The Hindu Business Line : `Indian biz sector can benefit from trade with Mauritius'

THE Indian business sector can benefit from increasing bilateral trade with Mauritius, since the island-nation provides a gateway to profit in the African market, according to Mr Rama Sithanen, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mauritius.

Addressing a seminar on `Business opportunities in Mauritius' organised by the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), Mr Sithanen spoke about the various sectors that provide investment opportunities both for the Union Government as well as the private sector.

While Mauritius is known primarily for its tourism industry, which provides 8 to 9 per cent of its GDP, there has been a lot of development since 1980, when the nation focused primarily on tourism, export of sugar, and the textile industry, according to Mr Sithanen.

Today, Mauritius has a well-established financial services sector, with offshore banking and insurance projects taking place. Also the BPO industry has flourished in this sector. Mauritius is developing itself into a seafood hub, partnering in this respect with Mozambique and Seychelles, which have expertise in the field.

Mr Sithanen said the energy sector, freeports, health sector and real estate were potentially lucrative areas of investment. To further promote this possibility, the Mauritian Government has invested in infrastructure and logistics over the last twenty years.

The Mauritius delegation has been to various locations around India, this being the seventh seminar of its kind. Mr Sithanen said that they had visited Hyderabad and probed the IT sector for investments, Kochi for the seafood sector, and had raised awareness in Mumbai about business opportunities in Mauritius. He said that he had spoken to some healthcare institutes here about the possibilities of opening up centres in Mauritius to develop the country into a destination for medical tourism.

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