India and the UK held the inaugural meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue virtually yesterday evening. The dialogue was established to deepen bilateral ties between the two countries in the financial sector. The recent meeting of the two Prime Ministers and the India-UK Financial Market Dialogue has been deemed financial cooperation is one of the key pillars of the 2030 Roadmap adopted by both countries and Financial Market Dialogue is one of the key elements of this Financial Cooperation.
The (FMD) Financial Market Dialogue was led by senior officials from the Indian Ministry of Finance and HM Treasury, with participation from Indian and UK independent regulatory agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, International Financial Services Centre Authority, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority. Indian and UK participants shared views on issues in their respective areas of responsibility.
The focus was there on four themes:
(1) GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City)City, India's flagship international financial centre, (2) banking and payments, (3) insurance, and (4) capital markets. Following the government-to-government discussion, private sector partners were also invited to the discussion. The City of London Corporation's Capital Markets Working Group presented their work on the Indian corporate bond market, and the India-UK Financial Partnership presented their recommendations on the UK-India financial services relationship.
At the meeting the Indian and UK participants discussed developments on the UK-IndiaGIFT City Strategic Partnership. Both sides agreed on areas for further collaboration, including sustainable finance and FinTech, to support increased UK industry presence in the centre.
The Bank of England discussed its work on cyber resilience. With a vision to increase cross border activity, participants provided updates on their respective banking and payments landscapes. There was also a productive discussion on opportunities for increased cross-border activity, including an update from India on the implementation of the direct listings policy. The role of the banking sector was also recognised by both sides in maintaining stability during the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, matters relating to the insurance sector, including domestic updates on the impact of Covid-19, opportunities to encourage increased UK investment in the Indian market, and the UK Solvency II Call for Evidence were also discussed.
Lastly, the City of London Corporation India-UK Capital Markets Working Group presented its recommendations from its recently published paper on 'Unleashing the potential of the Indian Debt Capital Markets. The report focused on enhancing the Indian Debt Capital markets ecosystem, as well as making it easier for Indian companies to raise capital internationally - to support India's growth potential, infrastructure needs and enhancing the country's sustainable energy capacity. The recommendations include areas such as reforms to primary issuances, secondary markets, taxation rules, market ecosystem and ESG.