Business in Mauritius, Port Louis

The objectives of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Republic of Mauritius” are the following:

1. To analyse the Mauritian Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in the Republic of Mauritius
3. To explore the Mauritian trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Mauritian Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
5. To analyse the strategic relationship between Mauritius and India
6. To develop a business plan for the Mauritian Market

Preferential access to international markets of Mauritius

1. Mauritius and the East African Economic Area
2. COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa)
3. SADC (Southern African Development Community)
   1. European Union-SADC Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
4. COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Agreement
5. African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA)
6. Indian-Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
7. Indian Ocean Commission
8. India-Mauritius Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement
9. Turkey-Mauritius Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
10. United Kingdom-Mauritius-Seychelles-Zimbabwe Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
11. Mauritius-Pakistan Preferential Trade Area
12. Mauritius-United States:
    1. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
    2. COMESA-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
13. Joint Declaration on Cooperation with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
14. Mauritius-European Union
    1. Africa-European Union Partnership (Cotonou Agreement)
    2. Free Trade Agreement European Union-Eastern and Southern African States (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe)
15. Mauritius is an observer country of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
3. International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC)
4. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO, Chicago Convention)
5. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
   1. International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC)
   2. Convention Relating to Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention)
6. Customs Convention on Containers (CCC, UN) - not a member

African Trade and Economic Organisations

1. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
2. African Union (AU)
   1. African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (not signed)
   2. African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
3. African Development Bank (AfDB)
4. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP)
5. Africa-BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
6. Africa-Turkey Partnership
7. Afro-Arab Cooperation
8. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
9. Africa-Korea Partnership
10. Africa-Japan Cooperation (TICAD)
11. Africa-South America Summit (ASA)
12. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
13. Africa-India Framework for Cooperation

Global Organisations

1. Commonwealth
2. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
   4. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
3. World Bank (WB)
4. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
5. International Monetary Fund (IMF)
6. Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (observer country)

The Republic of Mauritius

Mauritius (Africa) has moved from a mono-crop sugar dominated the economy to diversified services oriented to the global markets.

1. Mauritian population: 1.3 million people
2. Area of Mauritius: 2,040 square kilometres
3. Mauritius has a significant population of Hindus
4. Mauritian Literacy rate: 90%
5. The main languages in Mauritius: French, English, and Creole
6. Borders (sea) of Mauritius: 2,000 kilometres from East Africa coast. 855 kilometres from Madagascar.
7. Democratic system (British Westminster Parliamentary System)
8. Legal system: British law and French Code Napoleon
9. Mauritian Capital: Port Louis (148,001 people). One of the largest financial centres in Africa
10. Mauritian Independence: 1968 (United Kingdom)

More information about Mauritius (EENI African Portal).

Religions in Mauritius:

1. Hinduism (48%)
2. Christianity (33%)
3. Islam (17%)
4. African Traditional Religions

Mauritius belongs to:

1. East African Economic Area (African Civilisation)
2. Hindu Economic Area

Economy of Mauritius:

1. Ideally situated at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Republic of Mauritius also offers an ideal platform for holding and structuring investments in many of the fastest growing economies
2. With a per capita revenue of 8.891 USD, the Republic of Mauritius is now classified as a middle revenue country and ranks, by the recent Human Development Index for 173 countries, 67th globally, 40th among the developing countries and the second in Africa
3. The first African Country in the Doing Business Survey (World Bank)
4. First place at the Ibrahim Index of the African Governance
5. Mauritius is one of the fastest growing African economies
6. Mauritian GDP: 11.845 billion dollars
7. Mauritian GDP growth: 3.7%
8. GDP per capita: 8.891 dollars
9. Mauritian inflation: 3.9%
10. Unemployment in Mauritius: 8%
11. Top Mauritian economic sectors: agriculture (6% of the GDP, sugar), export-oriented manufacturing (23% of the GDP, textiles and garments), tourism (6% of the GDP), and financial and business services (10% of the GDP)
12. Information and Communication Technology (ICT): call centres, software, and business process outsourcing (BPO)
13. Mauritian Textile and apparel sector: 50% of the total Mauritian exports of goods. 40,000 workers (3.5% of the GDP)
14. Mauritian Currency: Mauritius Rupee (MUR)
15. Excellent business environment
16. Stock Exchange of Mauritius; 47 companies listed, capitalisation: 14 billion dollars
17. The Mauritian services sector accounts for 70% of the gross domestic product
18. Leveraging on a long history of political stability, free market economy and good governance, the Republic of Mauritius has entered in a new era of business-friendliness
19. Port Louis is the second largest financial centre in Africa after Johannesburg.
    1. Port Louis is the city with the highest per capita revenue in Africa
20. As a growing business and financial hub, the Republic of Mauritius offers numerous foreign direct investment opportunities, both on shore and off shore

Foreign Trade

1. Mauritius: an export-oriented country
2. Top Mauritian export products: textile, fish products, jewellery, watches, diamonds, optical goods, and chemical products
3. Total exports of goods: 2,872 million dollars
4. Total imports of product: 5,399 million dollars
5. Top Mauritian Export Markets: The United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy, South Africa, Madagascar, and Turkey
6. Top Mauritian suppliers: India, China, France, South Africa, and Spain
7. Mauritius Freeport: international trading hub of Eastern and Southern African
8. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Stock: 2,944 million dollars