The Bank of Mauritius has released the latest figures on FDI inflows into Mauritius for the first semester of 2017. FDI to the island is estimated at MUR 9.7 billion (approximately USD 278 million), representing an increase of 22.2% compared to the corresponding period last year.

The sector attracting most investments was Property Development, with MUR 5,3 billion (about 55% of the total FDI received), of which the larger share (MUR 3.1 billion) went to projects falling under the Integrated Resort Scheme (IRS), the Real Estate Scheme (RES), the Invest Hotel Scheme (IHS) and the Property Development Scheme(PDS).

The Financial Services Sector saw a significant increase in FDI, recording MUR 3.1 billion against MUR 2 billion for the corresponding period last year. Other sectors on the upward trend include the construction sector (MUR 507 million against MUR 7 million last period) and the Hospitality and Restoration sector (MUR 316 million against MUR 92 million last period). However, the manufacturing sector saw a decrease from MUR 497 million to MUR 101 million.

In terms of source of investment, Luxembourg topped the list with direct investments to Mauritius surging to MUR 3.2 billion from MUR 30 million in the previous period. France came second, with MUR 2.5 billion, a slight increase from last period’s MUR 2.3 billion.

Investments from South Africa remained roughly the same around MUR 1.1 billion. Some countries showed a decline such as China (from MUR 1.9 billion to MUR 576 million), the United Arab Emirates (from 743 million to MUR 386 million) and the United Kingdom (from MUR 392 million to MUR 319 million).

The Bank of Mauritius also gave a summary of FDI received over the past four years. For the period 2016-2017, Mauritius received MUR 15.4 billion of FDI compared to MUR 12.9 billion in 2015-2016, MUR 11 billion in 2014-2015 compared to MUR 12.7 billion in 2013-2014.