JPMorgan says 100-plus multinationals eye GIFT City for treasury operations

MUMBAI: India’s GIFT City is cashing in on growing global interest. More than 100 multinational companies have approached JPMorgan Chase & Co. to explore banking and payment solutions for setting up corporate treasury operations at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City over the next 12 to 18 months, signalling rising confidence in the country’s international financial hub.

According to a Bloomberg report, the companies include multinational corporations, insurance firms and fintech players evaluating how GIFT City can help centralise treasury functions, manage global liquidity and conduct foreign currency transactions more efficiently.

“We haven’t seen anything like this before,” said JPMorgan Chase & Co. managing director and head of payments, Guhaprasath Rajagopal. He noted that treasury centres have emerged as a key growth theme for GIFT City, helped by the ability to operate foreign currency accounts alongside rupee banking facilities.

Established in 2015, GIFT City was designed as India’s international financial services hub to compete with centres such as Singapore and Dubai. Its International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) allows companies to undertake foreign currency transactions and access global financial markets under a single regulator, the International Financial Services Centres Authority, while benefiting from tax incentives and simplified regulations.

Interest in the financial hub has accelerated after the introduction of a 20-year tax holiday in April. Banking assets at GIFT City have grown to more than $100 billion, more than doubling over the past two years, reflecting the rapid expansion of its financial ecosystem.

The hub currently hosts 10 corporate treasury centres, including those operated by AMNS Global Treasury Centre IFSC and Amefird Treasury. Industry observers expect the next phase of growth to be driven by multinational companies relocating or expanding treasury functions to India.

Rajagopal said companies are increasingly looking to optimise borrowing costs and deploy surplus cash more efficiently, particularly amid volatile commodity prices. As a result, banks are seeing higher demand for treasury management services such as physical pooling, cash concentration and notional pooling, which help businesses manage liquidity across multiple markets.

He added that many multinational companies are still conducting internal evaluations before making final decisions on shifting or expanding treasury operations to GIFT City.

If a significant number of these companies proceed with their plans, the move could further strengthen GIFT City’s position as a global financial hub while boosting India’s role in international banking, cross-border payments and corporate treasury management.