BRIEF HISTORY OF MAURITIUS:

Mauritius is a small island in the southwest Indian Ocean about 600 miles east of Madagascar. Despite its small size and isolated location Mauritius has shown the potential for becoming an important city-state economy on par with Singapore and Hong Kong.

The Portuguese saw no reason to establish a settlement there at that time. A Dutch fleet blown off course by a cyclone (a hurricane of the Indian Ocean) on its way to Indonesia landed there in 1598 and named it after Prince Maurice of Nassau. Again there seemed to be no reason to establish a settlement at that time. Some four decades later, in 1638, the Dutch did establish a settlement but it turned out not to be a permanent settlement, surviving only a few decades. The French who had made settlements in other islands in the region took control of Mauritius in 1715. The French established sugar cane plantations on Mauritius. However French privateers who preyed upon British shipping in the region also established a base there just as they did on the northern part of Madagascar. This made Mauritius under French control a threat to British interests.

In December of 1810 the French authorities on Mauritius surrendered to the British but under the conditions that the French settlers retain their property and be governed under the French language and civil law code. Mauritius remained under British control until 1968 when the Republic of Mauritius was given independence.

Under British control the economy of Mauritius was primarily sugar cane production. Ninety percent of the land under cultivation was in sugar cane. The sugar cane economy needed workers and they were imported from British India and Africa.

Upon independence the Republic of Mauritius adopted the parliamentary democracy of Britain. The official language is English but most Mauritians also speak French Creole. There are numerous other languages spoken by small groups in Mauritius.

During the period after independence the sugar industry dominated the economy and the politics of Mauritius. A labor movement advocating socialism led to political protests and demonstrations. The government cracked down on the radical leaders and there was violence.

The prospects for Mauritius seemed dim in the 1990's. However as the 1997 date for the turnover of control of Hong Kong to China approached some Hong Kong businesses were seeking sites for relocation. About that time Professor Lim Fat of Mauritius visited relatives in Taiwan and conceived a plan to replicate the conditions of Taiwan in Mauritius. He came home and advocated tariff-free zones to encourage businesses to locate in Mauritius. He also lobbied the Mauritius government to encourage textile fabrication in Mauritius. He himself opened up such a business.

Soon Mauritius was manufacturing sweaters and was becoming a major world supplier of such garments. Things were looking up for Mauritius. Some of the labor radicals were brought into the government and shed their radicalism. A former labor radical became minister of finance and became a strong advocate of sound fiscal policy and the encouragement of business development. Local entrepreneurs developed export businesses for such local products as peppers. Mauritius prospered and political disputes over the division of income turned into political cooperation to promote the growth of income. With political stability the tourist industries of Mauritius grew as well.

SOCIAL & CULTURAL BACKGROUND:

India was the dominant source of the immigrants to Mauritius. Now about 68 percent of the Mauritians are descended from those migrants from British India. Those migrants were both Hindu and Muslim so about 50 percent of the Mauritian population are Hindu in religion and 17 percent are Muslim. About 27 percent of the population are descendants of migrants from Africa, called Creoles. A small proportion, 3 percent, of the population are descendants of immigrants from China. This small proportion amounts to thirty thousand people. Most of these are Roman Catholics. There are also descendants of the French settlers of Mauritius. They total about twenty thousand people, about 2 percent of the population. Altogether about 24 percent of the population are Roman Catholic. There are another 10 percent who are also Christian. About 2.5 percent are Buddhists.

BUSINESS CLIMATE AND INVESTMENT:

The successful trade policy aside and adaptability, another major reason for Mauritius’ economic success has been its business climate and incentives for foreign companies to locate there. Mauritius has no capital controls, a relatively stable currency, a low flat corporate tax rate of 15 percent, and a large number of double taxation avoidance agreements; together, these attributes sometimes make Mauritius more attractive than larger financial sectors for businesses. International rankings consistently give Mauritius high marks for business and investment climate. In contrast to many developing countries, Mauritius has never had a government advocating confiscation and nationalization policies. The main lesson from Mauritius in this regard is that geography is not destiny and that policies to improve investment climates can have large positive multiplier effects. Now the total population of Mauritius about 1.3 Malian .Amongst the 60 % of population are from margreted from Indian special Uttart Pardesh, Bihar, Kerala ,Taminl Nadu & Maharastra.

The World Bank’s Doing Business 2010 ranks Mauritius as the best country in which to do business in Africa. Overall, Mauritius is ranked 17th out of 183 countries ranked in the 2010 survey,

SCOPE OF BUSINESS:

• Sugar
• Textile
• Construction
• Hotel & Restaurant Set-Up
• Real Estate
• Agro-Industry
• Aquaculture
• Education
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Hospitality

• Smart Cities
• ICT-BPO
• Life Sciences
• Logistics
• Manufacturing
• Media & Creative Industry
• Ocean Economy ( Off shower and in Shower activities)
• Renewable Energy (Wastage of Sugar Cen/Fertilizer/Card Board & Paper)
• Seafood

STRENGTHS OF THE MAURITIAN MARKET:

• Political stability.
• Strategic location in the Indian Ocean.
• Secure investment location.
• Availability of legal, accounting ,finance and other Professionals.

BUSINESS TOURS:

• Conducting Business Tour.
• Making the Business Report in connection with Mauritius context.
• Set-up the Business along with partnership.
• Coordinating with various Mauritius Government Authority.
• Organized Meetings and Conferences.
• Recruitment of Professionals.
• All supply of Hotel industries including Crockeries, Bedcover, Curtains.