The Times of India has reported that the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia’s oldest stock exchange, will establish an international trading venue in GIFT SEZ-IFC, a multi-services special economic zone (SEZ) being developed as India’s first international financial services centre (IFSC) by Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Ltd (GIFTCL).
BSE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GIFT SEZ Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GIFTCL at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit last week. As per the MoU, BSE along with its associates and members will invest upto Rs. 150 crore for establishing upto a three lakh square feet built-up area (BUA) to set up this international exchange.
BSE intends to develop an international exchange providing an electronic platform to facilitate trading, clearing and settlement of securities, commodities, interest rates, FX, derivatives and other asset classes by international investors in GIFT SEZ-IFSC in GIFT City subject to necessary approvals and operating guidelines for an international financial centre.
Ramakant Jha, MD & Group CEO, GIFT Company Ltd said, “BSE’s international exchange at GIFT City is a major step in making India’s first IFSC into a global financial hub. This agreement has further strengthened our bond with one of the world’s oldest stock exchange. Our aim is to make GIFT at or above par with globally benchmarked financial centres such as Shinjuku-Tokyo, Lujiazui-Shanghai, La Defense-Paris and London Dockyards.”
GIFT is designed to be India’s next generation hub for the global financial services sector. State-of-the-art connectivity, infrastructure and transportation access have been integrated into the design of the city. Noting India’s infrastructure issues will be of no concern here. Until now, poor infrastructure has been a lagging problem for the Indian economy, hampering growth efforts. If the project meets it’s full potential it has the specifications on paper to blow traditional financial centers out of the water, see the chart below:
GIFT City intends to take full advantage of the swath of land on the Indian subcontinent
Furthermore, at a recent BSE Brokers’ Forum, the association of BSE brokers, entered into an agreement with GIFT City for setting up their operations and shifting their back-end operations in the domestic finance enclave. BSE Brokers’ Forum has been allotted 4.5 lakh square feet of Development Rights with total investment expected at around Rs 200 crore.
Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE said, “BSE is taking a lead in bringing international standards in India, in technology, compliance, corporate governance, promoting SMEs, creation and trading of sustainable and other indices, including the oldest and most popular India based index, the S&P BSE Sensex. This will help India to compete with other destinations and allow Indian and international companies, making GIFT as one of the foremost international financial centres in the world such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and London.”
To download a brochure describing the ambitious project in detail, click here (PDF).
To view the Times of India article, click here.