MAURITIUS IS NOT THE MOST DESIRABLE LONG-TERM DESTINATION

The government seemed surprised : foreign direct investment (FDI) has known a 75% declined. Are we failing in our ambition to attract foreign capital and expertise, or are we just being too arrogant? Is it the world financial crisis? You aren't going to throw this one to me again, are you? Euphoria is difficult to manage, we all agree. Since we launched the Business Facilitation Act in 2006, there has been a big response from the international market. We are superstars, the most desired country of the world...wrong guys, we're just an island.



Officially, the authorities are blaming this on the globally dull economic situation. Will someone, someday, stop blaming the world for every mistake we make? We are not Wall Street for God sake (err, some effectively believe that we are, but that's another story). FDI accounted for as much as Rs4.6 bn from January to March 2010. Guess what? We got only Rs1.4 bn for the same period this year. If you are still wondering what calamity broke on world's economy in January 2011, then you are heading to the wrong direction.


The problem is in Mauritius, it’s all in our attitude. The Government has set up a committee to monitor all applications for residency permits (Occupation Permits). The committee members act in complete impunity behind the curtain. Untouchable and incorruptible... Visibly these guys have misunderstood their role. It is obvious that they're having great fun rejecting applications. It wouldn’t be exaggerated if I say that it’s almost an orgasmic pleasure. The more they reject, the more competent they believe they are. It's a pity that they do not understand that each permit rejected directly impacts on FDI. The least we can get from an Occupation Permit is US$35,000 (self-employed). There are about 20 such applications rejected per week, according to information gathered from professional consultants.


I have one observation: it means that foreigners are coming to Mauritius with their money AND they are more than 20 a month!

 Pity, we area losing FDI and I’m not talking about job creation and tax revenue that we are rejecting.


One of the biggest sectors designed to attract foreign investment is the luxury living industry, well that's how we call the seemingly luxurious villas we have; the famous IRS and RES schemes. Again, we thought we were the most desirable country of the world, the new Beverly Hills for superstars, we are better than the fashion Paris and far more exciting than Las Vegas. Naturally our prices reflect our self-proclaimed super destination status. Do I need to tell you that we were wrong? Everybody dreamt of selling his piece of agricultural land for millions of rupees. Everyone is dreaming of that charming foreign prince coming out of the misty cloud, opening his fist to reveal some millions of € & $. Real estate prices shot like arrows. Mauritians could no longer afford a plot of land. I'm dedicating this paragraph to that fool offering his 2200 metre square bare land for Rs7.5 million when it’s not even worth Rs2 million. His argument: a foreigner has purchased a plot next to his... And he was talking to me; that's my field of expertise and I know that foreigners can't buy land directly! I have a dream, says every landowner.

 All of those land promoters have overestimated their properties and projects. Of course, the island is heavenly, we can't deny that. But isn't it foolish to think that the whole world is dreaming to come over? Do we have the infrastructure to accommodate the high net worth individuals? Do these guys satisfy themselves sitting in a villa near the sea or on a mountain? He has a yatch and a chalet in Switzerland. It's stupid to think that we are impressing them. Their bathroom are more luxurious than many of the properties we are offering. Where does Ms Paris makes her favorite show-off session? Under the coconut tree, isolated on acres of land? A good tourist destination does not necessarily mean a good long-stay destination. Check your boredom gauge, it takes an average 7 days to visit the best attractions, if we can call these attactions in this modern world. Wake up! Out of 53 official permits given for such developments, 36 have been able to start and 12 have simply abandoned. And we blame the world.
 There's no use setting up high powered committees to analyze the situation. It's so obvious. Foreigners will no longer come to the island unless we know what we really want. Incompetence is not to be tolerated but then arrogance too. People who appraise investment projects and screen investors should themselves have a strong business background or professional experience. Sorry, but I can’t figure out how people who have got no clues on business management can appreciate innovative projects coming from renowned promoters. No no, I just can't get that one to my brain. Imposing a minimum of US$100,000 per investor...and then refusing their permit despite their showing the money, and this, without any reason, is insulting. If I proved myself in my country, earned my money, then getting myself insulted in a foreign land is the last thing I would want. Can government officers shake off that arrogance of their skin and understand this point? Let's hope someday they'll have this on agenda in their lunch and dinner meetings held in 5 star hotels....built and managed by foreigners.
 Be realistic, we're just an island. Dubai is crashing out, did we wonder why? The solution lies not in inviting the President of Singapore and earn air-time on our local TV; tell him humbly 'teach me Master'...and change your mindset dear government servants. Maybe then you won't need to blame the world for your failures.
 Unless things change in the near future, I don't see the need to have a Board of Investment in this country and neither the reason to spend my tax money on road shows and investment promotion events worldwide.

