Borsa Istanbul inks tech deal with Nasdaq OMX Borsa Istanbul, the exchange operator in Turkey, has sought to reassure international investors over the country's long-term future by unveiling a technology deal with Nasdaq OMX, the US exchange operator. Nasdaq will provide the tools for a significant upgrade to the Istanbul group's trading, clearing, risk management and market surveillance operations across all asset classes, including energy contracts. The stock exchange's plans and Nasdaq OMX's involvement have been unveiled after several weeks of political unrest and economic concern in Turkey. The country has been hit by mass protests and by the prospect of the US Federal Reserve reining in monetary stimulus. Borsa Istanbul's move to improve the technology that underpins trading is one of the latest steps towards an ambitious long-term goal of transforming Turkish capital markets. "This is a notable milestone for Borsa Istanbul as well as for Turkey, the surrounding region and the whole exchange industry," said Ibrahim Turhan, Borsa Istanbul chief executive. Our objective is to position Borsa Istanbul as a leading integrated multi-asset exchange and to provide a cutting-edge platform serving issuers, investors and traders globally. The agreement comes after an intensive search by Borsa Istanbul for a technology provider, with the London Stock Exchange Group's MillenniumIT also in the running for the contract. Last month's political unrest in Turkey led Emlak Konut, a state-controlled property developer, to delay a secondary public offering that could have been worth $2bn. In the aftermath of the protests, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, has marked out several private groups for criticism, including Koc Group, the country's biggest conglomerate, which owns a hotel where protesters took refuge, and Garanti Bank, whose chief executive declared himself in sympathy with the protesters. Mr Erdogan also appeared to suggest that his supporters use state rather than private banks and has frequently attacked a shadowy "interest rate lobby" - often taken to refer to domestic and international financial groups - as being behind the protests. In the current environment, some bankers and business executives say their groups are holding off big investments, at least until September. This year the government, which owns 49 per cent of Borsa Istanbul, began to lay the foundation for an overhaul by approving the combination of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, the Istanbul Gold Exchange and the Derivatives Exchange of Turkey. The rest of Borsa Istanbul is owned by the other exchanges and local brokers. The groups also plan to explore other commercial opportunities in the Eurasia region and the deal will prepare the Turkish group for an initial public offering, which is set for the first quarter of 2016. In an interview with the Financial Times this year, Ibrahim Turhan, Borsa Istanbul chief executive, said the exchange had not kept pace with Turkey's rise on the world stage. Few local companies turned to a bourse for capital, he said, while Turkey has a low savings rate, serious constraints on capital formation and huge investment needs during the next decade. Turkey is also heavily dependent on short-term foreign funding to finance its substantial current account deficit, which could reach 7 per cent of gross domestic product this year.