GIFT City inks pact with Singapore International Arbitration Centre

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) and GIFT SEZ Ltd (GIFT SEZ) on Thursday announced the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) to promote the use of dispute resolution mechanisms at India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) here.

Under the MOA, the three signatories will collaborate to promote use of arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution mechanisms, including the innovative Arb-Med-Arb service offered by the SIAC and the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC), to resolve international commercial disputes in the IFSC, GIFT said in a statement.

SIAC will establish a representative office in the IFSC-GIFT to promote SIAC's world-class international arbitration services to Indian users, the release said.

"Indian parties have consistently ranked amongst the top five foreign users of SIAC in the last five years, and the top foreign user of SIAC in 2013 and 2015," it added.

"SIAC, and the SIAC Rules, are widely used by Indian and international companies investing in India, to resolve their disputes," said GIFT Group Chief Executive Ajay Pandey.

SIAC and SIMC Chief Execuitve Lim Seok Hui said the partnership with GIF and GIFT SEZ opens new doors for SIAC.

"By establishing our representative office in the IFSC-GIFT, we aim to contribute to GIFT City's economic development," she said.

GIFT announced in late April that it had crossed $250 million worth of business transactions in the preceding six months.

In February, it had announced that Yes Bank and Federal Bank have generated business worth $100 million within three months of the launch of their banking units in the IFSC, from services such as buyers' credit, external commercial borrowings, deposits and credit facilities to Indian companies registered abroad.

A unit at the GIFT IFSC is equivalent to a foreign branch and facilitates the bank to function as such from within India.

--IANS

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