Korean Reinsurance Company has secured regulatory approval to open a new branch in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City, or GIFT City, India’s flagship International Financial Services Centre.
The Seoul-based reinsurer said the branch is expected to begin operations in April 2026, following authorization granted on Nov. 6 by the International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) Authority to operate as an IFSC Insurance Office.
Korean Re said the new presence is intended to deepen its engagement with local cedants and regional counterparties in Asia.
India, now the world’s 10th-largest insurance market, has seen sustained growth alongside broader expansion in financial services. Korean Re’s plan to establish a platform in GIFT City is aimed at accessing that growth while operating under a dedicated cross-border regulatory framework.
By operating as an IFSC Insurance Office, Korean Re will be able to write business from GIFT City under rules tailored for international insurance and reinsurance activity. The branch is expected to support India-focused reinsurance transactions and selected emerging-market exposures accessed through the center.
“We expect our new branch in India to enhance our ability to respond to the dynamic growth of emerging markets,” said Jonggyu Won (pictured above), president and CEO of Korean Re. He has been leading the reinsurer’s current phase of international expansion, which includes targeting jurisdictions opening further to foreign reinsurance capacity.
GIFT City, located in Gujarat, has been designated as a special economic zone with regulatory and tax incentives for international financial business. The IFSC regime is designed to attract insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and other financial institutions seeking to write foreign and domestic-linked risks from a single hub.
Korean Re is among several global reinsurers using the regime to build out their India strategies, with Peak Reinsurance Company (Peak Re) also securing a reinsurance branch license in GIFT City earlier this year.
The Hong Kong-based reinsurer has described India as a key market and said its GIFT City operation is intended to support the development of reinsurance solutions for middle-class communities across Asia, underscoring the IFSC’s role as a regional risk hub.
Everest Reinsurance has followed a similar path, opening an office in GIFT City earlier this year to work more closely with domestic and multinational carriers. The company has said the branch positions it to expand partnerships with Indian insurers and provide tailored treaty and specialty solutions as the local market’s risk profile continues to evolve.
Singapore Reinsurance Corporation (Sing Re) has similarly received a reinsurance branch license from IFSCA to set up in GIFT City under a Category-2 license that allows it to write P&C business.
The approval comes as IFSCA advances a broader plan to promote GIFT City as a global reinsurance hub, including the creation of a Standing Committee on Insurance in early 2025 to advise on sector development within the IFSC.
