Helping Indian companies do business with Africa

	INDIA : India’s Trade with the African Region notched US$ 38.96 Billion in the year 2009-10 (DGCI&S provisional figures) constituting 8.37% share in India’s total trade. Trade with the region has grown at a CAGR of 18.10% from US$ 4.48 Billion in 1996-97.	AFRICA : 54 Countries, 1 billion people, US$ 1.01 Billion of trade. Imports worth US$ 468 billion include Mineral Fuels, Oils, Machinery, Vehicles including Boats, Ships, Aircrafts, Electronics & Electricals, Iron & Steel & Articles thereof, Cereals, Plastics, Pharmaceuticals, etc. Top 20 product groups imported by select African countries ............. [More].

Sector Profile : Mauritius

Principle Economic Sectors of Mauritius

Mauritius is has a well-developed legal and commercial infrastructure. A long tradition of entrepreneurship and representative government is also a prominent feature in Mauritius. All these factors help it to be one of the developing world's most successful democracies. Considered as one of the strongest economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and also one of the region's highest levels of per capita income.

The Mauritius government is putting in a lot of effort to modernize sugar and textile industries who are overly dependent on trade preferences and thus to promote diversification into fields such as that of information and communications technology, financial and business services, seafood processing and exports and free trade zones. The government remains involved in the economy through the state-owned utilities in various sectors.

Sector	% age Contribution to GDP(2007)
Sugarcane	1.80%
Other Agriculture	2.30%
EPZ Manufacturing	5.7%
Other Manufacturing	12.7%
Electricity,Gas and Water	1.9%
Construction	6.60%
Wholesale and retail trade	11.70%
Hotel and restaurant	8.30%
Transport,storage and communication	10.80%
Finance, businesss services and real estate	21.30%
Government services	6%
other Services	11.00%

Tourism Sector

Tourism in Mauritius is growing at a fast rate this brings about an important contribution to the foreign exchange earnings of Mauritius. There are a wide variety of exotic sandy beaches, blue lagoons, good climate and a spectacular landscape which make Mauritius a dream island for tourists. A blend of different races, cultures and religions, live with peace and harmony in Mauritius. Many luxurious hotels are available for tourists some ranking among the best in the world, which provide an excellent service. As many as half a million tourists visit Mauritius each year.

Apart from the magnificent natural surroundings there are a variety of sport activities like sailing, windsurfing, waterskiing, paragliding, diving and tennis are on offer. Competitions like Regatta and international fishing tournaments are also held in Mauritius. Wide variety of Casinos, bars and discos cater for the nightlife of tourists. Natural attractions in Mauritius are the Pamplemousses Botanical Gardens, Domaine du Chasseur, Trou aux Cerfs, Grand Bassin, Black River Gorges, Chamarel, Domaine de Pailles and Ile aux cerfs. Eco-tourism is being given special attention in order to preserve the natural beauty of the country.

Tourist policies of Mauritius promote the elite and specialist tourism in Mauritius. This is because of the limited space available for tourism and the need to maximize income while minimizing environmental impact. High-end tourism is preferred over low budget tourism. The Mauritian government encourages boutique luxury hotels, 4 and 5 stars beach resorts, golf courses, spas and beauty centers. Tourism is directed primarily at the high-spending European market.

Banking Sector

The banking legislation in Mauritius provides the prudential regulations with respect to bank’s concentration of risk, weighted capital adequacy ratio, income recognition and classification of loans and advances for provisioning purposes, maintenance of accounting and other records and internal control systems. The Bank of Mauritius which as an regulatory and supervisory body has now endorsed the Basle II Capital Accord and has adopted the Core Principles of the accord for the effective supervision of banks.

Apart from that, The Bank of Mauritius also form part of the Offshore Group of Banking Supervisors and is a founding member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Banking Supervisors Group which is a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) style body for the region.

In August 2008, amendments were made in the Banking Act 2004 that allows the banks in Mauritius to provide Islamic Banking services also. Many of the banks showed an immediate interest in setting up Islamic windows and thus paved the way for Islamic banking in Mauritius. With the introduction of Islamic finance, Mauritius has now great opportunity to diversify its financial sector and provide new services in the fields of banking, wealth management and investment based on Shari’ah Compliance.

Agriculture Sector

One of the major economic activity of the people of Mauritius is Agriculture. Its importance is explained by the following facts:

1). The sector occupies more than 50% of the land area.

2). A large number of people are employed in agriculture and agriculture related jobs.

3). Many agricultural goods are produced for exports etc.

Earlier Sugar production was the backbone of the Mauritian economy until the Government decided to embark on a diversification program. The cost of production of sugar has gone up and a restructuring of this sector has become necessary now. The increased modern mechanization, better yield, good management, energy production from biogases play a key role of in the development in this sector. Different types of sugar and tea are also produced for the export market.

Information and Communication Technology

Mauritius is one of the African countries with the highest telecommunications density. Mauritius is also the only African country which has an entirely digital network . These initiatives have been put in place by Mauritius Telecom with the aid of foreign companies such as Alcaltel and Sofrecom. In the 90’s, the telecom sector developed at a very fast pace, the average growth of the late 90’s was around 8%. Though in 2003 the expansion slowed down to 6%, this showed the maturity in the market and the increasingly competitive Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) sector. 89% of the Mauritian households have a fixed telephone line. The telecommunications sector was liberalized on January 1st 2003 and Mauritius Telecom no longer possesses the monopoly, but shares the market with Mahanagar Nigam Telephone.

In Mauritius, it is estimated that every three out of the four Mauritian people posses a mobile phone. The 772,400 mobile subscribers of Mauritius are divided between the two major operators, Emtel Ltd and Cellplus (a branch of Mauritius Telecom), and the latest operator, Mahanagar Telephone.

The number of internet users in Mauritius is also very high by African standard, amounting to 250,000 people and 90 % of the national territory having access to internet connection.

Today, Mauritius is well-equipped with ADSL, WAP, high-speed optic fiber cable and Wifi. One can count about 250,000 users and approximately 30% of the Mauritian people posses a personal computer.

For Further Reference

African Economic Outlook

Mauritius Country Profile - BBC News

The World Bank

Budget Information

54 AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Tourism Sector