Srinivas is leading a delegation of senior officials from the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), are currently in the US for meetings and roundtable discussions with American and global investors, banking and educational institutions for business opportunities.
The delegation is on a visit to New York and Washington. “We had meetings with fund managers. They are all very keen to invest in India,” Srinivas told PTI on Wednesday in an exclusive interview. He said the groups are happy to learn about various facilities available, apart from the regulatory comfort and overall financial ecosystem at GIFT. “They were excited about the cooperation prospects. India is a sought-after destination,” he said.
“Most corporate boards today discuss India. It’s an opportunity for India and we need to reach out also and we need to connect and we need to create a platform where we can easily intermediate global capital flows into the domestic economy,” he noted. “It’s a new India, it’s powered with technology, it’s very aspirational. There is a lot of efficiency, whether it is start-ups or in the fintech areas,” he said, adding that India is getting into the global supply chain and cited the example of Apple phones and semiconductors.
“We want this to happen in the financial sector as well and that’s where GIFT fits into the equation,” he explained. The delegation visited the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and had discussions with President Lynn Martin and vice-chairman John Tuttle, and identified areas for mutual cooperation. They also met vice-chairman of leading investment management company BlackRock Sir Robert Fairbairn as well as Managing Director at Cerberus Capital Management Kent Heggerud to discuss business opportunities at GIFT IFSC.
During the ongoing visit, the delegation made a presentation to US-based financial services institutions on business opportunities available at GIFT IFSC, and also interacted with leaders from the US-based funds industry, financial services industries and banking institutions. Several roundtable interactions were organised focusing on opportunities at GIFT IFSC for global stakeholders, including with High Net-worth Individuals from the diaspora community, a roundtable interaction on the theme Aircraft Leasing and Financing’ during which the delegation made a presentation on business opportunities at IFSC in areas of aircraft leasing and financing business.
IFSCA has also organised a roundtable interaction with universities and educational institutions on establishment of foreign educational institutions/universities in GIFT IFSC. Representatives from more than 20 foreign universities have participated in the roundtable held at the Consulate General of India in New York.
