Singapore International Arbitration Centres opens office in GIFT IFSC

The second office comes on the back of Memorandum of Agreement entered into between SIAC and GIFT

In what could further facilitate overseas dispute resolution on Indian shores, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has opened a second representative office in India at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Centre Zone (IFSC). The second office comes on the back of a this Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) entered into between SIAC and GIFT.

Indian entities have been one of the largest users of SIAC's services, being consistently ranked amongst the top three foreign users of SIAC in the last five years, as well as recognised as the top foreign user of SIAC in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

According to Ajay Pandey, managing director & group chief executive of GIFTCL, the SIAC office will provide neutral and independent dispute resolution platform for entities, thereby enabling them to undertake large international financial transactions from GIFT IFSC.

"GIFT companies will also start adopting SIAC's model clause as their preferred dispute resolution clause for international contracts exceeding a certain value. With increasing participation by international and domestic parties in GIFT IFSC, an international dispute resolution mechanism will be useful in making GIFT IFSC a global financial hub along the lines of London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York," said Pandey.

SIAC and GIFT will collaborate to promote to all companies and investors in GIFT, the use of arbitration and related dispute resolution services such as the Arb-Med-Arb service jointly provided by SIAC and the Singapore International Mediation Centre.

Meanwhile, commenting on the development, Lim Seok Hui, chief executive of SIAC stated in an official communique that the opening of a second SIAC office in India in GIFT IFSC will "allow SIAC to participate in GIFT's economic development" through provision of dispute resolution mechanism to businesses and investors within the international financial centre.

Housing India's first such IFSC, the GIFT City is a Gujarat government project in partnership with IL&FS for developing it as the country's first global financial hub.