Initialed in October 2019 in Beijing, the free trade agreement between Mauritius and China entered into force on January 1, 2021. Mauritius now benefits from immediate duty-free access to the Chinese market for 7,504 tariff lines of goods. Duties on 723 additional tariff lines will be gradually eliminated in the coming years and Mauritius will be able to export up to 50,000 tonnes of sugar to China on favorable terms.. Barriers are also lifted in many service sectors (finances, information technology, health…).Mauritius is the first country in Africa to open its arms to China, thus becoming for the latter a bridgehead to the vast developing continent.
Tourism : the crisis in figures
Annual statistics on arrivals in Mauritius bear witness to the violence of the crisis in the tourism sector. Only 279,325 foreign travelers were recorded in 2020 at Plaisance airport, a drop of 79% compared to the previous year. After an encouraging start to the year and increasing arrivals in January and February, the almost total closure of Mauritian borders has resulted in an equivalent drying up of the tourist flow. The half-open doors of the island from August, with obligation to respect a strict and costly quarantine, allowed us to welcome only 3,858 foreign visitors during the last five months of the year. Over the period, only 76 Reunion Islanders undertook the journey to the sister island.
Diaspora money
In the 3rd quarter of 2020, Mauritians established abroad transferred 847 million rupees (almost 18 million euros) to their native island. The figure is significantly higher compared to the same period of the previous year (671 million rupees). Even if this increase must be put into perspective due to the depreciation of the rupee, which has lost almost 20% of its value against the euro in one year, money from the diaspora brings a little breath of fresh air to the Mauritian population suffocated by the health crisis. France is the first issuing country of these transfers (241 million rupees in the 3rd quarter), in front of the United Kingdom (122 millions).
The "Metro Express" in slow motion
The frequentation of Metro Express Ltd », the tramway put into service at the start of 2020 between Port-Louis and Rose-Hill fell from 17,000 passengers per day before confinement to 10,000 at the end of the year. The operating losses of the "MEL" are therefore expected to be heavier than expected at the end of its first year of operation.
Real estate, safe investment
Several players in the Mauritian real estate sector highlight a clear recovery of the sector in the second half of 2020, after containment and the resumption of economic activity. If foreign buyers had to put their investment plans on hold, pending the full and unconditional reopening of the borders, Mauritians seem to have increased interest in stone "by transferring part of their holdings in cash and bonds to real estate", according to a real estate agent quoted by L’Express.
Agaléga : India's project remains unclear
Mauritius opposition continues to question India's intentions, which plans the construction of an airstrip and a jetty on the Mauritian island of Port-Louis, as part of a memorandum of understanding with Port-Louis. In December, the opposition obtained the postponement of a measure requiring a large deposit (more than 400,000 rupees, i.e. more than 8,300 euros) to any visitor to the island. This measure was interpreted as a way of limiting access to Agaléga. A section of Mauritian public opinion fears that India has plans to create a military base on the island, in order to counterbalance Chinese plans for the Indian Ocean.
Bernard Grollier
