exchanges since 1992, Borsa İstanbul contributes extensively across all working groups, including financial technology, risk management, listing, surveillance and regulation, sustainability, and statistics. Since 2021, Borsa İstanbul has served on the World Federation of Exchanges’s Board of Directors, representing exchanges from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Through its involvement, Borsa İstanbul strengthens relationships and partnerships with global capital market stakeholders and contributes to resolving industry-wide challenges.

Additionally, Borsa İstanbul has served as the Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Exchanges Forum since 2005. The Forum convenes OIC exchanges annually to facilitate knowledge sharing on global developments and sector-specific issues. Through its memberships in multilateral platforms such as the London Bullion Market Association and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses, Borsa İstanbul also closely monitors developments in these sectors.

In addition to these activities, Borsa İstanbul organizes investor meetings in major financial centers such as Toronto, New York, Chicago, London, and Singapore to promote Türkiye’s capital markets, particularly to foreign institutional investors, and to increase investor participation. These events introduce Türkiye’s capital markets to investors and industry professionals, while also offering solutions to challenges faced by foreign investors. The events also feature insights into sustainability and participation finance, key thematic areas for international investors, along with information on related products and instruments traded on the exchange.

As part of these efforts, Borsa İstanbul held workshops for officials from Indonesia’s Hajj Fund, presenting detailed information on lease certificates, gold, gold-backed instruments, and participation shares aligned with the institution’s investment goals. A large-scale investor meeting was also organized for Malaysian institutional investors to showcase Türkiye’s capital markets. Additionally, a group of foreign investors visiting Türkiye through the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai National Bank was briefed on the country’s capital markets during a session held in Istanbul.

Following a special invitation from the International Securities Lending Association (ISLA), Borsa İstanbul delivered a comprehensive presentation at the Association’s headquarters, introducing Türkiye’s markets and products, and detailing specific regulations related to the Equity Market. Subsequently, Borsa İstanbul was invited by ISLA’s leadership to participate in the Association’s annual conference, becoming the first exchange to do so. At the event, Borsa İstanbul presented a dedicated session promoting Türkiye’s markets and financial instruments.

In addition to these events, Borsa İstanbul and Türkiye’s capital markets have been showcased in various aspects at conferences attended by international investors, including the London Green Finance Conference, the Turkish-Arab Finance and Economy Forums, and the Mongolia Economic Forum. Detailed information about our products has also been shared during these gatherings. Since 2023, Borsa İstanbul has participated annually in the Chicago and Singapore Conferences organized by the Futures Industry Association, setting up a booth to promote the Exchange and engaging in face-to-face meetings with industry professionals and foreign investors.

Beyond these activities, Borsa İstanbul offers international training and advisory programs to foreign exchanges, providing expertise in areas such as derivatives markets, real estate investment trusts, and crowdfunding. In collaboration with the World Gold Councilone of the leading global organizations in the gold sector Borsa İstanbul established the Gold Academy, through which it has delivered training sessions on gold banking and gold markets to stakeholders in Indonesia and Egypt. In addition to these countries, Borsa İstanbul has conducted various meetings, seminars, and conferences to share knowledge and provide training on gold markets with several nations across Africa and the Middle East.

As a founding member of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges and Derivatives Exchanges Initiatives, Borsa İstanbul addresses Türkiye’s sustainability needs through its world-class sustainability indices. To support companies listed on the exchange and other sector institutions in qualifying for these indices, Borsa İstanbul organizes targeted training programs on related topics. In collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets,Borsa İstanbul also delivers Green Bond training to senior financial executives from various countries. The Exchange aims to expand its international training and advisory activities at both regional and global levels through new initiatives and partnerships.