MALAYSIA-LED GROUP TO DEVELOP GUJARAT FINANCIAL CITY

NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- A Malaysia-led consortium is likely to sign a
pact with the Gujarat government to develop a next generation city, modern
enough to compete with Shanghai or Tokyo as a global financial hub.

A consortium is expected to participate in the development of the Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) on a public-private partnership model.

"The Malaysian Developers for Gujarat Projects will build commercial, as
well as, social projects including schools and hotels at GIFT," Dipesh Shah,
GIFT's Vice-President For Corporate Services and Business Development, was
quoted as saying in "Times of India".

The integrated city is being designed to become India's top global financial
and information technology services hub with stylish world-class facilities to
woo global firms to Gujarat.

A memorandum of understanding is expected to be signed later this year, said
the news report.

The politically-stable and economically vibrant Gujarat is a fastest growing
state in India with Gross Domestic Product growth of nearly 14 per cent over the
last decade.

In January, Malaysia's Special Envoy (Infrastructure) to India and South
Asia S.Samy Vellu held talks with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and
proposed a Putrajaya-styled administrative city in the bustling state.

The modern-mega greenfield project will be located between Gandhinagar,
Gujarat's capital, and Ahmedabad, the state's biggest city.
-- BERNAMA