Joshi sees new office contribute to growth in foreign investors
MUFG Bank is the first Japanese bank to obtain an approval to open a branch at Gujarat International Financial Tec City (GIFT City) from the International Financial Services Centre Authority in India and the Financial Services Agency in Japan to support its domestic as well as global clients.
“India is attracting a lot of foreign investors and we are keen to contribute to the growth through our new office in GIFT City. As we scale up our presence, we hope to better serve our global clients and be more relevant to them,” MUFG Deputy CEO of India Shashank Joshi said on 26 May 2022.
In March 2022, MUFG announced the setting up of an investment fund totalling US$300 million for Indian start-ups, aiming to further contribute to the development of clients in India. This fund intends not only to financially support Indian economic growth, but to drive collaboration between MUFG and promising companies in the areas of tech and IT.
As part of the Indian Government’s vision to make India a hub for international financial services, the Government has established GIFT City, under special economic zone as an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) for offshore transactions. GIFT City encourages banks and investors to “return business back to India” which is currently in offshore countries.
In India, foreign currency-denominated loans are prohibited in principle based on regulations, but GIFT City provides an opportunity to book India linked offshore business on the shores of India thereby expanding the business.
“This will enable us to meet the diverse funding needs of our clients in the Indian market, which is expected to grow further in the future,” said MUFG in a statement.
MUFG has been providing financial services to its clients in India for over 65 years since the establishment of the first branch in Mumbai in 1953. With the setup of a GIFT Branch, MUFG can support its domestic as well as global clients with an expanded suite of financial services and responding to their needs in carrying out international transactions. MUFG plans to open this branch for operations by the first half of FY 2022. fiinews.com