Beware: country on move, nation at work!

The likelyhood of hitting obstacles is higher when moving than when sitting idle. Ambitious people very seldomly lose themselves in comfort zones, unless they believe that their objectives have been met. But then again, ambition evolves with our environment. They can be like the horizon, moving one step with each step you make. In my humble opinion, Mauritius is an ambitious country, and so is its population. The country is moving forward.

At a time when many countries are facing dire difficulties in their financial (and social) adaptation to the changing world, the paradise-island is always finding some ways to keep it's shoulders out of the trouble waters. The worldwide financial crisis reached our shores, but the vision and strategy of the government and major decision makers washed out any potential harm that this could do to us. True, we are dependent on the world market, but is it not marvelous that despite this we are progressing? There is, in the backstage, a real collective ambition to transform the country into a leading business hub and a first-class tourist destination. We are steadily moving towards our objectives. The shift from an agriculture based economy to a tourism destination raised a lot of questions. Collateral damage was part of the game too. The end-result justified the moves of successive governments (and their vision); each one with it's loads of impopular measures. At times, they were blamed for selling our lagoons to foreign investors and hotel promoters. Today, when we realized the progress made, almost everyone wants a share of the cake. Local tour operators, restaurants and tourism enterprises are flourishing - those who believed in Tourism and entered the industry early are now unreachable businesses for new competitors.

We are, maybe, at the doorsteps of a scenario similar to the one described above. Opening the door to foreign capital and expertise was not something Mauritians unanimously accepted. Mind pollution is a dirty game, and many play it well here. Again, the government is being blamed for selling the country to Dollar and Euro owners. Some years later, those carrying out the blaming exercise will realize that they just missed the bus. Well, I'm not a pro-government activist and neither am I a friend of our Prime Minister (like so many of those big-mouthed people I know). But I admire the guts and daring attitude of this government, particularly of the Prime Minister. The opposition is left in a total confusion of its own, messing political battle with country's progress. Everything becomes a scandal. Fortunately, the government is focussed and keeps moving the country towards new heights. The population too.

Every action cannot be explained while it is being performed. You have to let time show you the results and the results justify the action. When the action is being performed, you've got to trust the performer. Right now, the population, well the majority of it, trusts the government. Some dogs will always bark but this doesn't stop the caravan, right? This government is ruling its second successive mandate of 5 years. The results are visible - even to the blind. Mauritius is a vast construction site: shopping malls lifting their heads out the ground, extension of our main highway, upgrading of infrastructures, increasing tourists and superb hotels. Again, there are inevitable collateral damages, as in every sphere of life. We are not perfect... But then, no one is. When you start to see Lambos and Ferraris on your roads, you realize that there's at least something positive for some people. It whispers the words 'Yes, we can' gently in my ears. Those behind the wheels of the angry bull and the black horse are not superstars and neither ministers, they are people who have seized the right opportunities at the right time. Somewhere, .. they believed in the country, it's economy and business potential AND its ability to fulfill their dreams. These people did not waste their time analyzing claimed scandals, they kept themselves focussed on benefits they could reap from the country's constant progress. Could be a materialistic statement, but I take full responsibility of my words here.

Then opposition has been blaming government on two massive projects: JinFei and Neotown. In the first case, the government gave Chinese investors major concessions to build a new city in the outskirts of Port Louis and in the second, you replace Chinese by Indians. It's true that the concessions, maybe, can be termed as excessive(low land lease, relaxed constructions norms and business conditions). No one seems to point to the fact that those lands, even being prime lands, were idle and required massive investments for development. Both of the projects mentioned are revolutionary in their concepts. They are paving the way for the future Mauritius. Why would investors come to this tiny island if no concessions are made? Why do they need to target a one million population market when they can easily go to Dubai and Singapore? There are concessions, of course, but there's also belief in our country. They know what we are planning to be and they know that we are giving ourselves the means to that objective. They believe in MauritIus.

