Mauritius gained a great deal of attention from international countries this year. So much so, the island expects foreign direct investment to amount to MUR14 billion (US$391 million) by the end of 2016. This is up by more than 44% from the MUR9.7 billion the country received last year.
According to a CNBC Africa report, in the first nine months of the year, foreign investment inflows had already shot up to in excess of MUR10 billion – an increase of more than 46% year-on-year – driven mainly by real estate, financial services and insurance activities.
France was the main investor over that period, with investments totalling MUR3.52 billion, followed by China with MUR1.9 billion. With this newfound financial backing, Mauritius plans to move away from sugar, textiles and tourism, in a bid to expand into offshore banking, business outsourcing, luxury real estate and medical tourism.
