Structuring Investment in Africa: Mauritius as Gateway

1. Structuring Investment in Africa:Mauritius as Gateway M. Mosafeer Director Large Taxpayers Department & International Taxation Unit Mauritius Revenue Authority IFA, May 2012

2. Agenda • Mauritius Comparative Advantage • Mauritius treaty network with African countries • Objectives & constraints • Way forward

3. Mauritius Comparative Advantage • Africa and Mauritius linked by close cultural, business and bilateral ties. • Mauritius the only International Financial Centre that is a member to all the major African regional organizations (SADC, COMESA and African Union) • Political stability, a robust banking system, a pro-business environment, good infrastructure, a relatively low cost of professional services, its pool of highly qualified and bilingual professionals, its excellent telecommunication connectivity to the rest of the world

4. Mauritius Comparative Advantage (Contd.) • Leading position of Mauritius in the African continent in many indicators and indices – • 1stout of 53 countries in Africa on the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom Index and again first in Africa, in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index, for the 4th year running. • Wide network of DTA and IPPA

5. 2.Mauritius tax treaty network with african countries: Where are we? • Double Taxation Agreements

6. Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements: Where are we?

7. 3. Objectives & Constraints:Where we want to be? • Expand the Mauritius network to 30 African countries in the short to medium term How? • Establishing treaties in priority with: • Countries of the SADC and COMESA groups – Both regional groups are finalizing model texts for the groups; and • Emerging / growing economies and those that are in transition to capitalise on the investment opportunities they offer

8. Constraints • Countries not proceeding with signing / ratifying agreements • Armed conflicts in certain countries (difficult to arrange for negotiations / signing)

9. 4. Way Forward • The conclusion of DTAAs with other countries forms an integral part of Government’s action to improve the investment climate and attract foreign investment and also to implement the most enabling framework supportive of our Global Business Industry. • Government is committed to consolidate the position of Mauritius as the jurisdiction of choice for investing into Africa. • 3 important measures were announced in the 2012 budget speech to enhance the Mauritius offering: • the widening of our network of DTA & IPPA African States; • the transformation of our airport into a new hub for the region, providing interconnection between Africa and the rest of the World. • the appointment of two roving ambassadors to focus on further developing our relationship with Africa and countries of the Indian Ocean region;

10. Way Forward (Contd.) • Mauritius is already widely used for Indian outward investments into Africa • China is equally usingMauritius as a base for expansion into the promising African continent • Certain Development Financial Institutions also favor Mauritius as the natural domicile for their investments in Africa (IFC, ADB etc.) • Major global companies with plans to expand their operations in Africa have decided to do so by setting up their regional base in Mauritius These moves can only testify that Mauritius is rightly set to be the future gateway for conducting business with Africa.

11. THANK YOU!