In ten years time, Mauritius will be completely uplifted. The duty-free island will be a reality and many of world's giants will have a presence over here, if have not done so already. This is not a mere prediction, this is what many Mauritians see in front. Would you argue with your dad if he took one coin from your pocket and bought the winning lottery ticket with it? It's an open question which can bring many answers ... justified or unjustified protests. That's exactly what's happening in Mauritius. The essential thing to remember here is that we have the winning lottery ticket!

The Mauritian smile can be lethal

It's spontaneous, takes you by the soul and wraps your heart in the comfort of human kindness.  Makes you believe in humanity.  This is the legendary Mauritian smile; a trade mark of its own.  The Mauritian smile is so powerful that it has helped the tourism industry blossom, up to being the major pillar of the economy, and it keeps on selling paradise-island on the world market.  Of course, our beaches and natural beauty do play a role, a significant one - but we cannot deny the part played by the local smiles.  Beware! A powerful tool in bad hands can harm the world (hmm, feels like Donald Rumsfeld speaking!).  Tourists or businessmen, many a foreigner has seen himself trapped within the spell of a Mauritian smile.  Many lost their fortune and went back home in total disillusion, while others got married and then divorced… and are now paying alimony!  The smile…

Well, let’s first see why the common Mauritian is always smiling to foreigners.  That's my observation and I'm not inviting any reader to adhere to the views expressed here... If you do, then it's fantastic. Else, take it as another B-S blog.  To understand local population behaviour, we first need to note that Mauritian population is a mix of different cultures of the world: Indian labourers, African slaves, Chinese traders...etc.  Our ancestors were brought here by European navigators and explorers.  Respect (and fear) of the European race (no negative connotation here!) has, since then, prevailed.  I remember my grandfather (an untamed macho  beast) at home, who would always refer to his boss (a French sugar estate owner) as 'Missié' (translate 'Sir' in English) even in the absence of the latter.  My granddad treated his boss with incomparable respect, and acknowledged the fact that without 'Missié' his family would maybe die of hunger.   Granddad had faith in ‘Missié’ and nothing could challenge his loyalty.

From there, came also the perception that people like 'Missié' are in fact superiour.  You wouldn't be able to argue with my granddad on that one! Like any other descendants of Indian ancestors, he had a sacred faith in people within the same category as his boss.  This notion of superiority was transmitted to my dad... And then came the independence, and free education and emancipation.  So here you have an idea why foreigners were initially perceived as superior.  Believe me, this is not a racist comment, but an observation of the social reality of the country.

Even with education and emancipation, the Mauritian still, in his subconscious mind, has a complex of inferiority.  Tourism further sustained the perception.  When the tourism industry was officially launched, a sensible government campaign explained the importance of tourists.  The latter obviously got every attention possible.  We didn't want to fail in our demonstration of respect and sense of hospitality.  Tourists brought additional social elements to enforce the feeling of foreigners' superiority.  The first element is what I call the E.T effect.  Blame that on Mr Spielberg if you want, but I define it as follows:

'If he happened to travel over to your world before you could even understand that he existed then surely he is of a superior class.'

The average Mauritian, during the 80s did not even have a motorcycle!  Now imagine him in front of people who have just landed from an airplane.  You got me?  Ok, ok, I'm coming to the lethal smile thing, I promise.

Yes, so the poor local guy makes himself visible and gentle, he smiles on every occasion. What else can he do? Once again, with the tourism (five star hotels, luxury cars, beautifully clad people, etc) the superiority of foreigners is affirmed.  He smiles in the hope of getting under the wings of a superior race, he smiles to say that he's ready to serve...and we all became known for our smile!  Frustration is lurking around…

We all know that in this material world, superiority is most commonly measured by the amount of money one has.  Who has more money?  Ok, we dig further : Euro1 = Rs40 and USD1= Rs30.  Got it? Read on.

