Cisco to invest $2 billion in Modi's GIFT

Coming out of the shadows after almost a year, the contours of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Rs 73,000 crore (Rs 730 million) Gujarat International Finance Tec-City project have started emerging in a big way.

The state government has roped in American networking and technology giant Cisco Systems as one of its strategic partners.

"We have signed an MoU with Cisco to make an investment in GIFT and help us evolve our technology platform. The American giant is likely to invest over $2 billion in the project," a top government official of GIFT said. Cisco is also expected to pick up some stake in the project.

However, the details are still being worked and it will take about three-four months to finalise the deal, the official added. When contacted, a Cisco spokesperson declined to comment on any investment-related or stake-related matters.

"All we can say is that we have signed a memorandum of understanding with GIFT," he said. Under the MoU, Cisco will collaborate with GIFT Company Ltd in achieving its vision of becoming a world-class financial service centre with infrastructure and facilities that benchmark global standards.

Cisco will bring together a portfolio of products, services, partners, platforms, solutions and make appropriate investments. A joint task force will be constituted to work out the legal, technical and financial aspects of the co-operation, sources said.

While Cisco will acquire space in the project to set up its operations, it will also bring its existing business partners to set up their projects in GIFT, sources said.

The project, a 50:50 joint venture between Gujarat Urban Development Corporation and IL&FS, is envisaged to come up over 1,000 acres of land at Shahpur village, located between Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad. The real estate cost of the project is Rs 34,774 crore (Rs 347.74 billion).

A diamond-faceted, steel-and-glass clad GIFT building overlooking from a height of 350 metres (about 100 storeys) is to take concrete form here. A special economic zone for IT is also a part of the hub.

Several allied business entities including clearing houses, depositories, regulatory bodies, banking institutions, financial service firms, state and Central government bodies, exchanges, technology, knowledge and education support providers are planning to have their setups here.

The entire 'city' is proposed to be self-sustainable with various segments such as an international financial city, domestic financial city, e-technology park and an integrated township.

A string of MoUs have been signed by different companies in the past to set up their operations here, including the Kotak Mahindra group that is planning to set up a financial centre in the area.

London-based financial advisor Chescor Capital's has shown interest in acquiring 2 million sq ft, whereas Singapore-based Sembawang Engineers and Constructors (a subsidiary of Punj Lloyd) and Fairwood Consultant have inked pacts for 1 million sq ft each. Orix Corporation from Japan has also signed an MoU for 1 million square feet in the project.