Opportunities for a global business migrating to Mauritius

Mauritius is emerging as one of the most progressive economies in the region. This is due to its stable economy and business-friendly legislation that have resulted in attracting global businesses from all over the world to set up here.

Mauritius, as a financial jurisdiction, has evolved positively over the past years amidst a changing global landscape. To help global businesses set up here, there is a well-established business community of management companies offering services for registration of different types of companies, hiring of talented professionals and meeting the legalities with robustness and accuracy, which has all proved worthwhile for businesses coming into the country.

Tax Benefits:

The mindset of businesses coming to Mauritius for tax benefits has changed as Mauritius is not a tax haven but rather a highly competitive jurisdiction. Mauritius ranked among the 20 best places to do business worldwide as per the latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report 2020 and first in Africa. This consolidates the country’s ongoing efforts, in terms of legislation, infrastructure and improved air connectivity, to make Mauritius the leader in business facilitation in Africa and to be among the most business-friendly countries in the world, along with other jurisdictions such as New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Proximity:

We have seen large global brands such as Absa, Citco, Sanlam, Grit, Accenture and Standard Bank migrate their businesses to Mauritius. Mauritius not only offers ease of doing business, but also great talent with skills strengths in call centres, outsourcing, textile, accounting, KYC and AML. The island’s proximity to Africa and favourable time zone with Europe, makes Mauritius a compelling destination to consider.

Head of Operations at JJ Accounting Services, Samina Jagoo Jaffery said, “The strategic geographical location of Mauritius as the bridge between Asia and Africa makes Mauritius a destination of quality for companies considering doing business in Africa. The other significant advantage of setting up a company in Mauritius for doing business in Africa is the fact that Mauritius has Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs) in place with several African countries. IPPAs are international bilateral agreements between Governments. Mauritius has established those agreements with the objective of protecting and encouraging investments made by Mauritian Companies overseas. As at date, Mauritius has IPPAs in place with around 10 countries in Africa.” The Mauritian government has furthermore adopted the Digital Mauritius 2030 Strategic Plan aimed at the development of emerging industries, such as Fintech driven services.

Global business support and administration:

In terms of support offered for businesses that want to move to Mauritius, Samina said, “Mauritius, as a jurisdiction, has the advantage of having a workforce that is bilingual and which is highly qualified. Therefore, businesses will benefit from proper support services from Management Companies starting from the high-level structuring of the business and the handling of any financing requirements for the business from Mauritius to the full-fledged package of accounting, company secretarial, taxation and administrative services. Management companies also assist companies to set up offices in Mauritius. The aim of Management Companies is to handle the administrative aspect of the business for their clients while their clients can focus on their core operations.”

Companies incorporated in Mauritius for the purpose of doing business outside of Mauritius are designated as Global Business Companies (GBCs), and the easiest way of conducting business with Mauritius residents is to set up a domestic company. Setting up a domestic company has proven to be the most preferred vehicle for investing in Mauritius, as a Domestic Company is registered and reviewed by the Registrar of Companies only and is taxed at 15% in Mauritius.

The team at Bolt Home Mauritius is standing by to answer all your questions related to setting up a business in Mauritius. Some of the services available to you, through our network of trusted partners include company formation, assistance with opening of bank accounts and e-commerce facilities, directorship services and company secretarial services.

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