Today the Mauritian is using his smile for a different objective. Not all of us, thank God! If you are from a different country, then you need to know that not every local smile is authentic.  Some of us have learned the tricks of the trade; we know that a tourist can be hypnotized and ordered to imitate a money tap (LO!).  By the time you’ve started to understand the fake smile, you've gone over your holiday budget. Tourists are short-term victims.  They leave the country with a sour after-taste, and that’s it.

The thing gets more serious when it comes to expatriates and foreign businessmen.  They are long term residents and have more at stake.  Their presence has created a new sort of back-stage profession in the country:  Professional swindlers, specialized in foreigners ripping-off.  The smile is the perfect accessory of the learned swindler.  Your wish is his command, well at first. He's there to transform your wildest fantasies into reality.  You want to setup a business? He's got the expertise, even if he's only a taxi driver or a hairdresser.  He knows people, Ministers if not the Prime Minister himself! You want to try? Ask your taxi driver, his uncle should be a Minister.  If you’re lucky he will tell you that the Prime Minister was his classmate and best-friend.  How can you not believe him?  Are you insensible to that smile?  Once your soul is captured, you are aspired in a whirlpool.  With the same smile, your new brother will convince you that he is an expert in business and immigration, he'll prove his business management skills to you and you won't resist putting all your faith in him.  His wife will be the managing director of your company (He’s not interested in business and money, he’s just helping you out).

Consultants and accountant become mere money eaters and you'll keep yourself away from professional advice. You'll soon be having your Mauritian citizenship (remember the Prime Minister is a schoolmate!?)

Now, if mix that smile with the right dose of other tasty elements, you get something explosive.  An absolute banker!  That's where the smile is the most effective and dangerous.  You will be  invited for dinner at home, or at the nephew's wedding ceremony.  You'll be in a trance; you're be part of the family... Life is beautiful, champagne is good!  Payback time is not far.

The Mauritian is not naive.  The biggest mistake foreigners make is taking the locals for granted.  You should never lower your guard and never hesitate to seek professional advice whenever there is legal or financial aspects involved.  We are not different human beings, and we did not fall in any 'naive-rendering' magic potion in our childhood.  Material gain, greed and easy money are the sons of a super power Devil and we all need to agree that the Devil also loves the sea and sun of paradise-island.

The Smile is one of the things that differentiate humans from wild animals, my dad once told me!

MOOD SWINGS

We’ve always been hearing that Mauritius is an open country.  We love foreigners: tourists, investors and expats.  They feel at home among the cosmopolitan Mauritian who are so eager to be of service, with their legendary warmth and smile.  Well, there seem to be some mood swings that right now.  Suddenly the Prime Minister’s Office seems not to appreciate the success of its open-minded schemes.  Too many foreigners employed in Mauritius, he says and then appoints two guys from his office to review and decide on all new Occupation Permit application.

From there, nothing moves.  We’ve handed the guns to two persons who always wanted to shoot.  And they are shooting – systematically at every target at sight. No occupation permit is being given for now to people who are eligible by the officially published and publicized prospectus of the Board of Investment.  It won’t be long to hear the Prime Ministers saying ‘no one is interested to work in Mauritius’.  He’s apparently tightened some loose ropes claiming an abuse of the system by foreigners.  You’ll agree that an abuse is only possible if you leave the room for it.  If you don’t, then it’s no longer an abuse but an illegal act and you can act upon these through different instruments.  Well then is it not a disguised mea-culpa?  As far as I know, there has been some expulsion; some permits revoked…but overall people have been able to abuse the system for the past three years!  And they’re still tanning on the beach at Tamarin.

Tightening loose ends and firing at sight are obviously not the solutions.   You cannot say ‘come to Mauritius, it’s easy and nice here’ and kick butts once people have moved in.  Moving to a new country implies changing life, destabilizing your family while betting on a better future.  It means resigning from your job and taking new risks in a foreign land.  It also means getting your cats and dogs do a full battery of health tests – thought this was worth mentioning.

