Mauritius stands as a leading player in the global capital markets sector.
Mauritius has one of the largest markets in the African region with a market capitalisation of USD 9 billion as at September 2020. The two licensed Securities Exchanges in Mauritius are namely, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd (SEM) and Afrinex Limited. The SEM is currently the leading securities exchange in Mauritius. It carries out its activities in conformity with international standards. The SEM operates two markets namely, the Official market which are for larger companies and the Development and Enterprise Market (DEM), basically for the medium and small enterprises.
The Financial Services Commission, Mauritius (FSC) has, in November 2018, granted a securities exchange and a trading securities system licence to Afrinex Limited, as well as a clearing and settlement facility licence to Afrinex Clearing House Ltd in November 2018.
Our engagement to sustainable development
The Mauritius IFC was signatory to the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ which was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015. As such, the FSC Mauritius engaged with its foreign counterparts and hosted the 18th Annual conference and meetings of the l’Institut Francophone de la Régulation Financière (“IFREFI”) in 2019. The main theme of the event was ‘Growth and Sustainable Finance’.
During the event the FSC Mauritius signed the Marrakech pledge (the ‘pledge’) for fostering green capital markets in Africa. The pledge is a call to action for all African Capital Markets Regulators and Exchanges willing to act collectively in favour of sustainable development and to have an actual impact on fostering Green Capital Markets in Africa, both within the respective local markets and together as a region, to promote climate resilient investments and drive capital into the green economy.
The Securities Act 2005 was also amended in 2019 to cater for the issuance of green bonds. In June 2021, the Central Bank of Mauritius issued a ‘Guide for the Issue of Sustainable Bonds in Mauritius’ with a view to assisting potential issuers to better understand the legal and regulatory requirements for the issue of Sustainable Bonds in Mauritius.
The Capital Markets Structure
The Capital Markets Structure also consists of the following types of licensees:
- Market Infrastructure licensed under sections 9,10 and 11 of the Securities Act (SA) comprising Securities Exchanges, Clearing & Settlement facilities and Securities trading systems;
- Market Intermediaries including investment dealers and investment advisers which are licensed under sections 29 and 30 respectively under the SA ;
- Reporting Issuers registered under Rule 3 of the Securities (Disclosure Obligations of Reporting Issuers) Rules 2007;
Further to the above, the following activities also fall under the purview of the FSC Mauritius:
- Investment Banking under section 79A of the Financial Services Act (FSA) – Depending on activities (for Capital Markets, this includes conducting the activities of an investment dealer (full service dealer, including underwriting), investment adviser (unrestricted) and investment adviser (corporate finance advisory);
- Entities conducting Financial Business Activities as per second schedule of the FSA and the other financial business activity as specified in the FSC Rules. This includes activities such as Factoring, Credit Finance, Leasing, Treasury Management, Payment Intermediary Services, Credit Rating Agencies/Rating Agencies, Registrar and Transfer Agent.
Our Capital Market Ecosystem
Afrinex Limited is a Pan-African focused international securities exchange. Sharing the market infrastructure and technology of India International Exchange, Afrinex Limited offers stocks, bonds, equity derivatives, exchange traded funds, commodities, foreign exchange derivatives, indices, warrants and certificates, and structured notes trading facilities that are listed across the African continent and beyond. Afrinex Clearing House Ltd is the subsidiary of the Afrinex Limited and offers clearing and settlement services to Afrinex Limited. It provides post trade, custody and depository services to investment service providers, broker companies, banks and issuers. Afrinex Clearing House Ltd benefits from the technical support of the Indian Clearing Corporation Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd.
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius Limited (SEM), a key player of the local capital markets segment, has redefined the capital markets landscape during the last two decades and today stands as a driver of innovative changes within the Exchange space in Africa.. During its 30 years history, the SEM has successfully implemented an array of transformative changes to its regulatory and operational framework to internationalise its platform, diversify its product offerings, attract new listings across different asset classes and move up the value chain of its services. The results of these initiatives have been quite compelling, doubling the number of listings on SEM to 200+ (out of which 65 are international) in 2020, helping companies raise USD 6.5 billion over time to fund their growth and create value for listed issuers and positioning the SEM as a leading multi-asset class Exchange in the region.
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius Limited
| As at 30th of September 2021 | |
| Market Capitalisation - (Official Market and DEM) | USD 9 Bn |
| Number of Listed Securities | 200+ |
| Number of International Securities | 60+ |
|
Capital Raising from Listed Companies |
(1989-2020) – USD 6 bn + |
| SEM Recognitions |
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| Incentives to Foreign Investors |
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Investment Dealer
To trade on the SEM, an investor must open a Central Depository & Settlement Co. Ltd (CDS) securities account with a licensed investment dealer licensed by the FSC in Mauritius. The CDS holds a Clearing & Settlement Facility licence issued by the FSC and is a subsidiary of the SEM. It provides centralised depository, clearing and settlement services. Licensed investment dealers, who are also members of the SEM, are participants of the CDS and act as the focal point of contact to set up the trading account of an investor. The main role of licensed investment dealers is to place and execute trading orders (i.e. buy and sell securities) of clients (brokerage services).
Investment dealers provide a comprehensive suite of brokerage services to help investors in achieving their investment goals such as:
- Trading in domestic and international securities listed across major stock exchanges, for instance, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In addition, some local investment dealers have also been expanding their African foothold in view of becoming the region’s benchmark for brokerage houses as they also offer trading on selected African exchanges.
- Providing market intelligence services to institutional, corporate and retail clients.
- Offering flexible and affordable investment plan to allow investors adopt a disciplined approach to investments and build, over time, a diversified portfolio of securities tailored to their financial needs.
- Acting as Market Makers to provide liquidity to investors on selected securities listed on the securities exchanges.
- Acting as Sponsoring Broker and providing underwriting services for IPOs or rights issues to guarantee the successful listing and capital raising of investors.
List of licensed investment dealers
Commodity Trading
The outlook of commodity trading within the Asian and African continents are promising. Africa has a sufficiently large agricultural base and commodities (i.e. such as minerals and fuels) to allow the successful operation of a regional commodity exchange. Asia’s share of global commodity production and consumption is also rising, and more commodities are being traded during the Asian time zone.
Today, both Africa and Asia are viewed as the world’s current frontier for commodity exchange development, attracting the interest of domestic investors, as well as, some large international commodity exchange groups. In spite of the different commodity exchanges spanning across these continents, there is a vacuum to establish more strong commodities exchanges to improve liquidity and foster innovation in trading of commodity-based financial products.
Strategically located at the heart of Asia’s and Africa’s trading routes, the economic conditions of Mauritius are propitious for a commodity exchange to be successful.
Mauritius: Setting the Standard as a prominent Commodity Trading Hub
- Mauritius has fostered close ties with several countries across the Asian and African continents in the areas of trade and investment.
- Internationally-recognised legal, regulatory and tax frameworks offering market participants necessary protections and flexibility.
- Pool of highly skilled human capital and access to critical mass of intellectual capital, supporting cutting-edge risk management, bespoke structuring and pricing solutions.
- Availability of exchange, payments, banking infrastructure facilitating trading.
- Multi-lingual environment and good transport links, attracting a diverse range of buyers and sellers.
- Intellectual capital generated from proximity to physical infrastructure such as ports, warehousing and terminals.
- Full-fledged International Arbitration Centre with the capacity and expertise to resolve disputes.
- Access to deep and liquid capital markets and funding resources.
- Attractive fiscal policies and incentives.
Providers of Market Infrastructure (Code: SEC1.1, SEC 1.2, SEC1.3)