doing business in Mauritius country profile international treaties and memberships government Executive: Mauritius has a Westminster Parliamentary Democracy. The international African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States structure leader commanding the highest number of Members of Parliament is and regional African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement called upon by the President to form a government. Cabinet is appointed organisations African Development Bank by the President, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. and customs African Economic Community President is elected by Parliament for a five-year term and there are no unions Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (“COMESA”) limits on the number of mandates. Commonwealth Organisation Legislative: Mauritius has a unicameral parliament. Indian Ocean Commission Judicial: The highest court is the Supreme Court, which has both a first Indian Ocean Rim – Association for Regional Cooperation instance jurisdiction and an appellate jurisdiction. The subordinate courts are the Intermediate Courts, the Industrial Court and the District Courts. International Monetary Fund There are a number of quasi-judicial bodies in respect of tax, employment, International Organisation of la Francophonie (Organisation Internationale public procurement, intellectual property, competition, and Information and de la Francophonie) Telecommunication matters. Southern African Development Community Next parliamentary elections: November 2019. United Nations World Bank economic Nominal GDP (USD billions): 14.81 Mauritius receives preferential treatment under the following agreements: data GDP per capita (USD): 11 693.55 http://ptadb.wto.org/Country.aspx?code=480 Inflation rate (% change): 2.08 Government revenue (% of GDP): 22.08 bilateral Mauritius has bilateral investment treaties in force with Barbados, investment Government debt (% of GDP): 67.50 Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, Burundi, China, Democratic treaties Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, *Source: IMF (April 2019) Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, The services sector accounts for the majority of Mauritius’ GDP, with tourism and financial services being the most vital sectors of the economy. and Zambia. Mauritius has a diversified economy and also relies on the textile industry Treaties have been signed with Benin, Cameroon, Comoros, Eswatini and production of sugarcane. (previously Swaziland), France, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritania, Nepal, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Tchad, Mauritius’s main export partners are France, the United States, the United United Arab Emirates, and Zimbabwe, but these have not yet entered into Kingdom, South Africa, Madagascar, Italy and Spain. The main export commodities include clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses force. and fish. investment- African Growth and Opportunity Act Mauritius’s main import partners are India, China, France and South related Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Africa. The main import commodities include manufactured goods, capital agreements / equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products and chemicals. institutions risk ratings World Economic Forum Global competitive index (2018): 49/140 World Bank ease of doing business (2019): 20/190 Corruption perception index (2018): 51/180 1 doing business in Mauritius dispute Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award competition resolution (New York Convention) merger control The Mauritian Competition Act (the “Act”) regulates merger control in International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes Mauritius. Mauritius International Arbitration Centre The Act defines a merger as the bringing together, under common Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Arbitration and Mediation ownership and control, two or more enterprises, of which at least one Centre carries on activities in Mauritius, or through a company incorporated in United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”) Mauritius. United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-Based Investor- The Act provides examples of when enterprises are regarded as being State Arbitration (the “Mauritius Convention”) under common control for the purposes of merger regulation. Mauritius has also signed the United Nations Convention on International A merger is subject to review in Mauritius (i) where the merger would Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (the “Singapore result in merged entity supplying / acquiring 30% or more of goods or Convention”), which is yet to be ratified. services in a relevant market; or (ii) where one party to merger already supplies / acquires 30% or more of goods or services in a relevant market, intellectual A comprehensive list of IP-related treaties signed by Mauritius is available and the Mauritian Competition Commission has reasonable grounds to property (“IP”) at: http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/profile.jsp?code=mu believe that the creation of the “merger situation” has resulted in, or is treaties See the trade marks section below for further detail. likely to result in, a substantial lessening of competition within any market legal regime for goods or services. applicable legal Mauritius’s legal system is based on a hybrid system of French civil law No filing fees are payable for filing a merger in Mauritius. regime and common Law. The Mauritian Competition Commission will take public interest considerations into account in making a determination on a merger, only dispute International arbitration is governed by the Mauritian International where a merger results in, or is likely to result in, a substantial lessening of resolution Arbitration Act, which is based on the International Commercial Arbitration, competition. the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, the English Arbitration Act and the New Mauritius is not a pre-implementation regime. Zealand Arbitration Act. Where the Mauritian Competition Commission finds that a merger results Entities wishing to enforce a foreign award must apply to the court and in, or is likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition, it may produce an authentic original award and original agreement, which may be require the merging parties to, among other things, (i) desist from enforceable provided that it is not contrary to Mauritian public policy. completing or implementing the merger insofar as it relates to a market in Domestic arbitration remains French-based and is codified in the Mauritian Mauritius or (ii) divest of certain assets within a specified period as a Code de Procédure Civile. condition for proceeding with the merger. Mauritius is a member of the regional competition body, COMESA. land The Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act, 1975 provides that foreign COMESA does have merger control. Merger activities in Mauritius should acquisition, citizens wishing to acquire immovable property (including shares in a be conducted with COMESA in mind. planning and company, which owns immovable property) in Mauritius must obtain use written permission from the Prime Minister's Office or the Economic prohibited The Act prohibits certain vertical and horizontal practices. Development Board (“EDB”) in certain specific cases. This authorisation practices The horizontal collusive agreements prohibited by the Act include price often requires the real estate to be connected with the trade for which the fixing, market division, bid-rigging and restricting the supply or acquisition foreigner has been given permission to invest. of goods or services to / from any person. Under the Permanent Residence Scheme foreigners may acquire The Act provides that a horizontal agreement that is not collusive may still properties, subject to specific restrictions, for example, the properties be reviewed where the parties to the agreement together supply or acquire being located in specified development areas. 30% or more of goods and services of any description in the market; and The Property Development Scheme (“PDS”), which has replaced the there are reasonable grounds to believe that the agreement has the object Integrated Resort Scheme and Real Estate Scheme, allows the or effect of preventing, restricting or distorting competition. development of a mix of residences for sale to non-citizens. From a vertical perspective, the Competition Act prohibits retail price maintenance. It also allows for any vertical agreement to be reviewed where the Mauritian Competition Commission has reasonable grounds to 2 doing business in Mauritius believe that one or more parties to the agreement is / are in a “monopoly foreign investment regime situation”. investment The Investment Promotion Act governs foreign investment in Mauritius The Act prohibits abuses of dominance. regime and the EDB has been established to promote Mauritius as an Mauritius has an active Corporate Leniency Policy. The policy is not international investment, business and service centre, to formulate available to cartel initiators / ring-leaders. investment promotion policies and advise the government on strategies for An enterprise that engages in a prohibited practice may be liable to a fine investment policies. of up to 10% of the turnover of the enterprise in Mauritius during the period