VMPL
Dubai [UAE], October 13: Shipfinex, the maritime asset tokenisation and capital-markets platform, today announced that the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the unified regulator of India's international financial services centre at GIFT City, has granted Shipfinex a Limited Use Authorisation as a FinTech Sandbox Entity in the IFSCA FinTech Innovation Sandbox (Certificate No. FNT20261108, dated July 21, 2026, valid until July 20, 2027). The Limited Use Authorisation follows the In-Principle Approval of June 18, 2026, and opens a twelve-month monitored programme to test Shipfinex's maritime asset tokenisation platform — the digital representation of ownership and participation interests in maritime assets through ship-owning special-purpose vehicle (SPV) structures — in a sandbox environment, in isolation from the live market.
A defined testing mandate
The testing mandate spans the full tokenisation lifecycle in a simulated environment: end-to-end platform completion from vessel onboarding to exit, onboarding of financial institutions and maritime partners, global KYC and AML screening against vessel and counterparty data, banking and settlement integration with delivery-versus-payment logic, and a live demonstration of the complete transaction flow to the Authority — with view-only ledger access provided to IFSCA throughout and progress reported monthly.
At the centre of India's maritime decade
The Limited Use Authorisation lands at the centre of a determined national maritime agenda. The Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047 targets India's place among the world's top five shipbuilding nations, backed by a planned ₹80 lakh crore of investment, and the Union Budget 2025 established a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund alongside infrastructure status for large vessels. GIFT IFSC is where this agenda meets international capital: since IFSCA notified ship leasing as a financial product in 2022, the centre has grown to some 27 registered ship-leasing entities and 30 vessels, and in July 2026 the Government exempted IFSC units from coastal-shipping licensing requirements for chartering foreign vessels in international trade. Shipfinex's sandbox programme adds the next layer to this ecosystem: a regulator-observed pathway from ship leasing and financing toward transparent, capital-markets access to maritime assets. Alongside Shipfinex FZCO's In-Principle Approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for VA Broker-Dealer services (Ref: IPA/26/01/002), the platform now develops under monitoring in two leading international financial centres.
Leadership perspectives
“India's maritime rise is one of the defining economic stories of this generation, and GIFT City is its financial engine. We are honoured to test the complete maritime tokenisation cycle under the Authority's observation, and to contribute to the transparent, well-governed capital markets that India's maritime ambition deserves.”
Capt. Vikas Pandey, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Shipfinex
“GIFT IFSC has already proven itself in ship leasing; tokenisation is the natural next layer. A real-economy asset class tested on a permissioned ledger, with the regulator holding full visibility, is exactly how real-world assets should enter a market — through the regulator's front door.”
Prasanna Lohar, Founder & President, India Blockchain Forum
About Shipfinex
Shipfinex is a maritime asset tokenisation and capital-markets platform built to originate, structure, distribute and service maritime real-world assets within a compliant, auditable and verifiable environment. Shipfinex operates through a multi-jurisdictional group headquartered in Dubai. Shipfinex FZCO holds an In-Principle Approval from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) for VA Broker-Dealer services (Ref: IPA/26/01/002); Shipfinex holds a Limited Use Authorisation granted by IFSCA under the FinTech Innovation Sandbox (No. FNT20261108); and the group maintains relevant registrations in Poland and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Approvals, Limited use authorisations and registrations have distinct scopes and do not authorise activity outside their respective permissions or before any required operational licence is granted.
Website: https://shipfinex.com
About the IFSCA
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is the unified regulatory authority for financial products, services and institutions in the International Financial Services Centres in India, established under the IFSCA Act, 2019. GIFT IFSC at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, is India's maiden international financial services centre.
About the India Blockchain Forum
The India Blockchain Forum is a collaborative ecosystem initiative of key participants in the Indian blockchain and Web3 community, working to advance India as a global hub for blockchain innovation, policy and adoption.
ENDS
Important notice
This news about Limited Use Authorisation is a corporate communication. It is not an offer, invitation, recommendation or solicitation to acquire any token, virtual asset, investment product or financial service in any jurisdiction, and it is not investment, legal or tax advice. Shipfinex has been granted a Limited-Use Authorisation by IFSCA under the Innovation Sandbox; Shipfinex is not a regulated entity of the IFSCA, and the Limited Use Authorisation shall not be construed as an endorsement or approval by IFSCA of the quality of services provided or of any statement made by Shipfinex. All sandbox activity uses test and dummy transactions only, in isolation from the live market, with no live client money; sandbox tokens are closed-loop, are not linked to any stablecoin and are not listed or tradeable on any exchange. An In-Principle Approval from VARA is not an operating licence and does not authorise the conduct of virtual asset activities until the relevant licence is granted; no regulatory authority has reviewed, approved or endorsed this announcement. Virtual assets may lose their value in full or in part and are subject to extreme volatility; holders of virtual assets do not benefit from any form of financial protection scheme and may lose all amounts committed. Statements regarding anticipated capabilities, testing outcomes or future authorisations are forward-looking and do not constitute a commitment that any authorisation will be granted or that any product or transaction will launch.
(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
