South Africa's largest short-term insurer, Santam, has been granted a licence to establish a reinsurance branch office at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), the company announced in a 19 February press release. GIFT City is India's first operational greenfield smart city and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
GIFT City has emerged as a regional hub for insurance and reinsurance, with a growing presence of international (re)insurers and brokers. Santam Limited will operate the licence as an International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) International Insurance Office (IIO). In recent years, interest in GIFT City has grown steadily, supported by a favourable regulatory regime designed to attract foreign investment into India.
Santam Re, the Santam Group’s independent non-life treaty reinsurer with operations spanning Africa, Asia and Europe, will support the IIO with capacity across lines of business including property, engineering, marine and liability. Santam Specialist Solutions, which insures a range of large, medium and small complex risks across a broad spectrum of industries in Africa and other emerging markets, will contribute specialist facultative reinsurance capabilities, providing tailored risk placement solutions across complex and niche lines of business.
Santam Re CEO Kush Padia said the licence provides the Group with an opportunity to build rapidly on its existing foothold in the Indian market.
“This step aligns with the Santam Group’s strategic objective to drive international expansion and broaden its international treaty and facultative reinsurance footprint. GIFT City is well connected to both local and international markets, and we intend to leverage our position to sustainably grow our book both within India and beyond,” said Mr Padia.
The licence was granted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and other relevant authorities in India in January 2026. The IIO will be operationally managed by a team of locally sourced insurance professionals tasked with ensuring Santam’s governance standards and disciplined risk management approach are maintained. With the launch of the IIO, Santam becomes the first BRICS-based insurance company to establish a presence in GIFT City.
“Operating as a category two order of preference IIO reinsurer brings new reinsurance programmes into view, strengthening our position in the market. Another benefit of this licence is that it demonstrates Santam’s continued investment in India, a market we’ve been serving with reliable capacity for over 10 years. Cedents view this favourably when evaluating their panels,” he added.
Santam said it remains committed to full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in its operating territories and will continue to engage transparently with stakeholders.
Santam Group CEO Tavaziva Madzinga said that the granting of the GIFT City licence closely follows final approval for the company to operate a syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, further enhancing its international growth ambitions.
“As the Santam Group, we are broadening our international footprint and the GIFT City licence gives us further global exposure. The Santam Group brings to the Indian market over a century’s worth of expertise, capability and approach to insurance,” said Mr Madzinga.