Istanbul bourse targets being Islamic finance center

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Borsa Istanbul (BIST) aims to become one of the most prominent centers that work in accordance with the principles of participation banking in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, BIST head İbrahim Turan said on May 31.

Turan stated that they had introduced their studies with the Islamic Cooperation Organization during the meeting of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) held in Malaysia, noting that Malaysia was the most important center in East Asia in the non-interest financing field.

“We want to make Istanbul the most important center [in the non-interest financing field] of Wester and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. We had talks about this issue in the framework of cooperation,” he said. Turan reminded that Capital Markets Board (SPK) had prepared a regulation on non-interest financing tools. SPK is finalizing regulations on five new types of Islamic bond, as the country aims to become a major issuer of Islamic debt. The new rules, which were sent to Prime Minister’s office for approval this week, will allow Turkish corporate and banks, as well as the Treasury, to issue the world’s most widely used types of sukuk, giving them access to a wider pool of investors via a global market estimated at more than $100 billion.

Turan said they had started an initiative to allow companies from 60 countries, chosen according to BIST’s vision of “Istanbul International Finance Center,” to sell their capital market tools in Istanbul and also to buy and sale of tools which are already sold.

Turan also said they had held talks to develop cooperation with Singapore Bourse, which is one of Asia’s most important centers in capital markets, during his visit to the country.