GIFT City nets 400 pc jump in IFSC deals to $4 bn

Gandhinagar: Gujarat International FinanceTec-City (GIFT City) has seen a sharp jump of 400 per cent in IFSC transactions to USD 4 billion covering banking, insurance, and capital market services in the last six months.

While International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) units of the banks have done business worth USD 3 billion, insurance companies have clocked in USD 1 billion worth of transactions.

BSE's international stock exchange within GIFT IFSC has seen a single day trading of around USD 100 million, GIFT IFSC said in a statement. Union Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, who visited the GIFT IFSC, held discussions with 14 banking and insurance units and 15 capital market entities.

Meghwal discussed regulatory clarifications with all the units and promised to take up all the issues at the next IFSC Task Force meeting. The minister is also Chairman of the IFSC task force.

"My endeavour has been to oversee the operationalisation of regulations and policies in order to facilitate further growth of IFSCs in the country, particularly GIFT IFSC, Gandhinagar. In coming days, we want GIFT IFSC to emerge as a 'price setter' for various global financial products," Mehgwal said.

India International Exchange, along with its members, attended the meeting. GIFT, the Gujarat government's project, in partnership with IL&FS is developing India's first global financial hub.

GIFT is India's first multi-service SEZ with IFSC status which is catering to the country's large financial services market by offering global firms world-class infrastructure and facilities.