ja_mageia

Since its inception as an International Financial Centre in the early 1990s, Mauritius has emerged as the optimal jurisdiction for structuring cross-border investments into Asia and Africa, particularly India and China. Mauritius is also an established offshore fund jurisdiction with an internationally recognised but pragmatic regulatory environment and extensive double tax treaty network making it a domicile of choice for offshore funds.

REGULATION

Funds registered with the Financial Services Commission in Mauritius are commonly structured as companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2001 and licensed as a company holding a Category 1 Global Business Licence under the Financial Services Development Act 2001. The Funds can be structured as two tier funds, or increasingly as single tier funds. These funds invest in a wide range of investment products, including portfolio or fixed income securities and venture capital.

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

A Collective Investment Company needs to be approved by the Financial Services Commission before it commences business. In considering an application, the Commission needs to be satisfied about the following:

• the track record and credentials of the promoters;
• the fund structure;
• the objectives of the fund;
• the investors and the market targeted;
• types of investment the fund will be dealing in;
• the track record of the investment manager, custodian, and administrator;
• compliance with regulations in third countries, as appropriate (e.g. SEB? approval if investment is to be made in India).

Once the Commission is satisfied with the above, it may give an approval in principle so as to enable all constitutive documents to be prepared and the company to be incorporated.

ADMINISTRATION & CONTROL

The Commission generally wishes to satisfy itself that, as far as possible, substance and central administration is in Mauritius. To this end, the Fund must have a local administrator, a local custodian, and a local auditor.
The requirement that central administration is situated in Mauritius implies that:

• the accounts are kept and the accounting documents are available in Mauritius;
• the share register is kept in Mauritius;
• issues and redemptions of shares are carried out in Mauritius;
• calculation of the Net Asset Value (NAV) is carried out in Mauritius.
• two directors who are resident in Mauritius
• qualified secretary resident in Mauritius
• bank account is maintained in Mauritius with an offshore bank and investments are made via that bank account board meetings are initiated and chaired in Mauritius.
• The above does not exclude the possibility of the Fund obtaining assistance for the management of its assets from an investment adviser established overseas, nor does it prevent management decisions in relation to investment and disinvestment being executed overseas. Also the requirement for the location of the issuance and redemption of shares in Mauritius does not preclude foreign intermediaries from participating in the placing and redemption operations as distributors or nominees. The Commission insists on the independence of the manager, the trustee and the custodian.

In appropriate circumstances, it is also possible to establish a management or advisory company in the sector to take advantage of the beneficial tax regime.

Please contact us for more details