Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) Goes Live With New Trading Engine Powered by NASDAQ OMX

NEW YORK and ABU DHABI, April 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ), today announced that ADX has gone live with X-stream Trading technology. The upgrade, started in 2012, provides ADX with the world's most widely deployed, internationally compliant, multi-asset trading platform. This milestone is a step in ADX's ambition to introduce new asset classes, support its market expansion and maintain a leading position in the exchange industry in the region. The agreement also extends the existing management contract with NASDAQ OMX for a further five years.

"This is a proud moment for us," said Rashed Al Baloushi, CEO of ADX. "Making X-stream Trading available for our investors, brokers and other stakeholders takes us to a completely new operational level and prepares the way for the next stage of our development. This go-live launch is the culmination of a vast amount of work done by ADX and our partners at NASDAQ OMX to achieve a faultless upgrade. This is not just about the adoption of world class technology - it is about the aspirations of ADX to be a world class window for investors into the opportunities that Abu Dhabi offers."

The new trading platform will improve ADX's trading performance and transparency, and ensure low latency pre-trade risk management checks, allow faster back office reconciliation of transactions and give ADX the ability to handle an unlimited number of indices. In addition, ADX will continue to leverage the existing suite of market surveillance and central security depository (CSD) technologies provided and supported by NASDAQ OMX since 2000, the year of ADX's inception. ADX is also the first exchange in the region to go-live with the in memory vetting model of X-stream Trading.

"This upgrade marks an important milestone in NASDAQ OMX's nearly 15-year relationship with ADX," said Lars Ottersgård, Senior Vice President, Market Technology, NASDAQ OMX. "ADX's deployment of our X-stream Trading technology underscores their confidence in the technology, as they plan for the next successful stage of their development. It is an honor to support ADX, which is at the center of their regional marketplace."

About Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was established by Local Law No. (3) Of the year 2000, the provisions of which make the Exchange a legal entity with autonomous status, independent finance and management. The law also provides the ADX with the necessary supervisory and executive powers to exercise its functions. ADX began operations on November 15th 2000.