Eyeballs on Gujarat: global investors intend to take first movers’ advantage at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit

Gandhinagar : GIFT City, which has expanded into a major international financial hub in India, has attracted a host of global investors. Many of them have made a beeline to mark their presence and to take the first movers’ advantage.

GIFT City is billed as a world-class business district envisaged and built to cater to global and domestic business enterprises. It aims to set an international benchmark for finance and technology hubs worldwide.

During the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority decided to set up a one-of-a-kind sovereign fund in GIFT City.

APEX Group, one of the leading fund administrators, decided to set up their office in GIFT City as a fund administrator and fund accounting service provider. APEX Group would employ around 1,000 people over 3 years.

Mizuho Bank becomes the second Japanese Bank to set up IFSC Banking Unit in GIFT IFSC.
Deakin University inaugurated its campus in GIFT City, which is India’s first campus of a foreign-based university.

Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Deakin University, Iain Martin inaugurated the campus. Prime Minister Narendra also held a one-on-one meeting with Deakin University VC.

The Education Centre of Australia has submitted an Expression of Interest to become an academic infrastructure service provider to foreign universities in GIFT City. This will bring leading foreign universities to GIFT City.

Through the new education policy brought in in 2020, India has opened floodgates for foreign educational institutes to set up brick-and-mortar infrastructure.

Further, Transworld Group has announced plans to set up ship leasing and aircraft leasing activities in GIFT IFSC. Transworld is one of the leading UEA-based groups.

Moreover, Accenture has shown a keen desire to establish its presence in GIFT City.

Stonex Group intends to set up a bullion trading desk in GIFT City IFSC.

As part of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Global Fintech Leadership Forum held at GIFT City on Wednesday, Jan. 10, the first day of the summit.

The forum saw the participation of the chairman and CEOs of 26 prominent fintech companies worldwide, including Mukesh Ambani, Sanjay Mehrotra, and Lakshmi Mittal.

The Prime Minister received recommendations from leaders of fintech companies to elevate GIFT City to an international standard and position India as a leading fintech country. PM Modi attentively listened to all the industrialists for nearly three hours.

Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the significance of bringing together top industrialists in finance and technology to explore innovative solutions for the digital economy.

The Prime Minister said that it is interesting to see how fintech will have a transformative impact on the world, and extended an invitation to industrialists to invest in GIFT City, aligning with the vision of making India a global leader in the financial sector.
Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel and Chairman of GIFT City, provided insights into the purpose behind organising the Global FinTech Leadership Forum. The forum was moderated by renowned businessman Uday Kotak.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar.

The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Gateway to the Future’ and includes the participation of 34 partner countries and 16 partner organisations.

The Summit is also being used as a platform by the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region to showcase investment opportunities in the North-Eastern regions.