S Arabia could open sovereign wealth fund office in India

NEW DELHI, Sept 11 (Reuters): Saudi Arabia could set up an office of its sovereign wealth fund in India's Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), its investment minister said in New Delhi on Monday.

GIFT City is India's tax-neutral financial services centre and a key project for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the aim of rivalling financial services centres in Dubai and Hong Kong.

"I will match your offer and commit today to open an office," Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said after India's trade minister Piyush Goyal invited Saudi Arabia to set up an office of its sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), in GIFT City.

Falih was in Delhi as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's state visit.

Goyal also said he would suggest that his ministry starts an investment promotion office in Riyadh.

During the Crown Prince's visit India and Saudi Arabia signed 50 initial pacts in various fields and agreed to form a joint task force for $100 billion in Saudi investment in India, originally announced by the Crown Prince in 2019.