And after doing all this, two camouflaged ninjas believe you’re not worth an Occupation Permit.  No reasons to give, they don’t need you, that’s the attitude, and that’s not what they advertise.  I guess they’ve messed up with what they were assigned to.  To control and supervise application means, at least for me, to provide a deeper examination of cases and provide objective conclusions AND to give permits to deserved cases.  These people are all-in, playing a game kill’em’all.

Let me give you one example.  While we are, ambitiously, trying to turn the island into a cyber island, we do not seem to grasp the importance of mobile technology.  Let me explain, a foreign company, well established in mobile software development is unable to get Permit for his Managing Director, a high-calibre professional - expert in the development of software for Steve Job's machine... and the androids.   Such expertise is nowhere to be found in Mauritius.  First, we don't have schools that teach such subjects, and second we're still thinking that information technology refers to computers and computers are either laptops or desktop. No one seems to see the future of mobile technology, except those young teenagers out there.  So, the only way to train local competence is to get foreign expertise in.  Our business plan mentions that the expatriate director will also be responsible to train local counterparts on the technical side of the business.  We expose the different aspects of mobile computing and expose  the innovative side of the business. Nothing doing.  Seems our two cowboys don’t see things that way.  For them, a reputed business, seduced by apparent facilities offered by Mauritius, is a suspicious matter.  I don’t know, but that’s how I see it on my part.

Another company wants to recruit a team of foreign managers for its business.  The company offers back-office solutions to professionals of the tourism industry around the world.  Super business, brilliant ideas!  Mixing BPO and tourism is like holding 4 aces on a Poker table, I thought so.  It was again flushed out.  No reason whatsoever.  Shoot to kill.

I’m stunned.  Am I missing something here?  Go and visit the www.investmauritius.com website and then read this blog again.

The Government seems to be into fast lane, moving full cruise…but on the wrong direction.  Now my question is: when will they notice this? Mauritius is beautiful, a nice place to live in, the words ‘lush’ and ‘pristine’ are used repeatedly on all official documents.  They’re, on one side inviting people, and on the other, kicking them out.  In between you are paying for Air Mauritius tickets…and I think that’s how Air Mauritius is claiming 400% profits…I’m being silly I know but then I’m just aping those two cowboys sitting at the Occupation Permit Committee.


Before you sell your house, your car, your dog... to come to Mauritius, you better seek precise advice and save yourself an air ticket.   Put your trust in God, it's going to be useful.  Be positive!

GRAND BAY - GOOD OL'TIMES

Years back, I remember, going to Grand Bay was a feat on its own.  A couple of friends would take our bicycles at 5 o'clock in the morning and ride up to that seaside village.  Cool breeze, more salty as we approach the coastline, and not a single vehicule on the road.  Peace and traquility...Mauritius!

From a pretty ordinary village Grand Bay transformed itself into one the world's most renowned tourist resort.  It's a place I would avoid at any cost today.  No, tourists are not to be blamed – they have all my blessings.  I’m referring to those human sharks that wait every single opportunity to rip the tourists.  And I’m not simply referring to local traders, here I’m referring to those unscrupulous businesses run by foreigners.

When the government launched its strategy to attract foreign capital and expertise, it opened the doors wider than expected.  It was like getting a huge aspirator and sucking up all came near.   Anyone would get a residence permit as long as he could present a financial forecast showing Rs3 million as annual turnover.  We all know what financial forecasts mean and we can all imagine that all financial forecast did effectively show astronomical figures.  So everyone got in, from the top golden boy to the more-shark-than-human crook.  They invaded the space, brought a new mind-set to business: All-in, rip’em off and get rich!  With their Dollars and Euros, they easily got themselves a place under the sun… and started hitting hard on local businesses, mostly small enterprises. 

Naturally, when you have Dollars and Euros you will aim at earning more of them.  Rupees are not that attractive.  So what you aim at?  Tourists!  Where do you go?  Grand Bay!  So what happened there was to be expected.  All the discothèques, bars and decent restaurants are owned by foreigners.   Good, because these guys know exactly what foreigners want and how they want it.  The problem is not there, it’s lying somewhere else.  Read on.

