Investments worth Rs 105 billion committed at GIFT City, says Ajay Pandey

With 15 million square feet (sq ft) of the total 62 million sq ft developable area already allotted for development, the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) has seen investments commitments worth Rs 105 billion so far.

According to Ajay Pandey, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City, already 162 business units are operational at the finance hub, of which 40 are in domestic area while rest are in the special economic zone (SEZ) that houses India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

According to Pandey, employment in the project has also risen to over 7800, of which roughly 4800 are directly employed.

"We will be initiating fresh request for proposal (RFP) for commercial and residential development. From RFP to being fully operational, it takes roughly 3-4 years. We have already allotted 15 million sq ft, attracting cumulative investment of Rs 105 billion. With the government's support and budget announcements, we will see further growth," said Pandey.

In the recent union budget, finance minister Arun Jaitley announced setting up of a unified regulatory authority for regulating all financial services in IFSC. "IFSC at Gift City, which has become operational, needs a coherent and integrated regulatory framework to fully develop and to compete with other offshore financial centres," Jaitley had said in his speech.

Further, the government has also provided two more concessions for IFSC. "In order to promote trade in stock exchanges located in IFSC, I propose to exempt transfer of derivatives and certain securities by non-residents from capital gains tax. Further, non-corporate taxpayers operating in IFSC shall be charged Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) at concessional rate of nine at par with Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) applicable for corporates," Jaitley had said in his budget speech.

According to Pandey, with the MAT being reduced to nine per cent from the previous 18 per cent, the IFSC at GIFT City is now more competitive than Singapore's international financial services centre where the rate is currently 10 per cent.

So far, the IFSC at GIFT City has seen banking, insurance, capital market and other operations commencing over a period of time. Among these, while sum insured business within the IFSC has crossed $ 20 billion, transactions through international banking units (IBUs) have crossed $ 8 billion.

International exchanges at IFSC have seen average daily trading volume jump from initial $ 1 million to now $ 250 million, thereby registering a cumulative trading turnover of over $ 10 billion.

Fire at GIFT City’s IFSC office
 

A major fire broke out at India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) project office in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) on Monday.
 

While no casualties were reported, the fire almost entirely damaged the makeshift building, known as GIFT Aspire Two, that was being used as administration office.
 

According to Ajay Pandey, managing director and & group chief executive officer said the exact reason of fire was not yet known. But, the preliminary reason seemed to be that of a short circuit.  
 

"Most of the staff were shifted to the new premises last year and hence there were no casualties or injuries. As a precautionary measure, all near-by buildings were also evacuated. The fire was brought under control within an hour," Pandey said.

BS Reporter

With its in-house fire and emergency services yet not operational, GIFT City had to rely on services of fire-tenders from Gandhinagar city administration. 

Apart from GIFT City's administration, the single storied building was also being used by some banks for their makeshift international banking operations since it fell in the IFSC within the special economic zone (SEZ) area.

It needs to be mentioned here that the financial and IT hub GIFT City has seen over 160 units operational in the areas of banking, insurance, and capital markets, among others, and attracted a cumulative investment of Rs 105 billion so far. 

- BS reporter