GIFT City's total banking asset size touches $52 billion in January, more banks may join: IFSCA Chairperson

K. Rajaraman Chairperson IFSCA

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) has touched a total banking asset size of $52 billion in January 2024, said K Rajaraman, Chairperson, International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), GIFT City.

"Japan's Mizuho Bank came to Gift City, and a couple of other foreign banks are also in the process. As we connect to foreign jurisdictions, more and more banks will come. GIFT City has already touched a total banking asset size of $52 billion by January 2024," Rajaraman said in an interaction with Moneycontrol on the sidelines of an event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on February 14.

As of January 2024, GIFT City has 10 foreign banks and 16 domestic banks including the State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. Among foreign banks, DBS Bank, JP Morgan, HSBC, and Citi Bank have their presence along with other major ones.

Asked if cryptocurrency is allowed in IFSC, Rajaraman said it is not permitted as it is not a safe financial product. However, he said IFSCA is working on the tokenisation of real-world assets and also on financial sector assets.

According to data shared by IFSCA, the cumulative banking transactions at GIFT City reached $714 billion by January 2024.

IFSCA was established in April last year under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 and is headquartered in Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat based GIFT City.

"GIFT City offers an attractive platform for businesses and entities seeking capital and growth opportunities, with regulations updated every three years. We encourage entities and businesses to explore the opportunities offered by GIFT City, which also provides a tax efficient platform," Rajaraman added.

Listing of securities

He also said that unlisted companies will be able to go for direct listing of their securities at Gift City in the next 3-4 months.

The process of direct listing of unlisted companies from India on the bourses in Gift City, which is the country’s sole IFSC, is much simpler and would not require SEBI regulation changes.

"Those (unlisted companies) would be the first set of companies that would be enabled to avail direct listing in Gift City," Rajaraman said.

As far as listed companies are concerned, the SEBI has been requested to amend some of its regulations such as the Takeover Code (SAST regulations), which are being amended by the market regulator.

“Listed companies will take 5-6 more months. For companies that have global ambitions and would look to raise international forex or dollar resources, GIFT City would be a good market for listing,” Rajaraman said.

The government, on January 24, notified the direct listing of shares of Indian companies at GIFT City's exchanges.

As per a notification from the finance ministry, the eligible exchanges are the India International Exchange and the NSE International Exchange.

The notification came less than a fortnight after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit that the government was going through the process of direct listing of stocks in GIFT IFSC in a "very systematic manner".