Mauritius: The Investment Gateway to East Africa | 8th August 2022 Webinar Recording
Our Panel of Speakers
The Honourable Mahen Kumar Seeruttun; Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance
Vinay Guddye; Director of the Economic Development Board, Mauritius
Yoshni Toolsee Lucknauth; Assistant Head of International Banking, ABC Banking Corporation Ltd
Desmond Chu; Executive Director of Dynasty Wealth Ltd
Opening and Closing Remarks by
Julia Charlton; Chairman, Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong
Moderated by
Andrew Wells; Secretary-General, Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong
The webinar was a successful and meaningful occasion for the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, having the pleasure of being joined by an iconic and exemplary panel of individuals well-versed in the economic and trade developments in Mauritius including The Honourable Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance; Vinay Guddye, Director of the Economic Development Board, Mauritius; Desmond Chu Executive Director of Dynasty Wealth Ltd; and Yoshni Toolsee Lucknauth, Assistant Head of International Banking, ABC Banking Corporation Ltd.
The discussion centred on Mauritius’ vibrant record as the ideal intermediary jurisdiction for the African continent due to its political stability, thriving investment climate, abundance of natural resources and skilled labour, and dedication to international standards of transparency and good governance that makes Mauritius the ideal financial and logistics hub of Africa. The upper-middle-income nation ranks first amongst African nations in many ways, especially in terms of doing business, global competitiveness, economic freedom, social progress and quality of living. One of the highlights of the webinar was the keynote speech by the Honourable Mahen Kumar who elaborated in great detail Mauritius’ success not only in attracting FDI but also in disbursing it across the African continent via impactful investment projects.
The webinar provided a holistic understanding of the trade and investment landscape of Mauritius, including reflections from both the public and private sectors of the Mauritian economy and included a comprehensive understanding of the reasonings behind Mauritius’ stellar 37 year economic growth and how COVID-19 heavily and adversely affected it in 2020, causing GDP growth to fall to -15%. Despite the difficult period of time, EDB Director Vinay Guddye explained how the dynamic post-pandemic economic recovery has created the “perfect V-shape” growth to showcase the power of the nation’s economic foundation and went on to elaborate on the various policies and initiatives in the pipeline that will continue to accelerate growth and realise the jurisdictions’ goal of becoming the true global gateway into Africa. The virtual event also included the Hong Kong perspective on trade relations with Mauritius by Desmond Chu who lauded the African country’s attractive and facilitative incentives for Hong Kong investors looking to penetrate the African market, especially after the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between China and Mauritius that was finalised in 2019. He shared his excitement for the future of trade development between Hong Kong and Mauritius, especially in regards to the provision of virtual asset service provider (VASP) licenses, the creation of robust banking infrastructure for digital assets and the potential of Mauritius’ spearheading the development of virtual exhibition centres.
Watch the full recording of this webinar free of charge and with instant playback now via the YouTube link at the top of the page.