ISTANBUL, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government plans to make its largest city of Istanbul one of the prominent finance centers in the world, local Daily News reported Wednesday.

    The report said the government has decided to move the Central Bank from the capital city of Ankara to Istanbul despite opposition from some political parties and even from the employees of the bank.

    The Central Bank is expected to be located in Istanbul in two years, it added.

    The report quoted the Turkish Central Bank Governor Durmus Yilmaz as saying that the plan should be endorsed by every Turkish citizen.

    He said the forthcoming annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Istanbul is very important for both Turkey's prestige and the global economic recovery.

    "This shows the importance of Turkey and the level its economy has reached," he said.

    Meanwhile, the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), which started operations in 1986, has become one of the top nine emerging markets of the world in terms of traded value in 2008. It continues improvement process in a bid to join the ranks of developed stock exchanges.