GROUP MEMBERS

• DIPESH BAING• GITANJALI GAWANDE• AMIT KAMBLE• SHRUTI KULKARNI• UMA PATADE• SAMEER SAVLA

INTRODUCTION

• Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean.

• Capital: port Louis:

• Currency: Mauritian rupee ( MUR)

STEPIN

• S-SOCIAL• T-TECHNOLOGY• E-ECONOMIC• P-POLITICAL• I-INTERNATIONAL TRADING• N-NATURAL SCENARIO

SOCIAL & CULTURAL FACTORS

• Social classification in Mauritius consists of-• Franco Mauritians : Who have huge amount of wealth and because of this they

also control the economy of Mauritian.• Indo Mauritians : Who are mainly traders, landowners and industrialists in the

Mauritius.• Sino Mauritians : Who are traders and industrialists in the Mauritius.• Culture of Mauritius is a mixture of many cultures like Europe, France, Dutch,

India, China and Africa and it also offers a business-friendly environment.• Mauritius is an island of temples, churches and mosque. There are four basic

religions in Mauritius which are Hinduism, Christianity, Muslims and other general population. Among these surprisingly Hinduism is dominant.

• Mauritian Creole, which is spoken by the majority of the population, followed by English, French, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Urdu.

• The Sundowner is one of the most delicious Mauritian traditions.

• Mauritius has one of the highest literacy rates among developing countries, at over

95% for those aged under 30. Its education system is highly developed and is free to

university level.

• Food in Daily Life- Mauritius is known for its seafood. The foods in Mauritius are as

varied as the cultures. Chinese mostly own the restaurants in the cities. Street food also

is quite common for snacks and includes samosas, roti, curried rolls, soups, and

noodles. At home, rice is the most common staple. Local vegetables are eaten readily

and include chokos, red pumpkins, squash, and greens.

• The main festivals celebrated are Cavadee, Chinese Spring Festival, Christmas, Diwali,

Easter, Eid-ul-Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Maha Shivaratri, Ugadi, etc.

• The national sport of Mauritius is football.

• Traditional buying methods is more preferred rather online in Mauritians’ lifestyle.

TECHNOLOGY:ICT INDUSTRY’S CONTRIBUTION

• With a contribution to Mauritius’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 6.8%, the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector, is poised to become the 3rd economic pillar of the island.

• Foreign direct investments have played a key role in ICT development in the island economy so far, with a healthy mix of large multinationals and local players operating in Mauritius, providing employment to over 19,000 persons in the industry.

• Global players such as Accenture, Ceridian, TNT, Microsoft, Huawei, Orange Business Services, Pactera, Besedo and Infosys amongst others have established their operations in Mauritius.

ICT sector overview• As a dynamic sector, the ICT has been able to diversify and set itself

as a potential sector for further economic development. The ICT sector is currently the third pillar of the economy with a contribution to GDP standing at 6.8%.

• Several measures have been implemented such as democratising access to the internet, setting up of computer clubs on a regional basis and the WIFI Mauritius Programme

• As many as 264 computer clubs are operational in Mauritius and free WIFI zones have been set up around the island in a bid to bridge the digital divide and to make internet a basic citizen’s right. Mauritius is also now one of the best-connected countries with 54.1% internet penetration in the region, compared to the African continent’s rate standing at 13%.

The sector has developed distinctive strengths in Telecoms, BFSI, IT Application Development as well as Maintenance support.

Business opportunities exist in the following segments:• BPO Voice – Call Centres • BPO Non-Voice – Back Office, Payroll, Finance & accounting

outsourcing, Legal Process Outsourcing• Information Technology Outsourcing – software development, Mobile

apps development, Web development, E-commerce, Multimedia• IT Services – Data Centres, Disaster Recovery, Training, Consultancy• Telecommunication• ICT Trade – retail and wholesale

The country offers the following key attributes for ICT and BPO activities:• Proven test bed for new technologies• Pool of multilingual, educated and adaptable IT

professionals• Excellent collaborative business environment• Competitive cost to quality proposition• Reliable and redundant international connectivity with

two international submarine networks

E- Economic Environment

• Mauritius is an upper middle income country.• UNDP ranked Mauritius the highest among the

sub-Saharan African countries and 63rd in the overall ranking.

• Mauritius has a relatively diversified, export-oriented economy that continues to be based on 4 pillars: sugar, textiles and clothing, tourism and financial services.

• Efforts are also being made to develop Mauritius into a cyber island and to make information and communication technology(ICT) the fifth pillar of the economy

• Size of economy: Top 3 trade partners (2014): India, China, France.

