The Honourable Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance was present on the occasion of the Huawei Intelligent Summit, on 29th April 2022 at Intercontinental Hotel, Balaclava, Mauritius.

The Hon. Minister commented that "we are meeting in the midst of the world’s fourth industrial revolution, the Fintech Revolution. It is a fact that in this digitally-infused world where technological advances are churning at incredible speed and efficiency, there is an abundance of opportunities for better living".

He further stated that the supportive presence of a powerful multi-national such as Huawei on Mauritian terrain has helped to provide technology solutions to meet changing and pressing demands. 

The Mauritius International Financial Centre also provides an ideal and flexible environment for international investors and global technology firms tap into Fintech ventures across the Continent while taking advantage of our cooperation agreements with African peers.

He added "In the resolution of this vision, Government has been legislating and regulators have been building an appropriate ecosystem for Mauritius to stand out as an attractive jurisdiction which has implemented Fintech-friendly conceptual and regulatory frameworks within Africa".

The Fintech Regulatory Sandbox concept was introduced in Mauritius as early as 2016, followed by a suite of incentives including start-up incubators and accelerators, special permits for foreign experts to come to Mauritius and benefit from interesting tax holidays.

He highlighted that a series of regulatory frameworks has been implemented to promote positively disruptive technologies and some significant milestones include:

1. The Guidance notes for the Recognition of ‘digital assets’ as an investible class of assets for sophisticated investors and expert funds, inter-alia;
2.  The licensing framework for the custody of digital assets;
3.  The registration requirements of securities token offerings (STO) and licensing framework of      STO trading platforms;
4.  The rules for Robotic and Artificial Intelligence Enabled Advisory Services; and
5. Rules for Peer to Peer Lending and Crowdfunding.

He further added that the new comprehensive legislation for Virtual Asset Service Providers and Initial Token Offering services has been the latest addition to further strengthen the arsenal of laws and showcase our country as a forward looking jurisdiction in the digital space.  

Mauritius has been one of the leading countries of Africa to have established a National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence. In the last National Budget 2021/22, my Government has provided for the establishment of a range of path-breaking initiatives such as Fintech Innovation Hubs and Digital Labs.

He further stated the recognising the strong existence of this Global Front-Runner in Mauritius. Huawei has participated in the development and transformation of the telecom industry in Mauritius over the years enhancing connectivity for our people and making Mauritius a better destination for our Investors and Visitors.  He expressed the gratitude of this Government to the leadership of Huawei for setting up operations in Mauritius in 2004 and for placing continued Trust in us year after year.  Furthermore, the Shared Service Centre provides support to Huawei branches in more than 50 African countries.

Furthermore he added, Huawei Mauritius is one of major taxpayers in Mauritius with annual tax payment of over 2M USD. In the past 10 years, total amount of local procurement reached 64 M USD. Huawei is an all-weather friend and partner of Mauritius and look forward to Huawei broadening its horizons and etching deeper imprints in Mauritius and Africa and take advantage of opportunities in this golden times of digital transformation.