On 22nd of March, the capacity building and consulting firm Institutional Expert Services (IES) will convene a high-level conference on Virtual Assets & Initial Token Offering Services in Mauritius. This is the very first conference being held on this theme, following the recent proclamation of the Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021, in February 2022.
The Act sets out a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate the business activities of Virtual Assets Service Providers (VASPs) and entities structuring Initial Token Offerings. It has been developed inter alia in accordance with international standards established by global watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to manage, mitigate and prevent anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism risks associated with these emerging and innovative business activities. Mr Mardayah Kona Yerukunondu, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), will be the chief guest of the opening ceremony in the morning.
Namita Hardowar, IES’ Managing Director, explains: “The aim of this workshop is to characterise the phenomenon of Virtual Assets in relation to the economy and law relying on the main trends of economic digitalisation and establishment of modern terms.” She notes that the workshop would serve as a platform to debate on this topic from the perspectives of multiple stakeholders such as policymakers, regulators, operators and investors to discuss opportunities, possibilities and challenges for the Mauritian Jurisdiction. “We will also discuss along the lines of building a roadmap for Mauritius to position itself as the preferred investment destination for Virtual Assets,” she adds.
High profile panelists will convene to discuss the future of Virtual Assets and Initial Token Offering Services in Mauritius. Sonali Sewraj Reetoo (Economic Development Board), Rajnish Hawabhay (Ministry of IT, Communication and Innovation), Daniel Essoo (Mauritius Bankers’ Association), Varounen Goinden (SANNE), Sridhar Nagarajan (IQ-EQ), Rajnish Aubeeluck (Standard Chartered Bank) and Paul Perrier (FundKiss) will take the floor for a first panel discussion which will focus on key aspects, challenges and opportunities.
The second part of the conference will cover the Legal, Compliance and Security Aspects of Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services. Renu Audit (FSC), Béatrice Prele (Frundi), Catherine Nalletamby (Etude Nalletamby), Razi Daureeawo (PwC), Dev Hurkoo (Rogers Capital), Manish Maulloo (CIEL Finance) and Ishant Ayadassen (Aya Trades) will present their views. This high-level conference will end with a discussion on the Neo and Metaverse Perspective with a presentation on Virtual Assets, Cryptos and NFTs.
Dr Bhavish Jugurnath will act as the main facilitator for the conference, drawing upon his impressive executive experience of 20 years in global financial services, focusing on inclusion, diversity and innovation. He explains how the Mauritian economy can benefit from the evolution and innovation symbolised by these virtual assets.
“The world crisis 2020, among other things, makes governments and businesses re-evaluate their resources and look for new ways to manage the economic fallout from the crisis. The 21st century has already become an era of breakthrough digital technologies, and it keeps generating new phenomena with them. One of these phenomena is virtual assets of various types. Embracing a virtual asset economy, that runs in tandem with, and spurs the development of, traditional financial markets, holds new possibilities enabled by the tokenisation of traditional financial instruments, commodities and physical assets for Mauritius in the African region. Whether through virtual assets or businesses adopting new distributed operating models running on distributed ledger technologies, blockchain is transforming the global financial and capital markets.”
Namita Hardowar, IES’ Managing Director, views with satisfaction that the conference is gaining traction amongst CEOs, CFOs, regulators, Compliance Managers, barristers, attorneys, Management Companies Executives, Asset Managers and Financial Advisors. “This is a rapidly growing space. Virtual assets are definitely taking center stage. Local business leaders need to understand the current legal and regulatory framework and realise the relevance of virtual assets in our economic landscape.”
