Sector Reviews

With fewer measures for the financial services sector, this year's Budget follows the path of the preceding ones as it reinforces the Government's aim to consolidate Mauritius as a trusted International Financial Centre. In that respect, one central priority of the Government is to ensure our full readiness for the upcoming ESAAMLG Mutual evaluation that will take place in 2027. A series of measures have been announced to this end but will they be implemented on time?

We note that the Budget continues to embrace fintech and digital finance. For the next generation of services, clear rules will be introduced for the issuance of stablecoins, the tokenisation of real-world assets as well as an Open Banking Framework will be introduced. The Financial Services Act will also be amended to establish a National Fintech Governance Committee and a Fintech licensing/passporting framework. To enhance the effectiveness of investment policies, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool will be introduced at the Financial Services Commission.

Considering that the banking laws date back to 2004, the Government recognises the need to overhaul the banking regulatory framework to keep pace with the dynamic changes in the industry. A new Bank of Mauritius Bill, Banking Bill and an appropriate Resolution Regime will soon be introduced to strengthen governance, prudential supervision, consumer protection and financial stability. Meanwhile, amendments will be made to the Banking Act to enhance the sharing of information with the Financial Crimes Commission.

Taxwise, this year's Budget has refrained from increasing the tax burden of banks but has instead applied a 5% tax on short term general insurance premiums which will have direct impact on customers.

In the end, this Budget did more in terms of assuaging our unfounded fears for the real estate sector than anything else. There were no damaging policies announced nor were there in the Budget, policies radically propping up the sector. 

The Finance Minister did however remove the right of foreigners acquiring G+2 apartments built on state land or Pas Géométriques, which will be viewed by many as a necessary measure. The doubling of the registration duty and land transfer taxes effective from 01 July 2026 was not rescinded regrettably.

We welcome the investments announced in the port, which, for many years, has been the poor cousin to the airport, the road network and the metro system. The Minister also announced a new fishing port to provide modern landing, storage and processing facilities. The programme to support large-scale commercial production of aquaculture species and seaweed sounds worthy on paper but lack sufficient detail for us to properly assess it. 

We also applaud the thinking behind the mandatory Green Building Code requiring buildings to function as power producers. They should extend this requirement to shopping centres and their extensive outdoor parking areas. Instead of converting arable agricultural land, would it not make sense to use outdoor parking spaces to house solar panels? In parallel, it is imperative however that the government allows any company to use the energy they produce to incentivise companies to invest in energy production capabilities.

The Government announced measures to increase local fish production from 5,000 tons (about 30% of our local consumption) to 15,000 tons which should reduce considerably our reliance on fish imports. The Minister was more realistic in his self-sufficiency goals but not ambitious enough, he stated that the aim of his “25by35” Food Security project is to produce at least 25 percent of our food requirements by the year 2035. Our current self-sufficiency ratio is already 25% and 2035 is too far in the future. The future is now.

The Budget makes its boldest reinvention bet here. The extension of the 15% Investment Tax Credit over three years (45% cumulative) on plant, machinery, Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions and patents until June 2029, the new Industry Bill, the SME Bill, and the 10-year tax holiday for start-ups together signal a decisive shift from incremental support to a race-to-2030 logic.

The ambition to double goods exports from $1.5bn to $3bn within five years places Mauritian manufacturers in the global productivity contest PwC has mapped where competitive advantage no longer comes from owning tools, but from orchestrating AI, automation, data and connected workflows across the value chain.

The Côte d'Or Special Economic Zone with 100% foreign ownership, dedicated data-centre tariffs, advanced manufacturing incentives and a start-up hub is the physical embodiment of this thesis. Combined with the dedicated women's incubator, the Innovation Scholarship and the streamlined Occupation Permit regime ($100,000 threshold, merged ProPass/Expert Pass), the framework recognises that capability-building, talent and ecosystem density are the binding constraints, not capital alone.

PwC's global research is unambiguous: the gap between leading and lagging manufacturers will widen sharply by 2030, driven by workforce skills, data infrastructure and integrated operating models.

For Mauritian SMEs and industrialists, the opportunity is to move beyond traditional products into services, smart solutions and new business models. This is exactly where the next revenue pools sit.

Execution risk is material: skills supply, energy competitiveness and trade access must align with fiscal incentives. But the architectural intent of this Budget is right. The race has started; the winners will be those who orchestrate, not merely automate.