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the electricity bills of most mon for all communication Occupation Permit if the follo- R.J.: The occupation permit
hotels and coastal buildings in with the local authorities. wing conditions are met.For does not lead to a Mauritian
Mauritius. However companies may the Investor, the proposed passportlnationality. However
register with the Board of business activity should gene- non-citizens holding an
J-D.C: Mauritius as an inter- Investment (BOl) for assistan- rate an annual turnover excee- Occupation Permit under the
national financial services ce and support to the imple- ding MUR 3 million. The pro- categories of Investor and self-
centre ? Is that idea becoming mentation of their projects or fessional, under a contract of employed, may apply for
a solid reality or do you face business. Indeed, forms and employment, should have a Permanent Residence status at
difficulties to convince poten- detailed information are avai- basic monthly salary of MUR the expiry of their Occupation
tial clients and profrssionals? lable on the web site of the 30,000, while in the case of a Permit under the following
Registrar of companies:http:// self-employed person, the conditions: the business activi-
R.J : Mauritius ambitions to www.gov.mu/portal/site/comp- annual income from the propo- ty of the Investor should have
become the regional business divsite sed business activity should generated an annual turnover
and financial hub and consoli- exceed MRU 600,000. exceeding MUR 15 million
dates its high reputation on the J-D.C: What facilities do you during the first 3 years.
international front through a offer for the investor to get a The BOl also assists in the Concerning the self-employed,
regulatory and legislative fra- work and residence permit? issuance of residence permit to his business activity should
mework based on best practi- 'Retired Non-citizens'. This have generated a gross annual
ces for global business activi- R.J : An Occupation Permit is permit allows an eligible reti- income exceeding MUR 3
ties. The country is a clean a single document combining red non-citizen to reside in million during the first 3 years.
jurisdiction offering quality a work and residence permit. Mauritius. He should register If approved the Permanent
financial services and compe- The occupation permit allows with the Board of Investment Residence permit shall be
titive advantages for its Global an eligible non-citizen to resi- and undertake to transfer to valid for a period of 10 years
Business Companies, for de and work in Mauritius for a his/her local bank account in as from the date of expiry of
example, no tax on capital gain maximum of three years. In Mauritius at least USD 40 000 the Occupation Permit and
and dividend, no exchange fact, three modes of entry are annually, or its equivalent in makes the holders of a perma-
control, free repatriation of available for working and convertible foreign currency. nent residence permit eligible
profits and competitive as well living in Mauritius: either an to acquire property for
as professional trust services. investor, a professional, or a f-D.0 . Does a work and residential purposes.
(See some statistics depicting self-employed. residence permit lead to a Interview done &r Jacques-
passport/
Désiré (ourtiade
the growth of the financial ser- However, each one of the three Mauritian
vices sector are as illustrated in categories may apply for an nationality?
tables II and III)
Facts and figures
With the enlargement of the
double taxation treaty network
which Mauritius has, and the Table I - Major fish-related indicators
deepening of the outsourcing Indicators 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Export of fish and fish products
process, we are confident that
the Mauritian Financial servi- - Quantity (tons) 27381 49560 48719 54242 67249
- Value (MRU Million) 1840.8 4081 3178.4 3358.1 4842.1
ces sector is bound to grow
into a more solid pillar of our Production of canned tuna (tons) 26,012 28,873 30,523 34,248 35,137
economic strategy. It is interes- Production of tuna loins (tons) 3,759
ting to know that the sector Calls of vessels at Port Louis 696 555 511 512 706
already constitutes over 10 %
Fishing Licences issued 172 217 196 216 214
of GDP and is poised to grow
Fish transshipped at Port Louis (tons) 16,327 17,447 12,433 14,255 17,667
further.
i-D.C. What about the farina-
Table 2 - Evolution of Global Business Entities
I/ties to set up a company on 2005** 2006***
2002
2001
2003
2000 2004
the island ?
No. Category 1 Global 5,865 6,369 6,726 7,013 7,445 8,061 8,590
Business Companies
RJ : The formalities to set up
a company are as follows. No. Category 2 Global 8.592 11,730 13,670 15,357 17,085 19,352 20,406
Business Corn .anies
Firstly, a company name
should be reserved by filing a No. Global Funds 216 245 256 280 309 359 390
notice of reservation of name NAV (US$ billion) 8.98 6.7 63 9.27 12.44 26.75 33.285
to the Registrar of Companies No. Management Companies 72 76 79 82 81 86 88
prior to incorporation., second-
***AS at June 2006 ** As at June 2005
ly, the company should be
incorporated .Upon issuance Table 3 - Banking Sector
of a certificate of incorporation Value Added at current Basic Prices (2001-2004) for the Banking Sector in (Rs m)
by the Registrar of companies 2001 2002 2003 2004
a unique business registration Domestic Banking 4,467 4,941 5,708 6,701
number will be given to the
Offshore Banking 2,048 2,104 2,413 2,473
company which will be com-
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