Jugnauth led a BOI delegation in Geneva

Vice prime minister and minister of Finance and Economic Development, Pravind Jugnauth led a delegation to the investment promotion forum in Geneva on July 20. The visit was organised by the Board of Investment (BoI) at the InterContinental Geneva Hotel(ITC) The forum was attended by 100 top executives from leading Swiss-based firms operating in financial services, investment advisory, wealth management, fund management and legal services, among others.

Members of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce, Swiss African Business Circle and the British Swiss Chamber of Commerce were also present at this exclusive forum.

Shree Baboo Chekitan Servansing, ambassador and permanent representative of Mauritius to the UN in Geneva as well as the Honorary Consul of Mauritius, Pierre Colona were also present.

Key investment opportunities available in Mauritius were showcased in a technical presentation delivered by the BOI. Jugnauth highlighted his vision for Mauritius as a preferred investment destination and platform for emerging Asian and African economies. He further explained the fundamental initiatives that the island is adopting as it gears to embrace a new phase of economic development.

This includes strategic reorientation and rebalancing of the economy, diversification of the financial platform in terms of products and markets, enlargement of the economic space and integrated and sustained regional growth for Africa. He invited Swiss companies to set up their regional headquarters for Africa in Mauritius.

“Our political stability, state of the art communication systems as well as proven track record and global recognition as an investment platform are some of our main competitive advantages in this field. We are determined to further uphold the reputation of Mauritius as a clean and compliant jurisdiction and will take all necessary steps,” he said.Jugnauth further invited the Swiss business community to consider Mauritius in their expansion plans in the promising African markets.

“Mauritius has attracted a consistent stream of investments from Switzerland over the last few years averaging approximately $19.5 million per year,” he said.

In 2010 alone, Swiss nationals invested approximately $19.7 million in Mauritius. Major sectors attracting Swiss investments into Mauritius would include, inter alia, hospitality and properties and financial services,” the minister added.

During the course of the day, Jugnauth had a number of one on one meetings with leading pharmaceutical companies, wealth managers, private banks and investment funds in view of further consolidating our position as a leading financial centre.

Jugnauth personally explained the Mauritius value proposition. Speaking at the forum, James Benoit, chief executive officer of Afrasia Bank shared his bank’s experience as a leading boutique private bank in Mauritius with a regional focus