Financial services – Jyoti Jeetun: “Competitiveness and attractiveness, the GM’s priorities”

If the Cost of Doing Business remains one of the essential pillars of the attractiveness of a financial center, it is also important to recognize the decisive advances made over the last two years to ensure its sustainability. So many initiatives aimed at making the financial services sector the engine of Mauritian economic growth.

Are Global Companies established in Mauritius really on the verge of a mass exodus to other financial centers, as some seem to point out? For the Minister of Financial Services, Jyoti Jeetun, nothing seems to justify it. “This assumption is largely based on the single example of a company offering Authorized Companies to register in Seychelles, and could not reflect a true trend within the sector,” she explains in a press release issued at the end of last week.

The minister underlines that the new prices announced by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) remain competitive and cannot in themselves justify a massive migration of investors. It also indicates that only one license category out of 145 is concerned: Authorized Companies, structures operating outside Mauritius. Across all of these categories, 33 license fees are decreasing, 87 are unchanged, and 25 have increased. Only the category of Authorized Companies exceeds the 50% increase.

“Administrative and registration costs are not the only criteria for selecting a financial position by companies operating in the Global Business sector. It is true that the Cost of Doing Business is important, but it is the ecosystem as a whole that really matters,” says Jyoti Jeetun.

Investors are, in fact, more interested in the overall added value offered, particularly in terms of financial structures, taxation, legal framework, governance, political and economic stability, as well as the business climate. However, Mauritius has all the qualities required to continue to perform at this level, and the Ministry of Financial Services continues to work hard to make the destination shine internationally.

Regarding the alleged absence of consultations with players in the sector, the minister believes that this is an erroneous perception of the facts. “We have carried out broad consultations with all stakeholders since my position was taken in November 2024, resulting in the Financial Services Strategy 2025-30, also recognized in the latest IMF report. This lays the foundations and the roadmap for the development of the sector. We set up the Financial Services Consultative Council (FSCC) to implement this strategy, where no less than six industry representatives sit.