Japan’s SMBC opens a branch in India’s GIFT City

The branch is slated to open in the first half of 2024.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is opening a branch in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.

The Japanese megabank announced that it has gotten approval to open a branch at GIFT City from the International Financial Services Centres Authority in India and the Financial Services Agency in Japan.

The branch is expected to open sometime in the first half of 2024.

GIFT City is a national project to implement India’s first smart city including a financial offshore special economic zone in the state of Gujarat, western India. The Indian government has introduced tax incentives, such as a zero withholding tax which in principle is applied to the offshore-foreign currency-denominated borrowing from outside India.

“GIFT City presents an opportunity for the bank to manage offshore business linked to India from within the country, enabling us to cater to the diverse and growing needs of our clients,” SMBC said in a press statement published on its website.

SMBC first entered India in March 2013, establishing a branch in New Delhi. The Mumbai and Chennai branches opened in March 2017 and November 2020, respectively.