State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and pharmaceutical major Zydus Group have applied to set up global treasury centres at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), adding to the growing list of Indian corporates looking to centralise their treasury and financial operations at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
According to applications made by SAIL Global IFSC and Zydus Global Treasury Centre IFSC, the companies have proposed to undertake activities under the Global/Regional Corporate Treasury Centre (GRCTC) framework within the GIFT IFSC. SAIL Global IFSC has proposed an office spanning 446 square metres on the sixth floor of Rajyash One in GIFT City, with an initial workforce of nine employees. Zydus Global Treasury Centre IFSC, meanwhile, has proposed an office measuring 315 square metres on the 18th floor of FlexOne in GIFT City.
The proposals come close on the heels of Adani Airports Holdings approaching IFSCA to establish a global treasury centre in GIFT City through its wholly-owned subsidiary, AAHL Global IFSC. The proposed entity would be the second Adani Group company to pursue the IFSC route, after ATSOL Global IFSC, associated with Adani Energy Solutions. Adani Airports has proposed an initial office space of 7.43 square metres and a workforce of two employees for its GIFT City entity, with funding through capital infusion from the parent company.
The growing interest from corporate groups comes as GIFT City positions itself as a hub for global and regional treasury operations, allowing companies to centralise group-level financial activities through an entity operating within the IFSC. Global and Regional Corporate Treasury Centres essentially function as an in-house bank for corporate groups, managing financial operations across their subsidiaries and associated entities. These centres can undertake activities such as intra-group lending and borrowing, cash and liquidity management, deployment of surplus funds, foreign exchange transactions, hedging and management of financial risks, subject to the regulatory framework.
The idea is to allow large corporate groups to consolidate treasury operations that may otherwise be spread across multiple jurisdictions, enabling more efficient management of group liquidity, funding requirements and financial exposures. The framework, introduced by IFSCA in June 2021 and subsequently revised in April 2025, allows finance companies and finance units established in the IFSC to undertake treasury activities and services for their group entities. The revised framework permits treasury centres to be set up either as subsidiaries or as branches of companies incorporated in India or overseas. It also provides for a minimum owned-fund requirement of $200,000, which, in the case of a finance unit, can be maintained at the parent-entity level.
The treasury-centre ecosystem at GIFT City has been expanding, with companies associated with Indian Oil Corporation, ONGC Videsh, GAIL, ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Adani Energy Solutions, Welspun, Synechron, JLL, ReNew and Continuum Green Energy, among those, that have established or pursued treasury operations in the IFSC.
The expansion is also reflected in the growth of business volumes. Loans and advances by treasury centres in GIFT IFSC stood at $6.54 billion as of June 2026, compared with $2.73 billion in June 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of around 140 per cent. Their investments also rose to $495.77 million from $78.31 million over the same period.
For Indian multinational companies and large corporate groups, GIFT City offers an opportunity to manage cross-border financing, liquidity and foreign exchange requirements through a dedicated treasury entity within India’s international financial services jurisdiction. The entry of companies from sectors such as steel, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure and energy also points to the widening appeal of the framework beyond traditional financial services businesses.
Published on November 11, 2026
