The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has issued a consultation paper proposing to expand the list of overseas jurisdictions from which GIFT City-registered distributors can offer capital market products — including investment funds — to retail and other investors.
The proposed additions are the European Union (excluding Croatia), the UAE, Singapore and Australia. Public comments are open until August 7.
What changed
Currently, IFSCA-registered distributors in GIFT City can distribute capital market products from regulated entities in India, GIFT IFSC, the US, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Canada to retail and other investors. Products from any other foreign jurisdiction are presently restricted to sophisticated or accredited investors only.
The consultation paper proposes adding the EU (excluding Croatia), the UAE, Singapore and Australia to the retail-eligible list. Because Luxembourg and Ireland are both EU member states, the change would — if adopted — bring funds domiciled there into scope for retail distribution through GIFT IFSC for the first time.
IFSCA cited IOSCO's 2025 Investment Funds Statistics Report, which places Luxembourg as the world's second-largest jurisdiction for open-ended investment funds (about $5.17 trillion in AUM) and the largest for closed-ended funds, and Ireland fourth globally for open-ended funds (about $3.82 trillion), also ranking among the top 10 for closed-ended funds.
This is a proposal, not a final rule. IFSCA has not stated an effective date for implementation. The regulator noted that distribution would continue to be subject to the applicable legal and regulatory framework in both the jurisdiction where the product originates and the jurisdiction where the investor is located.
Separately, IFSCA said it had also received representations to add the Cayman Islands and Cyprus, but has not proposed including them at this stage.
Who it affects — foreign investors and the India–Gulf corridor
The UAE is one of the four jurisdictions named in the proposal. If adopted, UAE-domiciled capital market products — currently distributable through GIFT IFSC only to sophisticated or accredited investors — would become available to retail investors as well. This is directly relevant for corridor-facing fund managers and distributors positioning UAE-domiciled products for Indian retail access via GIFT City.
The proposal also sits alongside IFSCA's existing Video Customer Identification Process (V-CIP) regime, under which non-resident Indians in the UAE, Singapore, Australia and the EU (excluding Croatia) are already permitted to be onboarded via video-based KYC.
The four jurisdictions named in the consultation paper match the four already covered under V-CIP, meaning NRIs in the UAE who are already onboarded through this route would gain access to a wider set of retail-eligible products if the proposal is adopted.
Registered distributors operating out of GIFT IFSC — including those serving Gulf-based NRI clients — are the direct commercial beneficiaries of an expanded product shelf. Fund managers domiciled in the UAE seeking retail (not just accredited-investor) distribution into India through GIFT City should treat this consultation as the relevant regulatory window.
