GIFT City climbs nine places to 37th globally, enters Asia-Pacific top 15

Overview

• GIFT City has climbed nine places to rank 37th globally in the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 40), up from 46th in GFCI 39, and has entered the top 15 financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The latest edition also ranked GIFT City 26th globally in FinTech, improving three places from 29th in the previous edition.
• The GFCI assesses 117 financial centres based on factors including FinTech capabilities, access to finance, skilled talent, regulatory environment and information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.
• GIFT City was also placed among the 15 centres expected to gain greater significance over the next two to three years, based on mentions by respondents to the GFCI survey.
• The improvement in GIFT City’s overall and FinTech rankings reflects the continued expansion of its financial services ecosystem and the integration of finance, technology and innovation.
• GIFT City is focusing on increasing market participation, strengthening international connectivity and building capabilities to support cross-border financial activity.

ABOUT THE INDEX

• The Global Financial Centres Index, published by Z/Yen Group in partnership with the China Development Institute, benchmarks the competitiveness of international financial centres.
• GFCI 40 was compiled using 144 instrumental factors. These quantitative measures are provided by third parties including the World Bank, the OECD, and the UN.
• The instrumental factors were combined with 39,531 assessments of financial centres provided by 6,147 respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ranked 37th globally, up nine places from 46th in GFCI 39.
• 15th among Asia-Pacific financial centres in the overall index.
• 26th globally in FinTech, up from 29th in the previous edition.
• Classified as an "International Specialist" financial centre — a centre with deep expertise in selected areas of financial services and a broad international, rather than purely domestic, client base.
• Featured among the 15 financial centres likely to become more significant over the next two to three years, based on responses from survey participants

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR GIFT CITY

• The improvement in GIFT City's rankings reflects the expanding international profile of India's first International Financial Services Centre and the continued development of its financial and technology ecosystem.
• GIFT City has stated that its focus will remain on deepening market participation, strengthening international connectivity, building capabilities for sophisticated cross-border financial activity, and integrating finance, technology and innovation.
• For banks, fund managers, insurers, FinTechs and other international financial-services businesses, the ranking provides an additional global benchmark of GIFT City's developing financial ecosystem.

CONCLUSION

• A nine-place jump in a single cycle signals that GIFT IFSC is being recognised internationally not merely as a domestic initiative, but as a credible cross-border financial centre.
• For entities considering a presence at GIFT IFSC, the current environment — an improving international profile coupled with a maturing single-window regulator — presents a favourable window to evaluate entry.