Nasdaq to power Kazakhstan's AIFC

According to the deal, Nasdaq will power the AIFC Exchange. The exchange is scheduled to launch in late-2017 and will initially trade equities and fixed income with other asset classes for future phases.

As part of the agreement, the Nasdaq Matching Engine is planned will be implemented and go through several testing and acceptance stages before official deployment.

The Nasdaq Machine Engine is the most popular matching engine in the world which combines extraordinary performance with extensive functionality to cost-effectively meet current and future business and performance needs. After the AIFC launch Nasdaq provide continual maintenance and technical support.

Governor of Astana International Financial Centre Kairat Kelimbetov, noted that: "Nasdaq's matching engine is considered the best trading platform globally, and is differentiated by the breadth and depth of its offering, security, and functionality. The AIFC Authority is pleased to cooperate with Nasdaq in creating the country's exchange infrastructure."

According to Lars Ottersgard, Executive Vice President, Head of Market Technology, Nasdaq is honored to contribute to the new ‘state-of-the-art' exchange infrastructure being built by AIFC Authority for the Kazakhstan and related international markets

"By leveraging our Nasdaq Financial Framework, the AIFC Exchange will be running on groundbreaking technology, which will allow for standardized and unified operations, coupled with a robust flexibility to boost its competitive proposition in a rapidly evolving international marketplace. We look forward to partnering and supporting AIFC in this exciting new development," he noted.

Nasdaq's exchange technology, including trading, clearing, CSD and market surveillance systems, is in operation in more than 90 marketplaces across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean.