French banking major BNP Paribas launches operations in GIFT City

French banking major BNP Paribas has launched operations at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City - International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC) by opening a new branch.

The BNP Paribas GIFT City branch’s product offerings aim to tap new business opportunities for its onshore and offshore clients.

“The GIFT City branch marks a significant milestone and reinforces our continued commitment to the growing BNP Paribas India franchise. It will enable us to better serve our well-diversified global clientele with an expanded range of products and strategic solutions as cross-border momentum continues to increase,” said Sanjay Singh, Head of Territory & CEO, BNP Paribas India.

“We are delighted to participate in this rapidly growing financial centre and to contribute towards making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025,” he added.

Industry players said the move by BNP Paribas, European Union’s leading bank and a key player in international banking, to open a branch at GIFT City will help boost the banking and fund management ecosystem at India’s maiden IFSC.

At the end of March 2024, the asset base of banks operating at GIFT City stood at $60 billion, with cumulative banking transactions totalling nearly $800 billion, as per a bulletin issued by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the regulatory authority for GIFT IFSC. Meanwhile, the cumulative debt listing on GIFT City exchanges stood at $57 billion and cumulative ESG-labelled debt listing stood at $12.3 billion. The number of fund management entities registered at GIFT City stood at 114, with total schemes registered and commitments raised topping 120 and $8.4 billion, respectively.

Earlier this year, the IFSCA notified rules permitting direct listing of equity shares of companies incorporated in India. The regulator has also initiated steps to improve processing timelines for cross-border payments.