Mauritius is set to become a favourite place for financial companies.
Located in a world time ‘sweet spot’ halfway between the money markets of Europe and the Far East, the tiny nation is already punching above its weight in terms of banks and financial firms based on the India Ocean island.
The latest financial giant to move to Mauritius is deVere Group, one of the world’s leading advice firms for expats.
With around 90,000 customers and $10 billion of assets, the company has just been granted an investment banking licence by the Mauritius regulator.
“As a firm, we spent months carrying out comprehensive research into the world’s leading and most established international financial centres to launch our investment banking division.,” said CEO Nigel Green.
Mauritius to become southern hemisphere’s number 1 financial centre – MoneyMarketing https://t.co/KTaQOALWXn
— Nigel Green (@nigeljgreen) April 17, 2017
Ideal jurisdiction
“After detailed analysis from our in-house teams and external experts, it was definitively and unanimously concluded that Mauritius would be the ideal jurisdiction.
“Among other major influential factors, Mauritius has a strong global reputation, which is founded on the fact that the government is unequivocally pro-business – which is, of course, key to attract foreign investment – and this is reflected in its policies and its procedures.
“Mauritius also has an enviable reputation for its legally robust framework and its educated and English and French-speaking population.”
The time has come for Mauritius – the other financial centre rivalling the island is Dubai, which sits inside the same time zone but is sited several thousand miles north.
“In addition, and importantly for firms that operate globally, Mauritius has an internationally convenient time zone, it has good communications systems and world-class infrastructure and accessibility,” said Green.
Northern powerhouses will stay dominant
“If this weren’t enough, it is extremely financially competitive compared to other international financial centres.”
Green says his company will not spurn other financial centres.
“Mauritius could become the southern hemisphere’s leading international financial centre within the next 10 years,” he said.
“But the northern hemisphere’s powerhouse international financial centres such as London, New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo will maintain their dominant position in the world for decades to come.
“The southern hemisphere’s international financial centres, such as Sydney, Sao Paolo and Johannesburg, need to up their game to compete with Mauritius as global financial hubs.”
