MS First Capital Insurance has commenced reinsurance operations from its newly established office in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), India’s international financial services centre.
The insurer began operations from the GIFT City office on 29 July 2026, according to a LinkedIn update.
R Vaidyanathan has been appointed principal officer, while S Venugopalan has been named CFO of the GIFT City operations. Both executives bring several decades of experience in the Indian insurance market.
The branch will enable MS First Capital to serve Indian cedants, brokers and other market participants as the country’s insurance sector continues to expand, the company said.
The move also forms part of its parent company MS&AD Insurance Group’s international strategy to pursue growth opportunities across Asia.
“We have been working with cedants, brokers and reinsurers in India for many years. Establishing our branch in GIFT City reflects our long-term commitment to India and our confidence in the opportunities ahead,” said CEO Vikas Shukla. “We look forward to strengthening partnerships in India and participating in the development of the Indian insurance market.”
MS First Capital’s entry comes as GIFT City attracts a growing number of international reinsurers and specialty insurers. EarthRe, the reinsurance arm of InRisk Labs, received a non-life reinsurance licence from the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) last week, becoming the first incorporated reinsurer at GIFT City.
In June, International General Insurance Holdings (IGI) received approval to establish an insurance office in GIFT City. The specialty (re)insurer plans to serve facultative and specialty treaty reinsurance clients from the new branch.
Other companies to announce their entry into GIFT City this year include Kuwait Re, MAPFRE Re, Echo Re, PartnerRe, Santam Re and Abu Dhabi National Insurance. They followed a wave of approvals in 2025 involving Peak Re, Berkley Insurance, Korean Re, Everest Re and Sing Re.
The expansion of the reinsurance market coincided with a sharp increase in business volumes at GIFT City. Gross written premiums nearly doubled to US$1.13bn in FY2026 from US$573.4m a year earlier, while reinsurance premiums more than quadrupled to US$607.96m.
