 "Business transactions at GIFT City cross $250 mn")
Business transactions at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), close to here, have crossed the $250 million (Rs 1,700 crore) mark within six months since the first international banking unit was set up.
The mega project will now begin work on stock and commodity market operations, says Ajay Pandey, group chief executive, GIFT Company Ltd.
Operations have commenced by the IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) of YES Bank, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank. The total hit $100 mn (Rs 660 crore) in early February and $250 mn in another two months. “The next target is $500 mn and then $1 billion in the coming months. The tax incentives given in the Union Budget have now firmly put GIFT IFSC on the global financial map. After banks, we expect a few insurance companies to start operations soon,” said Pandey.
Adding, “Stock and commodity market operations are the other major focus areas and work is actively on to get this started. Significant volumes of the National Stock Exchange’s Nifty derivatives trading are taking place on the Singapore Stock Exchange. We want GIFT IFSC to start trading in this segment, so that this business can come back to India.”
Equivalent to a foreign branch and thereby facilitating a bank to function as such from within India, an IBU offers facilities such as buyers' credit, external commercial borrowing, accepting deposits and providing credit facilities to wholly owned subsidiaries or joint ventures of Indian companies registered abroad. They may also undertake factoring/forfeiting of export receivables, treasury activities like foreign money market operations, investment in foreign securities, and transactions in derivatives and structured products.
At GIFT City, apart from the said IBUs that have commenced operations, one of State Bank of India is expected to commence soon. Also expected are Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDBI Bank and IndusInd Bank in the near future.
Apart from the IBUs at IFSC which fall within the Special Economic Zone part of GIFT City, Bank of India recently started branch operations in the non-SEZ area there. Syndicate Bank, Gujarat State Co-operative Bank and Janalakshmi Bank are among those already operational.
So far, GIFT City’s phase-I development has seen allotment of 14 mn sq ft of built-up area in the SEZ and non-SEZ areas for development of office towers, residential apartments and social facilities, to be developed at an estimated total investment of close to Rs 10,000 crore.
Under its phase-II development, a built-up area of 1.32 mn sq ft will be developed by leading real estate companies, with total proposed investment of Rs 850 crore, the company says.
