The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has set up an expert committee to position GIFT IFSC in Gujarat as a ‘Global Trading Hub’.

The 21-member expert committee will be chaired by Rajeev Kher, former commerce secretary, according to an official release here. The committee will propose steps to promote GIFT IFSC as a Global Commodity Trading Hub by studying how key global commodity trading centres operate, and specially identify areas with strong synergies for the GIFT IFSC financial services industry. It will also identify key groups of commodities such as metals, energy/ hydrocarbons, agricultural commodities, etc, that should be given high priority in developing the IFSC ecosystem.

The committee will have representatives from ONGC, IOCL, NMDC, IIBX, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, StoneX and Arvind Ltd, among others.

IFSCA said Switzerland, Singapore, London, Chicago, Dubai, Shanghai and Rotterdam have emerged as strong International Financial Centres owing to significant synergies between financial services and commodity trading. “Enabling commodity trading in IFSC will facilitate IFSC’s financial integration with global trade flows, capitalise on integration opportunities with major commodity hubs and attract global investment flows into IFSC, thereby, helping IFSC grow competitively,” IFSCA said.

“Although India is one of the largest consumption markets and importers of many commodities, the majority of commodity traders execute trades from other financial centres. Indian enterprises have established bases in international trading hubs for a variety of reasons, including favourable tax and regulatory considerations, access to global markets, robust financial infrastructure, and an internationally aligned legal ecosystem,” it added.