Press and Blog

Within a decade, GIFT City in India will be a location where the price of some of the largest internationally traded products will be decided. That was the vision, set by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, outlined in a special Breakfast Briefing organised by financial services consultancy Arjun Global and market entry specialists EPG. This coincided with PM Modi’s visit to London for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), alongside heads of state of 52 other Commonwealth countries.

GIFT City is India’s first operational smart city and international financial services centre, set up in the state of Gujarat. It has recently launched the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), an offshore centre which provides great opportunity for the international trading community. India INX is the country’s first international exchange and a wholly owned subsidiary of Asia’s oldest exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The event was sponsored by ICICI Bank, India INX and Katten, Muchin and Rosenman LLP.

Dipesh Shah, head of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) said: “Two years ago, there were only two hundred people in GIFT City, today there are over 8,000.  The government is making near weekly announcements to ensure a red carpet treatment for the global financial community.” The IFSC is emerging as a hub for international trade in equities, commodities and cross-currency derivatives listed in USD.

His views were supported by CEO of GIFT City, Ajay Pandey, who recently signed Memoranda of Understanding with leading international financial centres, and has recently established working groups for companies to collaborate and fully understand the beneficial opportunities in GIFT City.

India INX CEO V Balasubramanium spoke about the opportunities for the international trading community in the region, and shared some exciting plans for the exchange. India INX is one of the fastest exchanges in the world and trades for 22 hours per day, covering all of the significant global market hours.

Hemal Randerwala, MD of Arjun Global said, “India is liberalising at a rapid pace and is providing a platform where the global community can interact India in the most flexible and inviting business environment. GIFT City can potentially become a brilliant gateway to India and we at Arjun Global is actively helping key players in the financial markets develop their India strategy through GIFT.”