GIFT City growth over September 2024 to 2025 majorly led by depth not breadth, reveals data in HSBC-EY’s latest report

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GIFT City’s fund management ecosystem has expanded rapidly, but the acceleration is still coming from a concentrated pool of investors, the EY-HSBC compendium on India’s IFSC shows. Total fund commitments rose 117 percent year-on-year, climbing from USD 12.1 billion in September 2024 to USD 26.3 billion by September 2025. But the investor count increased far more modestly — up just 38 percent, from 3,417 to 4,733 over the same period. The data points to a market powered less by broad retail-style participation and more by a relatively small set of allocators writing disproportionately larger cheques.

The compendium compiles a year’s worth of data across the International Financial Services Centre, with latest set of disclosures showing how GIFT City is finding firmer footing as activity deepens across funds, banking and trade finance.

While the investor pool is witnessing a gradual rise, further data on deployment of capital shows deepening activity within the fund ecosystem. Investments by GIFT-based funds more than doubled, to USD 11.37 billion (broadly in line with the rise in commitments).

From late 2023 to September 2025, GIFT City’s fund ecosystem saw FMEs jump from 83 to 194, and the number of funds and schemes has more than tripled from under 100 to 310. Between March and September 2025 alone, GIFT added 32 FMEs and 81 schemes, reflecting a six-month growth burst of 20 to 35%. Category III AIF registrations led the acceleration at ~94 percent CAGR over past 2 years, reaching 188 in September 2025. Meanwhile Category I/II AIFs stood at 100. Besides, there are now 18 venture/angel schemes and 4 retail schemes.

Where usage has expanded most sharply is in trade finance platforms. International Trade Finance Services (ITFS) transactions have grown from 544 to 1,849 in a year, a 240 percent increase. While the value of financed transactions has risen from USD 26 million to USD 74 million. Unlike fund commitments or bank flows, which reflect institutional decision-making cycles, ITFS usage is an on-ground, day-to-day activity metric. The acceleration suggests that GIFT is being embedded deeper into corporate treasury and trade workflows, especially for MSME exporters seeking faster cross-border settlement lines.

Across the banking space, the centre now hosts 18 foreign banks and 17 Indian banks, with cumulative transactions of USD 143 billion in Q2 (July-September 2025).

IFSC’s banking activity used to be dominated by loan books and trade finance but new data suggests that the balance is shifting. Deposits have grown 45 percent to USD 7.94 billion, signalling that more liquidity is being retained within the IFSC rather than merely routed through it. Lending remains the mainstay, with trade finance, commercial and retail loans together reaching USD 70.1 billion, up 48 percent year-on-year. But the rise in deposits and investments (up 55 percent to USD 5.96 billion) gives the banking ecosystem a more rounded profile than in earlier years.

Derivatives outstanding have moderated slightly, indicating some stabilisation in positions even as balance-sheet activity grows.

The compendium also highlights an expansion in the supporting architecture around GIFT, which has grown quietly alongside the rise in capital flows. During the year, the IFSC added three global in-house centres, bringing specialised treasury and operational functions into the district. Activity in the innovation layer has picked up as well, with over 30 fintech and sandbox entities now operating under IFSCA’s regulatory framework. This is being reinforced by a broader set of service providers, with around 100 firms in technology, legal, compliance and fund administration now operational within GIFT City.