ISTANBUL
Chairman and CEO of Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Ibrahim Turan said on Wednesday that their aim is to make Istanbul a benchmark to determine the prices in the energy market.
Speaking at the opening of the 4th Istanbul Finance Summit (IFS) at Istanbul's Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel, Turan stated that there are recently some pleasing developments towards strengthening the position of Istanbul as a center of international finance.
Firstly, Turan said, as Turkey would announce at the IMF meeting scheduled to be held in Washington DC in October, the World Bank would open the first and only center for Islamic Finance Research out of United States in Istanbul. "As Borsa Istanbul, we will be honoured to host the center in Istanbul."
"We, as Borsa İstanbul, take a pivotal role in Istanbul Finance Center Project and we also understand the fact that sustainable economic growth in Turkey is only possible with strengthening of capital markets. In this regard, we take steps in line with IFC vision to attract local and global investors to our platforms," he remarked.
Secondly, Turna stated that Istanbul would be not only a center of financial conventions and assets and securities, but also a center for energy and agreements on energy with a high potential in the region.
"Our target here is to make Istanbul a benchmark to determine the prices in the energy market," he noted.
As for the means of developing the capital markets in Turkey, he highlighted the significance of the reliable sustainability and the outlook of the financial sectors.
"When speaking of long term investments in capital markets, it is indispensible to refer to institutional investors. Institutional investors have always been at the core of capital markets. They play a critical role in the financial system due to the size of assets they manage," said the CEO of BIST.
Factors such as efficient investment management, more effective portfolio diversification, higher liquidity, need for improved corporate governance and demographic aspects have increased the demand for services offered by institutional investors in time. In accordance with this rising demand, assets under management by institutional investors worldwide has increased to USD 75 trillion in 2011 from USD 21.9 trillion in 1995.
Turan stressed the presence of institutional investors in financial markets is quite important for market efficiency.
"Financial markets are platforms which work on the principle of trust, improved price discovery process lead to high level of participation in those markets," he added.
"Institutional investors contribute significantly to financial stability and sustainable economic growth as well. While other groups of investors seek to benefit from short-term movements in financial assets, institutional investors usually hold a different perspective with long-term investment horizons," concluded Turan.
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