GIFT City Growth
Over 100 Multinationals in Talks with JPMorgan for GIFT City Treasury Operations
More than 100 companies have approached JPMorgan Chase & Co. to explore banking and payment solutions for corporate treasury operations in GIFT City over the next 12 to 18 months. Treasury centers are a major theme for GIFT City, with the ability to offer foreign-currency accounts alongside rupee capabilities providing an additional draw.
| Multinationals in talks with JPMorgan | Over 100 companies |
|---|---|
| Timeline for potential setup | Next 12–18 months |
| Corporate treasury centers operational now | 10 centers (as of July 2026) |
| Banking assets at GIFT City | $111 billion (as of March 2026) |
| Loans & advances by treasury centers | $5.61 billion (as of March 2026) |
| Tax holiday duration | 20 consecutive years (effective April 2026) |
| Post-holiday tax rate | 15% (vs. 25–38% standard corporate rate) |
| JPMorgan executive assessment | "We haven't seen anything like this before" |
The Development
More than 100 companies have approached JPMorgan Chase & Co. to explore banking and payment solutions for corporate treasury operations in GIFT City over the next 12 to 18 months, highlighting growing interest from multinational firms. There are 10 corporate treasury centers already operational in GIFT City.
JPMorgan's managing director and head of payments, Guhaprasath Rajagopal, said: "We haven't seen anything like this before." Treasury centers are a major theme for GIFT City, and the ability to offer foreign-currency accounts alongside rupee capabilities provides an additional tailwind.
What This Means
The next wave is expected to be dominated by multinational companies. Significant internal evaluation is underway at corporates, particularly among multinational firms. The expansion is creating opportunities for banks to provide liquidity-management services, an increasingly important business as global companies seek to centralize cash and funding operations.
Treasury centers operate as in-house banks for multinational corporations, centralizing and managing group-wide financial operations, focusing on multi-currency liquidity and cash management, foreign exchange and interest rate hedging, and intra-group financing.
The Catalyst: Tax Policy Change
Interest in the hub has accelerated following the introduction of a 20-year tax holiday, which came into effect in April. The period of tax deduction was increased to 20 consecutive years for units in IFSC. After the expiry of the tax-holiday period, business income will be taxed at 15% rather than 25–38% corporate rates.
The rationalisation of deemed dividend provisions for treasury centres removes structural tax friction for multinational groups and facilitates efficient treasury and funding operations through GIFT City.
GIFT City Context
Established in 2015, GIFT City is India's first financial and technology hub with a global focus, built to compete with hubs such as Singapore and Dubai. It allows Indian and international companies to transact in foreign currencies, manage global treasury functions, and access international markets, all under a single regulator.
Banking assets at GIFT City IFSC stood at USD 111 billion, while External Commercial Borrowing exposure exceeded USD 41 billion, as of March 2026.
JPMorgan's Service Offering
JPMorgan offers services including physical pooling, cash concentration and notional pooling. Physical pooling consolidates cash balances from subsidiaries into a central account, while notional pooling offsets balances across multiple accounts without physically moving funds.
For JPMorgan, the increase in multinational interest could create additional demand across payments, cash management, foreign exchange, trade finance and corporate lending.
What Is Next
JPMorgan expects the next phase of growth to be driven by multinational corporations that are assessing the strategic benefits of centralising treasury and funding operations in India. Not every company holding discussions will necessarily establish operations at GIFT City. Businesses must evaluate regulatory requirements, tax treatment, technology infrastructure, staffing and the costs of transferring existing treasury functions.
If even some of the companies in talks go ahead with treasury operations, it could strengthen India's position in international finance and expand its footprint in cross-border banking and payments.
Sources
- India's GIFT City Sees Surge in Corporate Treasury Interest With JPMorgan Talks
- Over 100 multinationals eyeing treasury operations in GIFT City: JPMorgan
- JPMorgan in talks with over 100 multinational firms to set up treasury operations at GIFT City
- Union Budget 2026-27: Centre doubles GIFT City tax holiday to 20 years
- GIFT City emerges as hotspot for global finance, treasury and investments