Mauritius Has 'Missed the Boat' on Islamic Finance

In his annual Letter to Stakeholders, Rundheersing Bheenick, Governor of the Bank of Mauritius notes, “Since 2007, we have taken a number of initiatives to promote the development of Islamic banking in Mauritius, including the establishment of an appropriate legislative framework for Islamic finance as well as becoming a full member of the Islamic Financial Services Board and a founder-member of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation.”

However, headlining his comments “Islamic banking products on hold?” he added that. “The Public Debt Management Act 2008 was amended to provide for the issuance of Shari’ah-compliant instruments such as sovereign Sukuk by Government. Unfortunately, the public debt issuance calendar has never provided for the issuance of Sukuk, as proposed by the Bank in its capacity as debt adviser to Government, and this severely compromises the prospect of our jurisdiction playing a bigger role in the growing world of international Islamic finance.” 

He said that the Central Bank had continually pressed the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development but without success: ‘no discussions held and no support provided’

Bheenick said, “My original aim was to position Mauritius as a regional financial centre that incorporates a niche market for Islamic finance. But other African countries have now taken the lead and already issued Shari’ah-compliant sovereign papers that have gained acceptance and recognition worldwide. So it seems we have missed the boat on this one.”