As Borsa İstanbul continues its preparations to host the 64th General Assembly and Annual Meeting of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) on 21-23 October, we look forward to welcoming esteemed colleagues and members from around the world.
A Glimpse into Türkiye's Capital Markets
Operating in one of the most promising emerging economies, Türkiye’s capital markets offer investors a wealth of opportunities. Its strong regulatory framework is in line with European Union standards, while markets feature deep liquidity and a wide range of products. Home to 86 million people, Türkiye also has one of the youngest major populations globally. The country ranks as the world’s 12th-largest economy by purchasing power parity, with a GDP per capita of USD 15,463 and an average growth rate of 4.8 percent over the past decade.
The Istanbul Financial Center offers a world-class financial-services ecosystem, bringing together public and private banks, asset management firms, brokerages, insurance providers, professional services, and both local and international financial institutions. Investors benefit from modern infrastructure, competitive tax incentives and Türkiye’s strategic location.
As Türkiye’s primary exchange platform, Borsa İstanbul plays a central role in the financial system, facilitating trading across equities, debt securities, derivatives and precious metals with cutting-edge technology and high operational standards. It consistently delivers strong performance across asset classes, ranking third globally in equity-market turnover velocity, first in single-stock futures, and fourth in precious metals futures by number of contracts traded. In addition, its debt securities market ranks second worldwide for domestic corporate bond listings.
Over the past four years, Borsa İstanbul has seen strong growth in listings, with 193 initial public offerings (IPOs) bringing the total number of listed companies to 586 and raising USD 9.9 billion in capital. The number of active equity investor accounts now stands at 6.5 million. Borsa İstanbul provides a highly liquid trading venue. Average daily trading value reached USD 35 billion in debt securities, USD 5 billion in equities and USD 2 billion in derivatives in 2025. In the precious metals and diamond markets, 284 tonnes of gold and 828 tonnes of silver were traded last year.
Borsa İstanbul has been an active member of the WFE since 1992. It participates in global discussions that shape industry priorities and drive collective action to address key challenges. Elected to the WFE Board of Directors for two consecutive three-year terms in 2021 and 2024, representing Europe, Middle East and Africa region, Borsa İstanbul continues to work closely with global counterparts to guide the industry agenda.
At the regional level, Borsa İstanbul is keen to support capacity building through knowledge transfer and consultancy services for exchanges and other institutions. Beyond direct collaboration with counterparts, Borsa İstanbul works with international organisations such as the London Bullion Market Association, World Federation of Diamond Bourses, World Gold Council, International Securities Lending Association, International Capital Markets Association, Intermarket Surveillance Group, Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, Sustainable Derivatives Exchanges Advisory Group, International Finance Corporation, the World Bank, the OECD and the United Nations. These partnerships support capacity-building initiatives on specific topics including market operations, ESG, Islamic finance and more. Borsa İstanbul also serves as the secretariat for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Exchanges Forum, which brings together exchanges from the region to explore collaboration opportunities and to share knowledge and best practices.
Borsa İstanbul also serves as a key technology hub in the region. The BISTECH trading system has been continuously enhanced and is now ready to support the trading infrastructure of eligible exchanges across the region. Technology services include testing, data migration, system integration as well as application support for trading, clearing, surveillance and surrounding systems.
Welcome to İstanbul
We are excited to welcome you and hope your time in İstanbul will be memorable. As you enjoy the delicious Turkish cuisine, we hope you take the time to join the tours we have organised for you and experience the incredible historical landmarks and the country's natural beauty. We extend our warmest welcome and hope you feel at home throughout your stay.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.