ANZ aims to open operation at India’s Gift special economic zone

ANZ Group Holdings is seeking to open an operation in India’s Gift International Financial Services Centre, according to people familiar with the matter.

The multinational bank has applied to the International Financial Services Centres Authority for a licence, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Approval may be granted in the next few months following a due diligence process, they said.

ANZ’s new operation will mainly focus on serving the bank’s global clients to raise dollar funds given it’s located in the Gift special economic zone, the people said.

ANZ’s plan to serve global clients out of the special zone adds to India’s push to develop Gift City – or Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, as it gears up for a financial hub that aims to rival Singapore and Dubai.

The nation has rolled out a number of steps to increase the hub’s allure, offering exemptions from rules and taxes that weigh on trading in the rest of the country. Investment bankers’ pay in the area – a flagship project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – has outpaced those in Singapore and Hong Kong as banks rush to tap the nation’s economic boom.

ANZ declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg, while the International Financial Services Centres Authority did not reply immediately to an emailed query.

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ANZ Group aims to expand its presence in India and Vietnam as well as in China, chief executive officer Shayne Elliott said earlier this month. BLOOMBERG