HDFC Bank group inaugurates asset management, life insurance services at Gujarat’s GIFT City

The newly integrated HDFC Bank group on Thursday launched its asset management and life insurance services at GIFT City in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 

HDFC International Life and Re has been set up by HDFC Life, while HDFC AMC International (IFSC) Ltd has been established by HDFC Asset Management Company to offer services to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and the global Indian diaspora. 

HDFC Life International will be offering US dollar-denominated life and health insurance solutions for NRIs and the global Indian diaspora, while HDFC AMC International would be offering fund management and advisory solutions as part of its offshore hub. 

"I am extremely grateful to all present here today as we mark another important milestone for the HDFC Bank conglomerate with the inauguration of HDFC International Life & Re, IFSC Branch, and HDFC AMC International (IFSC)," said Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC AMC and HDFC Life. 

He added: "For the insurance and asset management business in particular, a presence in GIFT City is extremely beneficial especially since penetration levels remain so low in both these sectors."  

Parekh said life insurance makes up for just 3.2 per cent of the country's GDP compared to the global average of 7 per cent, while mutual funds are 17 per cent of GDP, while the world average is 80 per cent. 

The first product by HDFC Life International US Dollar Global Education Plan- is 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, he said.  

The product has been launched in a bid to eliminate any future mismatch between the currency of investment and the currency of expenses.  

Further, HDFC AMC International plans to initially launch six funds which would feed into different HDFC Mutual Fund schemes covering strategies on equity and hybrids. 

Over a period of time, HDFC AMC International plans to boost its solutions with the addition of products on alternate strategies, including those on private assets. 

With this, the three entities of the group — bank, life insurance company, and asset management company — have a presence in GIFT City. 

(With agency inputs)

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