Trade and Investment Promotion, South Africa, 19-25 June 2018
TRADING conditions between Mauritius and South Africa are at an all-time high and the island nation is pulling out all the stops to ensure its next round of business talks will further enhance business opportunities for both countries.
The Economic Development Board (EDB), Mauritius is hosting Business Forums in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg this month from 19 to 25 June - Explore Investment and Trade Opportunities in Mauritius - aimed at capitalising on the “Mauritius: Your Strategic Partner”.
Mr Arvind Radhakrishna, Head of Global Outreach, who will lead the delegation to South Africa, said the main purpose of the forums was to deepen relationships already formed over many years, as well as to meet up with prospective investors and buyers from South Africa.
“We will be coming with some 25 apparel manufacturers and other service related companies from Mauritius to participate in the Source Africa International Apparel Fair to be held at the CTICC from 20 to 21 June.
While we are participating in this, we will in parallel meet with potential investors from various sectors in Cape Town, and in Durban and Johannesburg on 19 and 25 June, respectively,’’ he said. “Further, there is also a strong interest from the South African business community to explore investment opportunities in Mauritius, and there is already a well established South African business community in Mauritius, with major investments made here. Mauritius is a viable destination for foreign investment and we are looking forward to increase South African investments to the island,” he said.
Over the last decades, South Africa has grown as an important partner to Mauritius with exports escalating from MUR 3.2BN in 2010 to reach MUR 5.24 BN in 2017 due to its geographical proximity and the complementary nature of products offered by both countries.
Today, it is solidly positioned as the third export market for apparel products with total exports of MUR 5.10BN in 2017.
“South Africa is a major trading partner for Mauritius, and has emerged as our third largest after the UK and US, with big players buying apparel manufactured in Mauritius,’’ he said.
Mauritian textile and fashion producers supply leading fashion brands, among them Calvin Klein, Adidas, Woolworths, Tommy Hilfiger, Puma and Levi’s.
Its preferential trade agreement and short lead time has led to South African businesses increasingly recognising the benefits of partnering with Mauritian manufacturers, Radhakrishna said.
From an investment point of view, Mauritius remains an important business destination for South African investors and entrepreneurs. Geographical proximity, regional trade agreements (SADC and COMESA), the business environment as well as the quality of life are some of the assets which contribute in making Mauritius the ideal business location for South African entrepreneurs.
In 2017, Foreign Direct Investment from South Africa amounted to MUR 1,8 billion. Additionally, the EDB has granted nearly 785 Occupation Permits to South Africa Nationals.
There has been increasing interest from South African manufacturing companies wanting to grow their business activities over the African continent and many are considering Mauritius as a potential manufacturing base, he said.
The South African manufacturing sector contributed nearly 12% to South Africa’s GDP in 2016, making it the third-largest contributor to the nation’s economy.
Manufacturing is dominated by industries such as food and agro-processing, automotive, chemicals, electronics, metals, textiles, clothing and footwear.
Numerous In line with its regional trade and investment promotion strategy, EDB has been consistent in its promotional efforts to sustain exports to and attract investment from South Africa with repeated missions in the three major South African cities of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, since 2013.
Such missions include the organization of business forums in collaboration with chambers of commerce of each city, a series of businessto-business meetings with potential leads and site visits to targeted companies.
The main objective of this mission is to target high value-added manufacturing and distribution/logistics companies having regional expansion plans as well as to promote Mauritius as the ideal sourcing destination for textile and apparel.
It will also be the right platform to present other investment opportunities and to showcase the wide array of manufactured products which can be sourced from Mauritius.
Source Africa International Apparel Fair has become the premier sourcing event on the African continent bringing together suppliers, manufacturers, service providers and buyers all under one roof.
Mr Arvind Radhakrishna said he was particularly looking forward to promising meetings with prospective investors keen on exploring investment opportunities.
“There are numerous interesting sectors, from real estate, construction, financial services and manufacturing, through to aquaculture, biotech and education, even film-making among others. We want to have discussions with as many people as possible and to set up for people to come to Mauritius to do business with us,” he said.