Global Asset Managers Expand Operations in India’s GIFT City

India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), launched more than a decade ago in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, is being promoted as the country’s first global financial centre. After a slow start, the hub is now drawing interest from foreign banks and fund houses. Standard Chartered, which began operating in GIFT City in 2020, announced plans to launch its Signature CIO funds “in the coming weeks,” signalling confidence in the market. BlackRock, through a joint venture with Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services, secured regulatory approval in May to launch global exchange-traded funds from the city and aims to start two outbound funds before the end of September.

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Government data show that the number of fund-management entities operating in GIFT City rose to 217 in May this year, up from 194 in November of the previous year. The increase follows recent tax-structure reforms that place GIFT City on par with centres such as Singapore, according to Rajesh Gandhi, partner at Deloitte India. Looser capital-control rules mean that funds based in the city are not subject to the $7 billion aggregate ceiling on outbound investments that applies to domestic managers—a limit that has already been exhausted, experts note. Despite Indian equity funds posting positive inflows for the 65th consecutive month, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the GIFT-based funds can tap the growing pool of Indian investors without the outbound cap.

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Rishi Kohli, chief investment officer of the Jio-BlackRock joint venture, said the firm is preparing to launch a global equity fund and an emerging-markets fund from the hub. Vikas Satija, managing director and chief executive of Shriram Wealth, predicts that by 2030 GIFT City will become a key global financial centre, calling BlackRock’s entry a “big sign.”

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Industry observers caution that GIFT City still faces hurdles. Vivek Singhania, co-founder of Dovetail Capital, argued that the centre needs “more time” to shed its image as an India-specific hub and to match lifestyle amenities offered by Dubai and Singapore; he noted that the Dubai International Financial Centre required two decades to achieve its current stature. Critics also point to the need for broader international recognition and a diversified ecosystem beyond regulatory parity.

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These developments suggest that GIFT City is moving toward greater global integration, though its long-term competitiveness will depend on continued regulatory refinement and the ability to attract a wider range of international capital.

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