GIFT City leveraged the global forum to position India’s maiden IFSC as a scalable, regulation-ready destination for banking, capital markets, insurance, fintech, and advanced digital operations.
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 23 January 2026: Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) emerged as a key point of interest for global financial institutions, investors, and technology companies at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, with global companies seeking deeper engagement around India-linked financial services, innovation, and cross-border operations.
Participating at the WEF Annual Meeting for the first time, GIFT City leveraged the four-day global forum to position India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) as a scalable, regulation-ready destination for banking, capital markets, insurance, fintech, and advanced digital operations. The engagements reflected growing global recognition of India’s IFSC framework as a credible platform for international business expansion.
Commenting on the engagements, GIFT City’s MD and Group CEO Mr Sanjay Kaul said, “India is at a defining stage in its economic journey, with global institutions increasingly viewing the country not just as a market, but as a base for sophisticated financial and technology operations. The discussions at Davos reflect growing confidence in GIFT City’s regulatory framework and operating environment, and its ability to offer global firms a competitive, internationally aligned platform within India’s jurisdiction to participate in the country’s long-term growth.”
The GIFT City delegation held a series of structured discussions with senior leadership from leading global financial institutions. Meetings with Euroclear, Marsh McLennan, Invesco, Visa, and Nasdaq centred on the evolution of India’s capital markets, cross-border fund flows, and the operational advantages of the IFSC ecosystem. Discussions highlighted interest in GIFT City’s unified regulatory environment, ease of capital movement, and expanding financial market depth.
Technology and digital infrastructure formed a parallel focus area at Davos. Engagements with Cognizant, HCL Software, Qualcomm, Fortinet, Cloudflare, Wipro, Airtel, RP Goenka Group, Uniphore, Equinix, and Medable reinforced GIFT City’s positioning as an emerging hub for global capability centres (GCCs), cybersecurity, AI-led platforms, and next-generation digital finance infrastructure.
Strategic conversations were also held with global advisory and institutional stakeholders including Egon Zehnder, APCO Worldwide, Laurel Strategies, IMD Business School, and Surfin, underlining the growing global interest in GIFT City as a long-term institutional and innovation destination.
Beyond one-to-one meetings, GIFT City participated in curated roundtables at the GIFT Pavilion focusing on India’s GCC opportunity, the future of global capital flows, and technology-driven enterprise transformation. The delegation also joined exclusive sessions hosted by the Swiss Embassy, Swiss India Chamber of Commerce, and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
