Financial Services and Good Governance Minister Hon Mahen Seeruttun has called the Juristconsult Investment Summit 2022 “fruitful with great discussion and new ideas emerging at a time when environmental, innovation, and sustainable investment are deemed as critical not only locally but across the global investment community.” He made the comments during the closing remarks at the event based on the theme, “Exploring Innovation, Sustainability & Investment Ecosystems” held at Andrea Lodge, Saint Aubin.
There is a need for more law firms such as the ilk of Juristconsult boasting of international repute and being a member of the DLA Piper Africa Group is strategically positioned to serve the legal needs throughout Africa, the Minister stated. The event, he says, holds significance in coinciding with the 30th commemoration of Mauritius as a global IFC.
“It’s been 30 years of maturity and now we need to move to another level of value addition where today serves as a perfect occasion to recognise that Mauritius owes its impressive development and growth to the business sectors operators such as firms, banks and law firms. As financial services professionals look forward to 2023, the underlying challenges will be unpredictable unlike the previous years where it has shown that threats are constantly evolving and impacting every aspect of business,” Minister Seeruttun emphasised.
He underlined the resilience of the financial services evolving into a mature jurisdiction despite challenges such as global lockdowns and the inclusion of the jurisdiction in the FATF Grey List. The resilience shown is attributed to continued operations in the lockdown period with COVID-19 owing to the world-class professionals making the industry ethos.
Minister Seeruttun stresses the fact, “We emerge much greater in the eyes of the international community and markets served while not resting on our laurels in striving to ensure that we remain a compliant jurisdiction and remain so far as the AML/CFT. The event’s agenda touches the very essence of the Mauritius IFC in covering a panoply of topics such as wealth management, ESG, Investment Funds, arbitration, and FinTech, among others to make it a compelling value offering for local and global funds to set up in Mauritius.”
He made a strong pitch on the fact that both the Government and regulators have rigorously offered diverse financial products and services for wealth management, a wide range of banking products encompassing portfolio investment, structured products, private offerings, domiciliation of HNWIs, single and mostly family offices to hold and manage international assets and funds while facilities such as residence through Occupational Permits, retirement and foreign investor permit to the intention of HNWIs having an interest to work, invest and live on the island.
Viewed as a financial and business centre, the jurisdiction has cemented its place as a diverse trade and investment hub boasting of attributes such as substance, and repute where the financial services demonstrated strong resilience in the wave of a crisis, having clocked in 4.6 percent growth last year.
He announced: “My Ministry in tandem with the National Committee on Corporate Governance is currently working on an ESG Framework designed to achieve the vision of continuous improvement in ESG performance in giving comfort to investors’ trans-channeling from Mauritius into Africa with sustainable credentials.”
As part of ambitions to enhance product offerings to remain competitive, the recently enacted Variable Capital Companies Act aims to place Mauritius at par with best-in-class jurisdictions such as Singapore. “We are leaving no stone unturned to develop a sustainable Fin-Tech sector in Mauritius to help ensure that while it remains commercially attractive, there is a need for the right framework carving AML/CFT to help protect its citizens.
The Virtual Assets and Initial Token Offerings Act that has been enacted helps provide the legislative framework for both virtual asset service providers and insurance token offerings while ensuring that the jurisdiction offers modern and sophisticated products striving to be diverse.