When the local businesses started enhancing their quality, adjusting their guns on the same heights, they positioned themselves as serious competitors to the foreign-owned commerce.  Somewhere someone thought that Mauritians would never fight back, and that someone (in fact more than someone) has a clear deficiency of grey-matter in the brain.  The whole thing turned out to be an aggressive-pseudo-commercial riot.  On one side, locals trying to get back to their good old days and on the other, foreigners all claws out trying to protect their share.  In a logical commercial context, fierce competition would mean better bargains for consumers.   In every sense, this was not going to be a ‘logical commercial context’ – consumers are the last thing that both sides worry about.  They’re more into an egocentric fight for honor.

So Grand Bay is now infested with a new genetically modified personal protection police.  Oh, let me put it in simple English: bouncers grouped into different gangs, officially auto-proclaimed ‘Private bodyguards’.  They are hired by every discothèques, bars, restaurants and individuals.  The problem is that this disease is now spread to every business: tour operators, pleasure craft operators (boats, catamarans), garments & accessories, retails… everyone in Grand Bay knows a bouncer.   If you don’t have a private bodyguard agreement, then you simply don’t exist as businessman in Grand Bay.  I’ll admit that bouncers are essential in bars and discothèque, but here it goes beyond their classic role.  Your bouncers are pitbulls that live on money.  You pay, they do.  The equation is simple, who pays more?  US$1 = Rs30,  EUR 1 = Rs40. Guess who wins, the Rupee or foreign currencies, the Mauritian or the Foreigner?

Anyway, you might take me for an alarmist or drama-regalia lover.  But I can’t help thinking back to Grand Bay 5 o’clock in the morning, cool and salty breeze running through my hair.   Good ol’times.

WHY INVEST IN MAURITIUS? Some ideas

Speaking about the business Mauritius, one surely sets his first sights on the offshore sector.  Often considered as a tax-heaven, the country can offer much more than confidential offshore business vehicles.  You can benefit from many interesting features by setting up a company here  - and we are not talking about complex tax planning or investment gearing strategies yet.  I won’t go into details or jargon-packed exposition of the Mauritian business environment, but here are some points that might interest readers.

Domestic companies

Enjoy limited liability.  You need not be present in Mauritius to incorporate your company.   All you need to have, if you do not hold a residency permit, is a Mauritian-resident director and a company secretary.  Usually your business consultant is able to provide adequate services in these lines.   The resident director is not necessarily a shareholder and may not hold any exceptional powers (bank account signature, contracting on behalf of the company without your instructions, etc).    The Registered Office is another requirement but this is addressed by all professionals providing company formation procedures.

Licence fee

You pay as low as Rs2,000 a year! 

Tax

15% tax on profits & no direct taxes on your revenue.  VAT is at 15% and works in the same universal system.  There’s no VAT on export, which means an export-oriented business can get itself reimbursed all VAT paid.  Yes, the tax office sends you your cheque!

If you have a company in Mauritius, it can handle various functions: administrative, marketing, sales & invoicing and back-office, for instance.  It is then possible for you to minimize tax in your own country.  With all sales being made in Mauritius, you pay tax on profits made over here.  You get it?

Simplified accounting and fiscal obligations

The overall business obligations are simple to manage.  Government offices are all online, and most of them now offering e-platforms.  Your tax declaration, accounts filing at the Registrar are no longer complex exercises that require chartered accountants to follow.  For information, you need a chartered accountant if your business exceeds Rs30 million of annual turnover (that makes around US$1 million a year).  What you need to get is a good accounting software…!

Employee costs

You contribute around 6% to the National Pension’s fund, while 2.5% is deducted from salary of your employee as his contribution.  Employment tax is paid by the employee and deducted from source under the Pay As You Earn system (15%).  All training costs are refunded by the government if you contribute to the National Pension’s Fund for more than one year.  Yes, that’s true! 

Literacy

Enjoy the capabilities of a young population of dynamic and educated population.  Mauritians are education fanatics.  Once out of high-school, our kids immediately set their eyes on tertiary education.  Most of them travel abroad (UK, Australia, France, Canada, etc) for higher education.  Those not having same possibilities have recourse to courses offered by numerous training institutions of the country, supported by Universities of high repute (Sorbonne, Leicester, John Moore Liverpool, etc).  And then also, we’ve got the University of Mauritius and the University of Technology.

