Business and Investment Guide

Mauritius comprises a small group of tropical islands of volcanic origin located in the Indian Ocean about 2 400 km east of the African continent. The main island covers a total land area of 1865 km².

Mauritius has a maritime climate, tropical during summer and sub-tropical during winter. Summer lasts from November to April while winter lasts from June to September. Temperature varies according to the land elevation above sea level. The average temperature ranges from 15°c - 28°c in winter to 17°c - 32°c in summer.

The population was estimated to be about 1.2 million in mid 2003, with a population density of 602 persons per square kilometer. The population census of 1990 reveals around 55 percent of the population living in the rural regions. Mauritians are descendants of Indian, African, European and Chinese immigrants.

The official language is English. However, Mauritians are bilingual, being fluent in both English and French. A large proportion of Mauritians are familiar with a third language such as Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telegu, Marathi, Arabic, and Chinese which are taught in schools.

The labour force is highly literate and able to adapt itself to the needs of investors. The literacy rate is 81 per cent.

In early 1970 Mauritius was essentially a monocrop economy based on sugar production with an agriculture’s share of GDP greater than 20 per cent. In the 1980’s, Government launched a comprehensive adjustment programme aimed at fostering economic development through export-led industrialization, agricultural diversification and expansion of the tourist industry. The programme has yielded remarkable results which were addressed as the ‘Mauritian miracle’. The Mauritian economy has grown at an average rate greater than 5 per cent per annum over the last two decades. EPZ has grown to become the country’s main foreign exchange earner with EPZ exports representing 82 per cent of total domestic exports in 2000. Tourism which scarcely existed in 1970 has continued its upward trend so much so that in 2001, tourist arrivals was 660,318 with a total gross earnings of US$ 625 m. Mauritius is now considered to be an upper-middle-income economy with an annual per capita income of US$ 3900. Mauritius was ranked number 2 out of 24 African countries in the Africa Competitiveness Report 2000.

Some of the factors which have contributed to the success of Mauritius so far are:

The ‘Economic Agenda for the New Millennium’ sets the government’s policy of the five years 2001 to 2006. The document includes plans to direct substantial investment mainly into the education and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

A major education reform is underway in the country. The previous education system, whereby primary school students had to compete to obtain better ranks, has been replaced. Massive investment is being made by the Government in that sector. New State Secondary Schools are being constructed.

Government has the vision of transforming Mauritius into a Cyber Island. To realise this vision, Government is putting in place the required infrastructure at the Ebene Cybercity including a Cyber Tower. A BPO Secretariat has been established to promote and facilitate all BPO related projects. Government is also taking measures to ensure the availability of the necessary skills: a national programme has been launched for the training of 5000 SC and HSC holders over the next two years, in skills related to Call Centres and BPO activities.

There is an effective management of labour relations in Mauritius. The Industrial Relations Act (1994) regulates the general working conditions, wages and salaries, as well as various types of fringe benefits. Labour participates through the Joint Economic Council (JEC) as a partner in policy formulation and economic planning. The JEC is the apex private sector organisation with the mission to promote free enterprise and the interest of the private sector in Mauritius.

Mauritius is a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Recourse can also be made to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for settlement of disputes.

Government policy is to encourage the private sector to play a more active role in the economic development of Mauritius. The Joint Economic Council (JEC) has been set up to hold joint consultations with various organizations of the private sector and the Economic Committee of the Cabinet. Various other organizations like the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), the Mauritius Chamber of Agriculture (MCA) and the Mauritius Export Processing Zone Association (MEPZA) have also been created to foster Public Private Cooperation.

Since independence in 1968, the Government has maintained its effort in investing in infrastructure so as to support investors. These include:

Road. The road network has been considerably modernized during recent years. An expressway links the airport (South East) to the capital (North West) and to Grand Bay (North), with any part of the Island easily accessed by a comprehensive road system. The construction of new roads and maintenance/ upgrading of existing ones are ongoing so as to cope with demands made by the growing economy.
Airport. The SSR International Airport is situated at Plaisance in the south east of the Island. It is well equipped to meet the needs of passengers and cargo traffics. Future expansion projects include the extension of the terminals and the installation of additional passenger loading bridges. Mauritius has regular air connections with most European, Asian and African cities and is serviced by the major international airlines.
Harbour. Port Louis harbour consists of five deep-water quays, two fishing quays and three litterage quays. It can handle both 20 ft and 40 ft containers. The Cargo Handling Corporation Limited, a private company under the aegis of Mauritius Marine Authority supervises and controls all cargo handling operation in the Port. The Port Master Plan is being upgraded in order to make optimal use of land in the Port area. New activities and requirements will also be identified for exploitation.
Telecommunications. Products and services of the Mauritius Telecom include data, satellite, internet, mobile products, telephones and customer information. The cellular network was launched in 1996. International roaming agreements have been signed with 61 major operators in 40 countries. Mauritius is connected to the South Africa - Far East (SAFE) submarine cable network. This cable has been connected to the SAT -3/WASC (South Africa Telecommunications - West African Submarine Cable) and connects Malaysia to Portugal and Spain over 28,000 km. Landing points are India, Mauritius, Reunion, South Africa, Angola, Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Canary Islands.

Private operators investing in Mauritius have the opportunity to exploit a range of benefits accruing from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which has opened up the United States of America markets for exports up to October 2008. Under the Act, all quota restrictions imposed on Mauritian apparel exports to the United States of America have been lifted and duty-free access is available for nearly 2,000 products including footwear and watches.

The Cotonou Agreement, which replaces the LOME Convention gives Mauritian products quota-free and duty-free entry into the European Union market for a extended period of eight years. Mauritius is also an active member of the following organisation Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), Commonwealth, United nations, African Development Bank, World bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).