The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has announced that Kotak Mahindra Bank of India is the 500th firm to start conducting financial services in or from the DIFC, offering a full suite of commercial banking activity.
In a statement on 2 October, Saeb Eigner, chairman of the DFSA, said: “This is an important milestone in the development of the DIFC, now in its 15th year, which further solidifies its position as the leading international financial centre of the region and crowns the many previous achievements of the DIFC.
“It is fitting that the 500th authorised firm is a leading bank from India with a category 1 licence. One of the striking aspects of growth in the DIFC in recent years has been the rapidly growing volume of business originating from Asia, including China.”
Eigner added the number of firms, and volume of business conducted by them in the DIFC, continues to grow steadily.
Kotak Mahindra Bank’s DIFC branch is its first overseas branch. Its entry to the DIFC brings the total number of India-domiciled banks operating in the Centre to 10.