Duty-free and concessions

In the Freeport zone, you are able to benefit from duty-free imports of machinery and equipment.  You are exempt from VAT (you don’t even pay VAT). There are other duty-free possibilities depending on your business activities.  As Mauritius plans to be a duty-free island (read previous article), there is an interesting possibility that ALL businesses will benefit from the scheme.

Residence permit

Would you not like to have a residence in paradise-island?  Under certain conditions, maybe the easiest in the world, you can settle down under the sun and wake up with your feet on the most beautiful beaches on earth.  

Strategic location & infrastructure

We are in the middle of the Indian Ocean, accessible to Africa, India and China.  There are daily flights to Europe and major cities of the world.  In simple words, we make the bridge between the biggest supplies of the planet (China & India) and huge markets.  The modern airport will be upgraded soon, while the harbor already caters for advanced technological solutions.

Mauritius is constantly improving its business framework and it ambitions to be the leading regional business platform.  I personally think that the country is getting closer and closer to its objectives.  Local people and regulatory bodies have understood the fact that we don’t have natural resources and we need to find new ways to attract investment and competencies to Mauritius.  That’s precisely what we have been successfully doing since year 2006.

If you think that you are operating a business that cannot be migrated (in full or in part) to Mauritius, think again.  Or you might just want to speak to us!

MAURITIUS, DUTY-FREE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS!

The idea is not new, it was first evoked in the years 2000-2005.  It was a sexy proposal and somewhat seduced everybody.  At that time, a novice Minister of Finance was holding the reins of the country’s economy for the first time of his life:  Mr Pravind Jugnauth.  The novice is back again, more mature, feet on ground and head on shoulders – and again he tables the same idea.  Good to see some determination out there!

Turning the island into a huge duty-free shopping area is a good concept.  It all comes to revamping the economy and promoting something else besides the (now tiring) repetitive ‘sea, sun & fun’.  You can’t be boasting about your natural beauty and stay there expecting two million tourists.  Look at Bali, Ibiza and Dubai for instance.  To survive in this evolving world, everyone has to keep pace with changing environment.  Mauritius is no exception.

Why would people come over here and spend their money?   There’s got to be a good reason for that.  Good hotels are something we can decently find anywhere else in the world.  You can’t bet on the warmth and smile of local people when the world is getting more focused towards personal comfort and materialistic.  The Finance Minister does well to keep on his idea of duty-free island.   But what can really demark the country from the other shopping giants of the world?  I’m talking about Dubai, Singapore, and so on.

Well, successive governments had enough intelligence to knit a web of preferential trade agreements.  It means clearly that we are able to get the goods in much cheaper fashion, avoiding tax and customs barriers. We’re closer to the impressive manufacturing industries of China and India – and more, we share a historical link with them.  You’ll be glad to learn that we’ll soon be seeing a mini-China in Mauritius.  Jin Fey, as they call it, is a large Chinatown (basically a new city in Mauritius) and will regroup a hotel, factories, houses and commerce.  Chinese businessmen and government (I put government after businessmen) are financing all this.

Ok, let’s get back to the duty-free island.  The intention is to propose a global.  The implications are wide as it entails improving side infrastructures.  Wise decision-makers are already one step forward.  Our airport is soon to be a jewel in the region, capable of welcoming 4 million visitors a year.  We’re getting our cruise quay ready to greet (rich) sea-lovers and … the first shopping malls are taking birth within months.  The first two malls are within 1 kilometer distance from each other and very close to the new hub: the cybercity (that’s where my office is!).   On a straight-line and within 2 kilometers we will be having 3 shopping complexes and two shopping malls, isn’t that wonderful?

The whole process will, and there’s no doubt on that, create more businesses and employment.  If we dig deeper, we note that no many Mauritians can finance the creation and operation of world-class businesses.  So there comes the space for foreign investors!  Obviously, we can’t compete with the international exposure and competence of those present in the bigger cities of the world.  Right now, several big names have already shown an interest in getting setting up their shops and manufacturing units.  It will again generate more employment and more money for the local economy. Isn’t that brilliant?

Above all, it means that we, Mauritians, will be able to have duty-free shopping without the need to pay for an air-ticket.  

That’s the best part of it!