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In an attempt to become India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), GIFT City is set to house a second international exchange in Gandhinagar.
National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with GIFT SEZ Ltd, a subsidiary of Gujarat International Financial Tec-City (GIFT City), to set up an international exchange in the GIFT SEZ area being developed as India's first IFSC.
The new exchange will provide an electronic platform for facilitating trading, clearing and settlement of securities, and will also explore the possibility of starting trading facilities in different asset classes including equities, interest rates, and currencies, among others.
"We consider the recognition of GIFT SEZ as an IFSC by the Centre, as a step forward to serve the financial industry at large. We have expressed our intention to set up the International Exchange at GIFT SEZ, we are yet to finalise details about the area required and the quantum of investment planned for it," said Chitra Ramkrishna, MD and CEO, NSE, after signing the MoU here.
Notably, NSE will be the second exchange after Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to set up an International Exchange at GIFT. In January this year, BSE had announced investment of up to Rs 150 crore along with its associates and members to set up an exchange in a built-up area of up to 300,000 sq ft.
"We are in talks with other international exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Exchanges from Dubai, Singapore and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), among others," said Ramakant Jha, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City.
Gujarat Finance Minister, Saurabh Patel said, "India has lost market share in several financial products due to the absence of a platform such as IFSC. We are taking all the steps required to fast-track the development of GIFT City. For Gujarat, which commands about 30 per cent share in the overall capital market of the country, GIFT City provides an ideal platform."
The exchange will cater to international and other investors willing to operate from GIFT SEZ-IFSC in GIFT City.
Of the overall investment target of Rs 78,000 crore, GIFT City has attracted investments worth Rs 9,000 crore by developing about 12.6 million square feet of area for various companies. According to Jha, six-seven companies — mostly from the financial sector — have started their operations at GIFT.
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