We should capitalise on the fact that Mauritius offers the best doing business environment in Africa. While the World Bank’s 2012 Doing Business Report ranks Mauritius 23rd globally out of 183 economies, we rank 13th in terms of “protecting Investors” and 11th in terms of “Paying Taxes”. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2012–13, Mauritius ranks 13th in terms of “strength of investor protection”.
Opportunities to boost the financial intermediation sector’s potential, therefore, cannot be ignored. As I have said repeatedly, Mauritius is not a tax haven and the FATCA provides us with yet another opportunity to show this to the world. FATCA forces us to think differently – just as the threat of the Indian General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) does.