India’s GIFT City finance hub grants first family office permit

MUMBAI: India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) has issued its first license to establish a family investment fund, marking a significant step in managing private wealth within the financial hub.

Here are some details:

Permit granted to Poornam Asset Management IFSC Pvt Ltd, according to a GIFT City financial regulatory authority official who was not authorised to speak to the media.

Underscores GIFT City’s aim to build a globally competitive and flexible regulatory ecosystem for foreign family offices and private wealth structures, the GIFT City financial regulatory authority said.

Some wealthy Asians are seeking alternatives to Dubai due to geopolitical tensions in the Gulf.

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Poornam Asset Management has an authorised capital of 7 million rupees ($75,175.86) and is directed by Vineet Kulbandhu Sharma, currently based in London, public disclosures showed.

Sharma is a fund manager of two funds based in Hong Kong and London.

Previously, GIFT City provided in-principle approval to family offices linked to Indian billionaire Azim Premji and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy’s family fund, Catamaran Artha.

However, a final licence to these entities allowing them to manage wealth from GIFT City has yet to be granted due to concerns over potential flight of Indian capital, the official added.