The Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) is today one of the leading Exchanges in Africa and a full-fledged member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). The SEM is pursuing an internationalization strategy and gradually emerging as an attractive listing, trading and capital-raising platform offering international and multi-currency products.
SEM’s platform is constantly being innovated to improve trading, liquidity, market pricing, visibility and marketability of funds as well as meeting their public float requirements.
On 29 November 2016, the SEM, along with the Central Depository & Settlement Co. Ltd (CDS) are introducing dual currency trading and settlement of foreign currency denominated securities listed on the SEM as from 29 November 2016.
This initiative is intended to increase the attractiveness of SEM’s trading platform by potentially boosting trading and enhancing liquidity in foreign currency denominated securities listed on the SEM. This will permit investors to trade and settle in Mauritian Rupees securities that have, up to now, only been traded and settled in a foreign currency.
Mauritius and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM) are ideally positioned to capture the growing international asset flows into Africa, and allows African issuers to list a wide spectrum of financial instruments and facilitates international capital-raising by African issuers through its multi-currency listing, trading and settlement platform (USD, EURO, GBP, MUR)
It is being observed that Global Business Companies, including international and specialised funds, see the SEM as an attractive platform to invest in Africa and the rest of the world and the SEM has been continuously accommodating such companies by adopting flexible listing rules and aligning them with the dynamics of such businesses.
Key benefits for Global business Companies to list on the SEM and in Mauritius are:
- Increased marketability
- Enhanced visibility & attractiveness and flexibility (Institutional investors, exchange control issues, etc.)
- Investor confidence
- Listing applications are straightforward and normally processed in an efficient timeframe
- Dual-listing with Mauritius being the primary jurisdiction enhancing liquidly
- Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) to ensure tax efficiency, including free repatriation of revenue on sale of shares, no withholding tax on dividends, and no tax on capital gains
- ‘Bilateral Investment Treaties/ Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs)- ensuring a fair and equitable protection of investments to investors seeking to invest in the developing Asian and African markets
- Well position time zone between Africa and Asia
- Low corporation tax
- Stable political, economic and legal environment