First ship leasing entity anchors at GIFT City, RBB Ship Chartering receives nod to start operations from GIFT City.
In a landmark step towards boosting ship leasing services in India, RSCPL (IFSC) Private Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of RBB Ship Chartering Pte Ltd, Singapore, has been issued a provisional licence to operate from India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
RSCPL (IFSC) Pvt Ltd has received the maiden provisional license for ship leasing business in February 2023 and are planning to commence commercial operations before March 2023.
The maritime industry is a strategically important sector for India given the country’s vast coastline with massive global and domestic trade via sea routes. There is also a huge opportunity for India in promoting the shipping industry by incentivising domestic and international shipping companies (particularly those offering ship leasing / financial services) to set up their base in India. To tap into this enormous growth potential, a regulatory framework to enable the ship leasing business to be set up in GIFT City has already been put in place. The framework allows the ship leasing entities to offer operating lease, financial lease, and a hybrid lease structure from the GIFT IFSC.
Commenting on the development, Mr Tapan Ray, MD & Group CEO, GIFT City, said, “GIFT City is witnessing significant growth in various business verticals related to international financial services. Operationalization of ship leasing businesses will help in creating conducive ecosystem for international maritime cluster at par with other global maritime hubs. We expect ship leasing businesses will witness a similar trajectory as seen in aircraft leasing & financing vertical.”
Raajesh Bhojwani, CEO & MD, RBB Ship Chartering Pte Ltd, Singapore, said: “We are happy to have received the first ship leasing licence at GIFT City. We appreciate the efforts of officials of the Government of India, GIFT City, and IFSCA in this major milestone. The entire team of RBB Ship Chartering Pte Ltd, Singapore, is proud to be the 1st company to start ship leasing business at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, India. We are currently a profitable bootstrapped company and our vision is to be a globally-listed entity with revenue of over USD 7 Billion by 2027.”
About GIFT City
About Author
