According to applications filed with the IFSCA in December 2025, Madrid-based Mapfre Re Compania De Reaseguros SA has applied to be registered as an Insurance Agency (IIO) to carry out reinsurance business under the IFSCA (Registration of Insurance Business) Regulations, 2021. Mapfre Re is the global reinsurance arm of Spain’s MAPFRE Group, headquartered in Madrid, and is among the largest reinsurers in the world with operations in more than 100 countries through 18 offices. In a similar move, London-based C&C Insurance Group has also applied to set up a reinsurance presence in GIFT City through an IFSC entity called C&C RE IFSC Private Limited, seeking approval to operate as an IIO under the same regulatory framework. C&C Insurance Group is a specialist insurance and reinsurance platform headquartered in Great Britain, with a focus on niche and structured risk solutions in global markets.
Adding to the list, Partner Reinsurance Asia Pte Ltd, headquartered in Singapore, has also applied to the IFSCA to conduct reinsurance business from GIFT City. Partner Reinsurance Asia Pte Ltd is the Singapore-based regional arm of PartnerRe, a global reinsurer offering property, casualty and specialty solutions across Asia. The IFSCA regulations allow foreign insurers and reinsurers to operate in IFSCs through Insurance Offices (IIOs), allowing them to undertake offshore foreign currency insurance and reinsurance business from India. The regulator is positioning GIFT City as a competitive alternative to global reinsurance hubs such as Singapore, London and Dubai.
A growing number of global reinsurers have submitted applications to enter India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) reinsurance market, highlighting the centre’s increasing appeal as a cross-border reinsurance centre. One of the latest foreign players moving toward approval is Seoul-based Korean Reinsurance Company, which received approval from the IFSCA to establish an IFSC affiliate in late 2025.
In November 2025, business line had reported on how several foreign reinsurance and insurance companies have already approached the IFSCA to attend the GIFT IFSC. Among them was the Saudi Reinsurance Company, the only dedicated reinsurer headquartered in Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company PJSC (ADNIC), one of the UAE’s oldest and largest insurers with a diversified commercial and personal insurance portfolio, had also applied for permission to set up operations with the IFSC, while Kazakhstan-based Eurasia Insurance Company JSC – one of Central Asia’s largest insurers and a rare member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) of the International Underwriting Association in London – had similarly applied for a ​​establish a reinsurance branch in GIFT City.
The growing interest from global players is reflected in the business volumes at the IFSC. In the second quarter of FY25-26, reinsurance activity at GIFT IFSC increased fourfold, with gross premiums increasing to $199.52 million, compared to $51.75 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, underscoring the rapid scale-up of cross-border reinsurance transactions under the IFSCA regulatory framework.
Under the IFSCA (Registration of Insurance Business) Regulations 2021, approved IIOs are allowed to engage in life, general and reinsurance business, subject to regulatory conditions and capital requirements. The framework is part of the government’s broader strategy to land international financial activities and reduce India’s dependence on overseas reinsurance markets.
Published on January 1, 2026
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