Indian Firms Can List Their Stocks Directly In GIFT City Soon: Sitharaman

Indian firms would be able to list their stocks directly in the Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City soon, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, adding that this will enable the companies to access global funds easily.

Addressing the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit on Thursday (January 11), Sitharaman said, “We are going through the process in a very systematic manner and I’m confident it will happen at the earliest.”

According to Business Standard, the finance minister said that IFSC should act as the gateway to the global economy to support India’s vision of being a developed country by 2047.

On the sustainability front, she said that India needs to have a greater understanding of how carbon emission and “green-related” issues can be controlled. To meet the net zero commitment by 2070, India is still running short of $10.1 Tn funding, she added.

The GIFT authorities are also exploring new areas such as blended finance and de-risking mechanisms to open up new opportunities in wealth management, insurance, pension, and medical tourism. 

The GIFT City now has a number of financial institutions including the International Bullion Exchange, 25 banks of which 9 are foreign banks, 26 aircraft lessors, 80 fund managers, 50 professional service providers and 40 fintech entities, the finance minister added. 

According to Sitharaman, while most of the global financial hubs earlier looked at capital only, GIFT City has the potential to get financial services along with technology which can enable cross-border facilitation and tokenisation. 

“This fusion today gives us a lead advantage. And that lead advantage is coming when India’s growing fastest in the world,” she added. 

Sitharaman’s statement comes a day after fintech major Paytm announced an investment of INR 100 Cr in the economic zone. The startup aims to make the investment gradually and will seek necessary approvals for it. It also plans to innovate further and develop new technology for international users interested in investing in India.

The company also aims to streamline cross-border remittances by offering faster and cost-effective solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Meanwhile, on Tuesday (January 9), Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel said that GIFT City is poised to become one of the world’s premier international financial centres soon.

“The GIFT City is undergoing massive infrastructure expansion following which the total land area will reach around 3,400 acres,” said Patel, in an email interaction to PTI.

The Centre is looking to develop GIFT City, developed under the Special Economic Zones Act of 2005, with two distinctive zones – the GIFT SEZ (the non-IFSC area) and the GIFT IFSC, as a global financial hub. Additionally, there’s an emphasis on promoting GIFT as a virtual offshore destination for startups and investors.

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