Mauritius: Investment into Africa

Anthony D. Whaley, Craig T. Fulton • Posted 02/07/2010 • Under Articles

With its favourable tax status and historic ties to Africa, Mauritius is fast establishing its status as a gateway to investment in the continent.

The African continent, while not unscathed by the global recession, has shown a fair degree of resilience, providing significant opportunities with its under penetrated markets and unleveraged business opportunities. Economic expansion in this region, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, is being supported by minerals and energy mainly, but also by a broad base of sectors including agriculture, technology, telecommunications, media and financial services. These industries are attracting massive foreign direct investments (FDI), a large chunk of which is coming through private equity investments. Flows of FDI to Africa have been increasing significantly during the last decade and Mauritius has a vital role to play in this respect since the country possesses invaluable comparative advantages. A version of this article was published in Legal Week and is available here.