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Two of the HDFC Bank group companies are set to commence operations from GIFT City – IFSC.

HDFC International Life and Re, IFSC Branch

HDFC Life, one of India’s leading insurers has announced that the overseas branch of its international subsidiary HDFC International Life and Re, will now offer US Dollar denominated life and health insurance solutions for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from GIFT City – IFSC, India under the brand name HDFC Life International.

HDFC Life International will cater to NRIs and the global Indian diaspora, offering insurance solutions with world-class features that are not limited by borders. Most importantly, these products can be purchased using foreign currency such as the US Dollar. The full range of solutions offered by HDFC Life International includes products that address an individual’s financial needs related to Savings, Health and Retirement.

The first product – “US Dollar Global Education Plan”, is now open for enrolment and is designed to help parents build a US Dollar denominated corpus to meet future expenses for their child’s overseas education. This product aims to eliminate any future mismatch between the currency of investment and the currency of expenses. 

HDFC International Life and Re, operational since January 2016 is a wholly owned subsidiary of HDFC Life. It is based in the Dubai International Financial Center (“DIFC”), Dubai, United Arab Emirates and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). The overseas branch at GIFT City – IFSC has received requisite approvals and grants of registration from the International Financial Services Centre Authority (“IFSCA”), the unified regulator at GIFT City – IFSC. Bespoke and innovative foreign currency denominated life and health insurance products and solutions have been created after carefully examining the insurance needs of global Indians and NRIs. These products will be made available under the aegis of the “HDFC Life International” brand, through the newly launched website, www.hdfclife-international.com. This easy-to-navigate and informative website carries glimpses of the first product, a guide for busy parents to plan for their children’s education, a comprehensive education calculator, pre-packed offerings, upcoming product segments, seamless servicing options and the provision to reserve seats for new offerings, among others. The aim is to support long term planning by parents in a meaningful manner.

Products will be available online for enrolment and customers can avail a smooth service experience, aided by international experts on call. These multi-currency life and health insurance product and solutions from GIFT City will complement the existing suite of INR products offered by HDFC Life, thus widening the available choices for its prevailing and new customers.

HDFC AMC International (IFSC)

HDFC AMC had announced the set-up of its wholly owned subsidiary HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited at International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). This is a strategic move to expand the global outreach and for opening up new markets for the products and services managed / offered by HDFC Asset Management Company Limited. HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited is registered with IFSCA as “Fund Management Entity (Retail)” to carry out investment management, investment advisory and portfolio management services activities from GIFT City – IFSC.

As part of the initial product rollout, HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited proposes to launch 6 (six) Funds which would feed into different HDFC Mutual Fund schemes covering strategies on equity (across market capitalization) and hybrids. The underlying domestic schemes for these strategies have an aggregate average AUM in excess of USD 20 billion (as of July 2023). The setting up of these products provides a convenient and viable route for global investors to access its India investment solutions. Global investors thus stand to gain from the long and distinguished track record of HDFC AMC, the capabilities of its large and established investment team and its disciplined process driven investment approach. The initial focus would be on global institutional investors looking at India investment solutions.

As HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited expands its offering, it will provide options for both onshore investors (under LRS / OPI route) and offshore investors to invest in global strategies. These products will help resident investors supplement their domestic investments by addition of global allocation. It is the company’s endeavour to provide access to resident investors with best-of-class global managers with GIFT City as the gateway.

HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited will also provide portfolio management services to eligible global institutional investors who wish to invest through separately managed accounts. Over a period of time HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited intends to deepen its solutions with addition of products on alternate strategies including those on private assets. The aspiration is for HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited to become a one stop solution for all investment requirements from an offshore perspective, both for global investors (NRI, Indian diaspora and foreign) looking at India solutions and for Indian and offshore investors looking at global solutions.

Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC Life and HDFC AMC commented on this milestone in HDFC Life and HDFC AMC’s journey and said, “We are delighted to share with our customers, investors and shareholders, our upcoming and novel foray from GIFT City, India. The unified regulator IFSCA has been constantly focusing on establishing India as a strong and stable international financial platform for the entire region and the global economy as a whole. With this association, we look forward to further contributing to the India growth story and to make world class foreign currency denominated insurance solutions available for NRIs and Global Indians through HDFC Life International and; Indian investment solutions available to global investors and global investment solutions available to resident investors through HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited”.

“Congratulating the newly established HDFC Life International and HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited in GIFT City, Shri Tapan Ray, IAS (Retd.) Managing Director & Group CEO, GIFT City said ''HDFC Life International’s presence as the first international insurer in GIFT City and HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited as HDFC AMCs offshore hub, is a resounding validation of our commitment to creating a hub for world class business infrastructure that caters to global and domestic financial enterprises. We highly value this association and are delighted to partner with the HDFC Bank Group towards making this venture a benchmark for future successes in the insurance domain''

Shri K Rajaraman, IAS, Chairperson, IFSCA commented “The IFSCA’s reputation as a hub for international financial activities continues to grow, attracting a diverge range of financial institutions. The IFSCA regulatory framework is designed to foster an environment of transparency, stability and innovation and holds immense potential and opportunities for the global financial community.”

Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life added, “HDFC Life celebrates the contribution made by the overseas Indian community towards the development of India. We are proud that our subsidiary, HDFC International Life and Re, is expanding its products and solutions from the branch at GIFT City - IFSC, India. These products will be suitable for NRIs and will deliver high quality life and health insurance solutions. We urge our distribution partners to come to GIFT City and partner with us on these offerings.”

Navneet Munot, MD & CEO, HDFC AMC commented “The establishment of HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited as the offshore hub for HDFC AMC further strengthens our commitment towards providing a wider platform for global investors to access our time tested and industry leading investment capabilities. It will also help us broaden the scope of our offerings by providing options for investors looking at global investment options. HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Limited would act as the bridge connecting global investors with Indian markets and Indian investors with global markets”.