JPMorgan enters GIFT City, PM Modi's favourite project becoming a hotspot for foreign banks

News Topical, Digital Desk : JPMorgan Chase & Co. is opening a branch in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), becoming the latest global bank to take advantage of the country's low-tax hub. According to Bloomberg, JP Morgan Securities Plc has received a license from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to set up a banking unit.

IFSCA Executive Director Dipesh Shah confirmed that the regulator issued a license to JPMorgan Securities earlier this month. This branch will facilitate trading in equities, derivatives, and other financial instruments.  JPMorgan opened a unit in GIFT City in 2024 to develop derivative products, while the US bank's Indian unit opened a branch in the hub in 2022. This new move will allow JPMorgan to trade financial instruments for clients based outside India. 

Several global banks have already turned to GIFT City.  JPMorgan's move reflects how Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project is gaining popularity among global banks and other companies in India. HSBC Holdings Plc, Standard Chartered Plc, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. have already entered GIFT City, and other Asian lenders are joining them. More than 190 fund management entities have set up offices there. Additionally, universities, insurance companies, and tech companies are also present. India is currently trying to develop GIFT City into an international trading and lending hub, gaining market share from renowned centers like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. It offers businesses various incentives, including a 100% tax exemption for ten years. Established a decade ago, the hub's total bank assets exceeded $100 billion by September 2025, a 41% increase from a year earlier. However, despite this, the center has not become very popular as a living location, as most of the 28,000 people working in GIFT City live in the nearby cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

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