WFY’26: GIFT City IFSC – a new frontier for trade finance and factoring in India

As global trade continues to evolve, financial centres that combine innovation, regulatory efficiency, and international connectivity are becoming increasingly important. In this article, the authors Riddhi Bhandari, Chief General Manager and T P Samuel Wesly, Manager, IFSCA, GIFT City explore how GIFT City IFSC is emerging as a strategic hub for trade finance and factoring, highlighting the regulatory framework, incentives, and market developments that are positioning it as a gateway for supporting India’s growing international trade ambitions.

Below, we provide an excerpt from his outstanding analysis. The whole article is included in the World Factoring Yearbook, most recent edition from 2026 (WFY’26).

The Government of India implemented a major financial sector reform some years ago by establishing and operationalising India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat International Financial TecCity (GIFT City), Gujarat. The vision of the Government is to develop GIFT IFSC as a leading internationally recognised financial centre with trusted business regulations, competitive tax structure and ease of doing business. The IFSC has been designated as a special international financial jurisdiction, which is treated as a non-resident zone under foreign exchange management (FEM) regulations, thereby facilitating transactions in notified freely convertible foreign currencies, including Euro, GBP, USD, etc.

The Honourable Prime Minister of India during his visit to GIFT IFSC in July 2022 articulated his vision for GIFT City and stated that “the vision of India’s future is associated with GIFT City, which is an important gateway to connect India with global opportunities”. He further stated that “if one integrates with GIFT City, one will integrate with the whole world”.

GIFT City IFSC is regulated by a unified financial sector regulator viz. the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). GIFT IFSC has, in the last five years, witnessed substantial growth across the entire spectrum of financial services activities including banking, capital markets, insurance, funds, aircraft leasing, ship leasing, fintech, foreign universities etc. As of March 2026, more than 1200+ authorisations have been issued by the IFSCA for banks, capital markets, insurance, fintechs, aircraft leasing, ship leasing, bullion exchange, etc.

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To read the whole article and 50 other specialist articles and country market reviews, order World Factoring Yearbook 2026 here.