Mauritius Financial Services Promotion Agency
Since Mauritius introduced captive legislation at the beginning of 2016, interest in the jurisdiction has increased, as Harvesh Seegolam explains to Becky Butcher
Since the enactment of the Mauritius Captive Insurance Act, how much activity has the domicile seen?
With the recent enactment of the Captive Insurance Act 2015, which looks at regulating the captive insurance industry under its own sector, Mauritius has laid down a foundation that is now significantly more attractive to companies looking to establish a captive and benefit from managing their own risks through self-insured vehicles.
Since the new legislation was passed, we have seen growing interest in our jurisdiction from leading captive managers and captive companies. We already have three major captive managers licenced by the regulator.
The act is designed to cater for all types of captives, but currently provides for pure captives. This will take place in Q1 2017.
Why has Mauritius been an attractive domicile for the African/Asian regions?
Mauritius has successfully established itself as a leading international financial centre. The country is already home to a number of global players, including multinational companies, global investment funds, international banks, legal firms and audit firms. On the back of this success, the introduction of the new Captive Insurance Act was a natural progression to extending the domicile’s offerings.
As an international financial centre of choice, we offer many benefits to the investment community.
These include security and stability as a proven financial centre that adheres to global best practices; risk mitigation possibilities through our network of investment promotion and protection agreements; no exchange control; a pool of innovative financial products and structures; and long-standing bilateral relations with Africa, offering us preferential market access through our memberships in the South African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and other regional economic blocks.
Are you seeing business from elsewhere?
We are observing increasing diversification in the use of our international financial centre. The government of Mauritius has recently launched the Asia Africa Corridor in which the movement of capital and investments is an important limb. Many Asian companies are now using our jurisdiction as an access centre for Africa. With respect to captives, we have noted interests from Europe- and Africa-based operators.
Are there any plans in place to expand and develop this further?
The Financial Services Promotion Agency is mandated to develop and promote Mauritius as an international financial centre. Working in line with the vision of the government and in association with all stakeholders, we are looking at developing new segments of activities. These include wealth management, corporate finance, investment banking, capital markets and other professional services.
