Mauritius primary and secondary sectors have been underper- forming since ----, growing on average by -.- and -.- respectively, while real GDP grew on average by -.- on the back of services growth of -.- on average over the past five years. Indeed, the service sector has been driving the country s growth for the past decade at least, and we expect this will remain the case in ---- and ----. ...This has led to a gradual decline of the country s traditionally strong textile industry throughout the ----s, when the sector lost out to lower cost production bases in Asia. In addition, the country s leading sugar industry has been penal- ised over the past few years by surplus sugar in the EU market, which has resulted in weaker demand for Mauritian sugar. With little announced by the Mauritian government in its ----/---- budget to support these two sectors, we believe that they will continue to underperform over the medium-term. ...Although we expect the agreement to be finalised over the coming years, we remain cautious about whether this will take place in ---- or ----. Indeed, the rounds of negotiations between Mauritius and India have been ongoing for close to a decade, despite both sides agreeing on the necessity to finalise the talks.
...Mauritius economic growth will accelerate over the coming years, boosted by large-scale public investment and economic rapproche- ment with India and China. Nevertheless, real GDP growth will remain below the government s forecast of -.- for ----/---- and -.- for ----/----, as private investment remains relatively subdued . ...Although we remain cautious as to the new economic miracle announced by the government over the coming years, we maintain our view that Port Louis will successfully prop up investment in the country, following three years of decreasing foreign direct investment. The Mauritian government is indeed offering a number of incentives to attract the USD-.-bn needed to develop eight smart cities and five technopoles , including the removal of over -- permits and licensing orders to reduce trade barriers and an eight-year tax holiday for new businesses. Although it is unlikely the government will achieve this target from a single investment source, a significant contribution from China would steer growth closer to the government s medium term projection. ...Although it is unlikely the government will achieve this target from a single investment source, a significant contribution from China would steer growth closer to the government s medium term projection. During Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi s visit to Mauritius in early February ---- � with Wang Yi choosing the island state as the first step of his Africa trip � China reiterated its interest - Business Monitor International Ltd www.bmiresearch.com
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