Standard rating & Poor’s maintained
L’agence Standard & Poor’s Global Rating lifted the negative surveillance it had established in mid-October on Madagascar following the takeover of power by a junta. The risk of a payment default by the country then increased, but the return to calm has reassured the financiers. The country was able to honor its debt service and donors maintained their financial commitments. Standard & Poor’s maintained the Big Island’s rating at B-, which corresponds to a situation in which a country honors its commitments but has little room for maneuver in the event of a crisis.
Axian launches into insurance
Via Assurances, the subsidiary of the Financial Services division of the Axian group, started its activities at the beginning of the year in Madagascar. It positions itself in the segment of covering financial risks incurred by economic operators.. Via Assurances highlights the digitalization of its offers, intended to make them more easily accessible to customers. Axian is today a multinational group present in the Indian Ocean and 14 countries in continental Africa.. It is directed by Hassanein Hiridjee. It operates in energy, banking and financial services, real estate and telecommunications.
Desire to revive oil prospecting
The Malagasy government wants to attract oil companies able to prospect areas previously explored and returned to the state.. In some cases, the results of the exploration campaigns were not considered conclusive. In others, the State considered that the prospectors had not respected their commitments. Only one prospecting contract remains active : that relating to the Tsimiroro project of Madagascar Oil (heavy oil deposit in the Morondava region).
New investors hoped for in telecoms
The new Malagasy authorities resulting from the popular uprising of last September then the putsch led by Colonel Michaël Randrianirina (became “president of the Refoundation of the Republic of Madagascar”) have relaxed the rules for access to the telecommunications market. Until then, foreign candidates for the creation and operation of a network had to be present in ten markets, representing at least 100 million subscribers. A clause deleted at the beginning of February, reflecting a desire to stimulate competition by authorizing new mobile telephone operators or internet access providers.
330,000 tourists in 2025
Madagascar welcomed 330,909 foreign tourists in 2025, up 4,4% compared to the previous year. Attendance on the Big Island was very irregular throughout the year with a poor first quarter, then a rebound from April, a shortness of breath in October and November linked to the political unrest which agitated Tananarive and the major cities of the country, then a very satisfying month of December. The country, however, hoped for a much better annual result. The goal of one million tourists in 2028 seems far away.
Record rice imports
According to customs data, Madagascar imported more than 800,000 tonnes of rice in 2025. That is three times more than the previous year. According to the Bank of Madagascar, the resumption of Indian exports explains this jump : Indian rice was at a particularly attractive price while Malagasy rice stocks were at their lowest after the poor 2024 harvest. As a reminder, each inhabitant of the Big Island consumes 153 kilos of rice per year (5th highest level in the world), according to the International Monetary Fund. National production increases by 2% per year but population growth is stronger (3 %).
The minimum wage reassessed to 58 euros
As of March 1st in Madagascar, the minimum hiring salary in the lowest category will be re-evaluated at 300,000 ariary (Malagasy currency, around 58 euros). An agreement was signed at the beginning of February between the social partners.
