Informatica Takes Intelligent Data Management Cloud to Saudi Arabia

Informatica, a vendor of enterprise cloud data management, has set up its AI-powered Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) in Saudi Arabia, claiming a first in the kingdom. The provision includes establishing a point of delivery in Riyadh that supports local, scalable, cloud-first data management services. Informatica launched its first regional point of delivery in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2023.

The investment underpins Informatica’s commitment to further the Saudi government’s Vision 2030, which includes digitally empowering all sectors of the economy. Jitesh Ghai, chief product officer at Informatica, comments: “Saudi Arabia is making headway on its journey to become a technology hub for the Middle East and is creating a solid cloud foundation to realise its Vision 2030 ambitions. By having a significant cloud, data, and AI presence in the kingdom, we will be providing organisations with an in-country AI-powered data infrastructure to run their cloud-based technology solutions.”

LIST Completes Final Phase of Borsa Italiana Migration to Euronext’s Optiq Technology

LIST, an ION company, has successfully concluded the third and final phase of transitioning its Borsa Italiana clients to Euronext’s Optiq trading platform, marking a significant milestone following the acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Cash and Derivatives markets by Euronext in April 2021. This latest phase focused on derivatives clients, completing the migration that began with the equity segment in March 2023 and the bond segment in October 2023.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new trading technology, LIST has upgraded its FastTrade trading solution, enabling seamless access to the Euronext pan-European ecosystem. This final stage also included the introduction of new software versions and improvements to data centre and telecoms infrastructure.

Euroclear Invests in Blockchain-Based Funds Marketplace IZNES

Euroclear has made a strategic investment in IZNES, a blockchain-based pan-European funds marketplace, aiming to enhance its Euroclear FundsPlace suite. The collaboration, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, will leverage IZNES’s technology and various distribution channels to address the landscape of European funds subscriptions and redemptions.

Founded in 2017, IZNES operates a platform designed to streamline the funds subscription process, offering increased transparency and an enhanced customer experience for management companies and institutional investors. The investment follows Euroclear’s previous acquisitions of MFEX in 2021 and Goji in 2023, underscoring its commitment to revolutionizing funds distribution through innovative solutions in France and across Europe.

Kasikorn Securities Selects ICE’s Portfolio Analytics for Enhanced Derivatives Management

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) has announced that Kasikorn Securities, under the Kasikorn Bank Group of Thailand, has selected ICE’s Portfolio Analytics-Derivatives for its derivatives management needs. The deal will provide Kasikorn Securities with ICE’s derivatives solution for pre-trade pricing, analytics, and post-trade risk management, which will be integrated into their Kasikorn’s OMS.

By leveraging ICE’s analytics application, Kasikorn Securities aims to enhance its capabilities in price discovery, decision support, and risk assessment across various asset classes and instruments.

Zayo Launches Waves on Demand Service Across Europe

Zayo Group, the global provider of fibre network infrastructure, has launched a new Waves on Demand service, providing bandwidth accessibility throughout Europe via its 400G-enabled lit-fibre network. The new service guarantees service activation within just five working days, a significant improvement over the standard 30+ day industry timeframe.

Utilising Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 technology, Waves on Demand allows for rapid scaling of bandwidth with capacities up to 800G on dedicated circuits. Initially available in major European connectivity hubs, including Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris, Zayo plans to extend the service to Dublin, Manchester, and Milan by year-end.

Confluence Adds MSCI ESG Research Data into Style Analytics

Confluence Technologies, a solutions provider to the investment management industry, has integrated MSCI ESG Research data into its factor investing analytics solution, Style Analytics. The data will help asset managers and fund selectors by offering in-depth analysis, comparison, and enhancement of portfolios.

Damian Handzy, managing director, analytics, at Confluence, comments: “Style Analytics’ integration of MSCI’s ESG data marks a significant step to help our clients make informed investment decisions and achieve sustainable growth.”

The integration supports drill-down capabilities, fund-of-funds capabilities for United Nations SDGs and analytics, as well as factor analysis using an intuitive user interface. Users can gain actionable data, identify optimal investment opportunities and monitor performance over time.

GLEIF Names Certizen Technology as China’s Second LEI Validation Agent

The Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) has named Certizen Technology, a Hong Kong-based provider of digital identity and digital certificate solutions, as the latest organisation approved as a Validation Agent in the Global Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) System.

With the support of GLEIF and the People’s Bank of China, Certizen will use the LEI to enrich its product and service offerings across multiple market sectors to further advance ‘opening up’ and strengthen support for free trade and cross-border business interactions. This includes using the data elements of the LEI in conjunction with digital certificates to integrate and associate an organisation’s data with the identity of individuals acting on its behalf. This will contribute to increased market transparency, facilitate trusted cross-border trade, and support global regulatory alignment.

Eva Chan, CEO of Certizen Technology, comments: “Obtaining Validation Agent status is a step forward in our vision to become a leader in corporate identity management. We are committed to using the capabilities of the LEI to enable secure and trustworthy digital interactions across borders, helping realise the full potential of efforts to support opening up and promote increased international recognition of local enterprises.”

Telefónica Goes Live with Alveo Prime Market Data Solution

Telefónica, a global telecommunications company, has gone live on Alveo’s Prime market data solution for its corporate treasury and financial division data management. The company’s sophisticated corporate treasury function, financial transactions and processes require accurate and timely market data for a wide range of purposes including hedge accounting, funding needs, financial reporting, validation and valuation of financial instruments.

Manuel Carreras Ferrer, transformation and change management manager at Telefónica, says: “We needed a new financial data repository for the firm. We use commercial data providers and different complex spreadsheets and needed to streamline the supply of market data into different business applications. Alveo’s market data solution helped us with a centralised data repository for all treasury-required FX and interest rate data, improved our operational efficiency and lowered our total cost of ownership.”

CJC Achieves Cyber Essentials Certification, Enhancing ICT Defence Capabilities

Crown Jewels Consultants (CJC), the market data consultancy and professional services provider, has attained the Cyber Essentials certification, underscoring its commitment to robust cyber defence mechanisms. CJC was assessed to have met the Cyber Essentials implementation profile, with ICT defences deemed satisfactory against a commodity-based cyber-attack.

The UK government-backed certification aligns with the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which aims to bolster the digital resilience of financial entities and their vital infrastructure against cyber risks. The certification process encompassed several critical areas, including secure configuration, access control, malware protection, patch management, and incident response.

Baader Bank Selects Broadridge for Regulatory Trade and Transaction Reporting

Baader Bank has extended its relationship with Broadridge Financial Solutions with an agreement to use the vendor’s regulatory trade and transaction reporting solution to ensure a more unified and comprehensive regulatory reporting framework. The bank already uses Broadridge’s front- and middle-office solutions for order management, trading and market connectivity.

Baader Bank offers asset classes including equities, bonds, derivatives, and funds/ETFs, as well as primary market transactions. The Broadridge platform will support the bank in fulfilling evolving requirements across multiple jurisdictions including MiFID, FinfraG, EMIR Refit and SFTR.