• Top 3 Exports goods (2014): Apparels, Electrical machinery.

• GDP Per Capita: 9,202.52 USD (2013) • Gross Domestic product:  11.93 billion USD

(2013) • Gross National income:22.32 billion PPP

dollars (2013)• Nature and trends of foreign trade• Domestic demand and supply conditions

Politics and GovernmentOfficial Name: Republic of Mauritius Form of State: Republic within the CommonwealthIndependence: 12 March 1968Legal System: The Mauritian legal system is based on

English common law, the Napoleonic Code and the 1968 constitution.

National Legislature: National Assembly; 62 members elected by universal suffrage every five years, in 20 three-member constituencies on the island of Mauritius and one two-member constituency on Rodrigues, plus up to eight “best losers”.

Head of State: The Head of State is the President, elected by a simple majority of the National Assembly. On 29 May 2015 President Rajkeswur Purryag resigned and Vice-President Monique Ohsan-Bellepeau became acting President. On 4 June 2015 Dr Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was unanimously elected President by the National Assembly.

Main political parties Government: Alliance de l’avenir coalition formed by the Labour Party and Parti mauricien social démocrate (PMSD), plus the Mouvement rodriguais (MR). Other parties in parliament: Mouvement militant mauricien (MMM), Mouvement socialiste militant (MSM), Mouvement mauricien social democrat (MMSD), Organisation du peuple rodriguais, Front solidarité mauricienne

International organization participation: ACP, AFDB, AOSIS, AU, COMESA, CPLP (associate), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCT, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, INOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SAARC (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

• Mauritius' main exports are sugar, tea, coffee, textiles, knitwear, time pieces, tobaccos, cut and uncut diamond, electric appliance & parts.

• Mauritius imports include chemical products, cement , cotton , gemstones, iron steel and petroleum products.

TRADE POLICY & TRADING PARTNERS

• Mauritius' participation in multilateral trading system & in various regional agreements reflects its interests as a small, export-oriented economy with advantages in few product, sugar, textiles and clothing.

• The resultant reduction of duty and tax concessions could contribute to reducing public deficit and facilitating further tariff reforms, which are currently hampered by fiscal concerns as customs duties account for about 50% of tax revenue.

CUSTOMS & DUTIES

• A value-added tax are 12% levied on all imports petroleum, Vehicles, alcohol, cigarettes, and furniture have a special excise duties of up to 360%.

• Most of the imports require a license and state enterprises control to import of rice, flour, petroleum, wheat, cement, tea, tobacco, and sugar.

TARIFF BARRIERS• Mauritius has a three column tariff based on the Harmonized

System. Most duties are ad valorem, assessed on the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value and specific rates are assessed according to the specified unit of measure.

• Customs duty is applicable on imported goods and the rates vary from 0 to 15% on the CIF value. Under the Customs Tariff Act, the Customs Department administers numerous schemes of exemption and concession of duty to various sectors of agriculture, industry and travellers.

• Drawback is allowed on goods that have been imported for the purpose of undergoing processing and thereafter exported. Provisions are also made for the temporary admission of goods.

NON TARIFF BARRIERS• Mauritian operators seem to encounter no major NTBs regarding trade

with SADC & COMESA regions from the domestic perspective. The only problems mentioned concerned the signatures on the certificates of origin.

• In fact most of the measures that have been & are being implemented regarding import end export restrictions tend to be those applicable at international levels.

• Mauritius is considering the possibility of adopting safety norms regarding electrical products.

• Some of them are not likely to be liberalized soon but products such as wheat flour is being considered. For products such as potatoes & other vegetables, import permits are provided whenever there is a shortage.

NATURAL SCENARIO• Mauritius is sub-tropical and suffers periodic droughts. It is of volcanic origin

and has varying landscapes.• Around 46% of the land area is agricultural, 20% built-up, 2% roads, and the

remainder is forest, scrubland, grasslands, reservoirs, ponds, swamps and rock. • The bulk of cultivable land is under sugarcane cultivation and is harvested

between June and November. • Food crops and fruit are harvested throughout the year.• The main minerals in Mauritius are basalts produced from local coral

limestone and coral sand. There are also polymetallic nodules that occur on the ocean floor at about 4,000 m depth around Mauritius. They contain more than 15% of both iron and manganese and more than 0.35% cobalt.

• Mauritius is also one of 20 countries participating in the Africa Adaptation Programme, to build adaptation into its institutional framework and core development strategies.

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