Stressing that Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT City is growing rapidly, Sandeep Batra, who heads international banking for HSBC, believes it is on its way to becoming a global investment hub.
“It started as a place for corporates; now wealth managers, individuals, private banking, a lot is happening at GIFT,” Batra said, speaking with NDTV Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal in Walk The Talk.
He was referring to Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank accounts, a fixed deposit scheme by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for non-resident Indians (NRIs), persons of Indian origin (PIOs), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) to maintain term deposits in freely convertible foreign currencies. But do people look at GIFT City, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, as an investment opportunity, a port, or as a destination, he was asked. “But do you know, individuals, both NRIs and resident Indians, can already open accounts on multiple currencies sitting wherever they are! They’re also able to invest globally. If you’re a resident Indian, you can invest in a variety of products around the world. If you’re an NRI, you can take a slice of the world, or you can take any slice of India. And I think we are heading in the right direction. Speaking on which financial instruments in GIFT City people should know about, he spoke of the basics: “Start with getting a multiple-currency account. Let’s say you’re going to travel: Why do you want to pay a markup on money that you spend? You should be able to spend directly from your bank account, and the bank account should ideally be able to recognise the currency.”
Soon, you may be able to have a single debit card that will have 15-20 currencies on it.
On which businesses are growing the fastest, and where GIFT City lags currently as compared to places like Dubai, Hong Kong or Singapore, he said, “The other centres have been there for a long period of time, and we’ve seen development over the years as well… [GIFT City] has quickly become the factory of the FCNRB programme. “Acceptance and knowledge are spreading gradually,” he said.
