(Vienna/Istanbul) The stock exchanges of Istanbul and Vienna have joined forces in a unique cooperation project and launched the IBTX (Istanbul Traded Index) and IBTX Banking today. The IBTX is calculated based on the prices of the twenty most actively traded shares of the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The IBTX Banking index consists of the most liquid Turkish banking stocks. Both indices can be used as a benchmark and underlying for standardized derivatives (futures and options) as well as an underlying for structured products (warrants, index certificates and ETFs). Investors have already demonstrated keen interest, especially in the IBTX, and two Austrian issuers have already announced their intention to immediately start issuing IBTX certificates.
"We, as Borsa İstanbul, are very glad to have signed such an agreement with the Vienna Stock Exchange. We believe that this index project will serve the interests of both exchanges, strengthening cooperation and contributing to our efforts in dealing with the global challenges faced by regional exchanges," said Ibrahim M. Turhan, Ph.D., Chairman & CEO of the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The Istanbul Stock Exchange is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, with a market capitalization that increased steadily over the past few years and reached EUR 210.4 billion by the end of August. Currently 398 companies can be traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange and the monthly trading volume stands at approx. EUR 33.1 billion.
This cooperation highlights the international index competence displayed by the Vienna Stock Exchange, with most CEE-related structured products worldwide being currently based on its indices. The Vienna Stock Exchange calculates a total of 82 indices, whereof 62 track national, regional and sector developments in the CEE/CIS area.
"Since 1996 Vienna Stock Exchange has been building up its regional index expertise in Eastern Europe and Russia, and I am happy to be able to make this longstanding experience available to our new partner. I am also proud that with the IBTX we have created an index that tracks one of the world's most dynamic capital markets and can now offer it to our clients," said Michael Buhl, Member of the Management Board of Wiener Börse AG and the CEE Stock Exchange Group.
The IBTX is calculated as a total return index and as net total return index. All indices are capitalization-weighted indices and are computed in EUR, USD and Turkish lira. The starting value was fixed at 1,000 index points as of 3 January 2011. The calculation parameters are reviewed on a quarterly basis and the composition of the index is reviewed and adjusted as necessary every half-year. For further details, see
About the Vienna Stock Exchange
The Vienna Stock Exchange is a 100% subsidiary of the CEE Stock Exchange Group (CEESEG) which comprises the stock exchanges of Budapest, Ljubljana and Prague. The CEE Stock Exchange Group is the largest stock exchange group in the region. CEESEG makes access and trading on the local markets easier with the aim of improving liquidity. The CEESEG stock exchanges cooperate with 12 other exchanges in Central and Eastern Europe and enjoy international recognition for this unique CEE know-how.