Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) announced a new, significant agreement. Nasdaq has been selected to power Kazakhstan’s nascent stock exchange, the AIFC Exchange. The exchange is targeted to launch in late-2017 and will initially trade equities and fixed income with other asset classes for future phases.

Within the framework of the agreement, the Nasdaq Matching Engine will be implemented and go through several rigorous testing and acceptance stages before official deployment. The Nasdaq Machine Engine is the most widely-used matching engine in the world that combines extraordinary performance with extensive functionality to cost-effectively meet current and future business and performance requirements. Once AIFC Exchange goes live, Nasdaq will provide continual maintenance and technical support.