Mumbai, Sept. 12 -- GIFT City is betting on niche financial segments such as aircraft and ship leasing to build a more competitive global financial hub, said Sanjay Kaul, managing director (MD) and group chief executive officer (CEO), of the financial services centre.

Indian airlines have historically structured much of their aircraft leasing and financing through overseas centres, leaving domestic financial centres with a smaller share of the business. GIFT City now wants to capture more of that activity as India's aviation market expands and airlines build a large aircraft order book.

"Major Indian airlines that operate now have an order book of around 2,000-plus aircraft, which is fully leased. Traditionally, all this leasing happens...