Govt keen to transform Mumbai into global financial hub: Jayant Sinha

The longpending proposal to develop Mumbai into an International Financial Services Centre IFSC today got a boost with the government saying it is keen to transform the city into a global financial hubWe are keen to transform Mumbai as a global financial centre It is a necessity that we have to create Mumbai as a global financial centre Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said todayMaharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the state government is already working in this regard but much of the work was to be done by the Centre and the pending issues in this regard should be addressed in the upcoming Union BudgetCentres like Dubai and Singapore have made their presence in the international financial map For such a facility to materialise here firms within such centres which would be handling money from across the world should enjoy special treatment on regulatory and taxation frontsWe understand that if we get banks and investment firms here there will be more capital deployed into the economy there will be more jobs Sinha said addressing a Mumbai Next hereGovernment and various financial sector regulators including RBI and Sebi are mulling over a new set of norms to be applicable to IFSCs International Financial Services Centres which can be set up in different parts of the country for domestic and international investors sources have saidThe GIFT City in Gujarat can be the first off the block under this new regime which another IFSC can be developed in Mumbai the countrys financial capitalFadnavis said the world over such centres have been developed with the help from the respective federal governments and welcomed the support assured by the Centre in this regardI feel the first thing which was expected from the government towards making BKC a global financial centrewe have already started working on it and our role as the local government is to create the ecosystem Fadnavis saidWhile Mumbai already hosts the highest economic activity in the country experts have been stressing on the need to elevate its stature to a global level citing advantages like the citys position on the international time zonesAccording to experts India get at least four working hours with the financial powerhouse of London which can attract the stakeholders in trove hereThe strategic location stable environment and industrious people in Mumbai make it very well placed Sinha said adding a place like the centrally located business district of Bandra Kurla Complex BKC can play host to all the storied names in high financeIt is a necessity that we have to create Mumbai as a global financial centre he addedFadnavis hoped some announcements in this regard will come in the upcoming Budget He said Sinha has some constraints due to his office but after reading between the lines it is clear that something is coming upMuch of the role is with the Centre and I think Sinha understands it better I am sure most of your concerns will be addressed in the coming budget of the Centre he saidSinha said at present the financial capital contributes to about 1517 per cent of the new wealth creation in the country and going by that it will be adding another USD 1 trillion in wealth and market capitalisation over the next 10 yearsThat is the resource we need that is the fuel we need to power Mumbais growth forward I am very sure it will happen he said Commenting on the proposal SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya called for full convertibility of the rupee saying this is a precondition for any such facilityDefinitely infrastructure is not the only thing but infrastructure is the prime thing We have another disadvantage in the rupee being not fully convertible though it can happen sometime down the line she said adding that we need to first position ourselves as an IFCShe also noted that China also did the same thing while developing the Shanghai IFC Today the yuan is used in many centres for bilateral trade and bilateral payments A lot of Chinese imports are getting denominated in the yuanIn the meanwhile we need to create the infrastructure the kind of facilities that other centres have created so that going forward when the time comes for the convertible to happen we are almost there or fully there and the whole thing can just fall into place Bhattacharya saidOn the timing over the capital account convertibility she said it wont happen till the economy picks up and until we get most of the deficits current account and fiscal well under control It necessarily will have to be preceded by a very good round of economic growth So I would say the timing would be anywhere 78 years she addedStandard Chartered India country head Sunil Kaushal said a central plan has to be developed that is where the chief minister has to work with Delhi It cant be done by opening a BKC alone