Africa-Press – Mauritius. Resilience, stability, openness, accessibility, trustworthiness, Open Door Policy, and human resource leadership were among the qualities attributed to Mauritius as an International Financial Centre by the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, this afternoon, at the seat of AFRINEX Limited in Ebène.
The President was participating in the Listing Ceremony of USD 1 billion 2033 Bond of BNP Investments LLC, and of USD 3 billion 2029 Bond of EST Growmore CHL, on Afrinex Securities List.
The Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun; the Deputy High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, Mr Vimarsh Aryan; the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AFRINEX, Ms Krishna Gangopadhyay; and other eminent personalities were also present.
It is recalled that AFRINEX is a pan-African Exchange, launched on 25 October 2021. Its Exchange and Clearing House are regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius.
The President affirmed that Mauritius had managed to develop its own identity as a Sovereign State and is relevant and credible in this part of the world.
He reiterated the vision to consolidate the country’s position as an International Financial Centre to further liberalise and diversify the current capital market and to strengthen its position in Africa.
“Our International Financial Centre has got a firm and robust reputation as a jurisdiction of substance,” he said.
According to President Roopun, the success of Mauritius had always been its openness, being accommodating and flexible, without compromising on the fundamentals.
He averred that the collaborative efforts made by the authorities, agencies, and operators of the private sector, in a limited time and under stress, to remove the country from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring revealed the resiliency of the financial sector.
“Irrespective of the shortcomings that were being attended to, we had the trust of investors,” he underscored.
Moreover, Mr Roopun thanked the AFRINEX team for their firm belief, commitment and trust in Mauritius as an International Financial Centre. The encouraging opportunity for economic take-off provided by Africa was highlighted, too, by Mr Roopun.
He stated that Mauritius always believed that it should maintain an aggressive presence in Africa and talked of the close economic and political ties with the establishment of various Double Taxation Agreements and the push for preferential tariffs, especially with countries from Southern and Eastern Africa.
The President was of the view that Mauritius was not a mere gateway towards Africa. “We will use all our best endeavours to make things happen and establish bridges whenever the need arises so that there is a win-win situation, not only for the country as an International Financial Centre, but also for investors and for Africa,” he declared.
As for Minister Seeruttun, he congratulated AFRINEX for the two international listings and expressed his confidence that it was the beginning of future upcoming listing of similar bonds, which, in turn, would reinforce the country’s financial sector.
“AFRINEX is successfully supporting the financial development of our Mauritian economy and has also become an undeniable actor to position Mauritius as a financial centre for the region,” he pointed out.
The Minister further underlined the country’s forte as a jurisdiction of substance and repute. “We represent an International Financial Centre of opportunities where investors can fully tap into the potential which Mauritius represents,” he added.
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