Latest News

The Africa Wealth Report, published in partnership with South African wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth, provides an in-depth analysis of the wealth sector in Africa, and highlights the trends among high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), the luxury market, and the wealth management sector on the continent.

Released on 26 April 2022, the latest edition names Mauritius as “an Indian Ocean powerhouse”, owing to the country having the highest wealth per capita (average wealth per person) in Africa, at USD 34,500, therefore pulling ahead of South Africa and Namibia. Mauritius is further deemed to be the fastest growing wealth market in Africa, with projected growth of 80% over the next decade.

This strong performance is attributed to the high quality of its services sector as well as its technology-driven approach to projecting itself as an investment hub of choice to foreign parties.

Access the full report from Henley & Partners here

Seychelles and Mauritius have once again proven the strength of their passports by ranking 28^th and 31^st respectively in Henley & Partners Global Mobility Report Q2. Released on 8 April 2022, this quarterly report puts forward the differences in travel surety between developed and developing countries, explaining further how vulnerability to climate change can affect travel prospects.

Seychelles and Mauritius provide visa-free/visa-on arrival access to 152 and 146 destinations respectively, certifying the status of their passports as being the most travel-friendly ones on the African continent.

Access the full report here for more insight on global mobility.

We communicated on the Global Mobility Q1 2022 report in our January news release. Have a look at it here

At a time where Russia is waging war on Ukraine, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) came up with the notion that despite increasing attacks across the World, the impact of terrorism continues to decline in its 2022 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), released on 1 March 2022.

Indeed, this report which analysed a comprehensive set of data over a five-year period – from 2007 to 2021 – has covered the global trends in terrorism through a thorough analysis of not only deaths, incidents, hostages, and injuries caused by terrorism attacks, but also the advent of advanced technologies behind these attacks. While the latter have been found to becoming less and less lethal, they are however likely to be more concentrated in regions and countries already suffering from political instability and conflicts.

Despite Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 48% of total global deaths from terrorism, Mauritius remains one of the 22 countries across this region to have recorded no terrorist incidents in the past five years, ranking at the 93^rd spot with a score of zero owing to its political stability and appropriate policies and measures guarding the rights of its civilians.

You can access the full report from IEP here

In a collective effort to establish a legal framework for financial consumer protection in Seychelles, the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have worked towards the creation of the Financial Consumer Protection Act (the ‘Act”). The Act will aim to primarily increase financial literacy among consumers which will enable them to make informed financial products purchases.

The Act further sets out to provide the FSA and the CBS with the power to oversee the regulatory aspect while maintaining a collaborative relationship with the Fair Trading Commission (FTC), the leading institution responsible for consumer protection in Seychelles. As Competent Authorities, the FSA and the CBS will be able to impose sanctions and disciplinary actions, when necessary, on Financial Institutions which violate the conditions of the Act.

On 23 March 2022, the Financial Consumer Protection, Bill 2022 was presented and approved by the National Assembly of Seychelles and shall be assented later this year.

Reporters without Borders (RSF) came out with the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and this year, the edition sheds light on the increase in media polarisation across countries, fuelled by a globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda. RSF ranks 180 countries based on five indicators – political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security – which assess the state of journalism as well as provide an overview of its socio-economic influence.

With a score of 83.33, Seychelles sits at the top as the country having the most favourable environment for journalism on the African continent. Indeed the country made a laudable jump to the 13^th spot on the global ranking (from 52 in 2021), and places high across all indicators.

To view the country profile and gain more insights on the 20^th World Press Freedom Index, check out the full report here

The Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) published the Business Tax (Amendment of Schedules) Regulations, 2021 on 31 December 2021, which highlights the following updates with regard to business tax concessions:

• The First Schedule of the Business Tax Act has been amended to remove Item 1(d) (Company listed on the Seychelles Securities Exchange) and Item 4 (Owner of a Casino Business).
• Item 2 (International Corporate Service Providers) and Item 8 (Companies listed on the Seychelles Securities Exchange) have both been removed from the Business Tax Act’s Seventh Schedule.

The above amendments entail that starting 1 January 2022, Companies listed on the Seychelles Securities Exchange, Casino Operators and International Corporate Service Providers (“ICSPs”) no longer benefit from concessional rates of Business Tax and now fall under the Normal Business Tax Regime, which is levied on the annual taxable income.

With regard to tax payment, ICSPs will now be required to settle their liabilities directly with the SRC.

KAYAK, the world’s leading travel search engine, has come out with its very first Work from Wherever Index (the “Index”), in an effort to provide an overview of the rising trend of remote working from foreign destinations among travelers where it lists out the best destinations for travel and remote working.

The Index ranks 111 countries according to their attractiveness when it comes to remote working conditions and travel experiences and uses 22 different factors divided into the following different categories:

• Travel,
• Local prices,
• Health & safety,
• Remote work,
• Social life and
• Weather.

Mauritius has taken the fourth spot on the global ranking behind Portugal, Spain & Romania with a score of 90/100, and subsequently takes the title of the best destination for digital nomads in Africa. The country attributed this high ranking on the continent due its very high internet speed and for offering a free remote working visa.

Indeed, with the introduction of the Premium Visa in October 2020, which aims at granting certain categories of foreigners including repeat tourists, retirees and digital nomads with the opportunity to reside in Mauritius for a one-year period which can be renewed thereafter, the country has garnered attention as an attractive work and live destination for foreign nationals.

Should you wish to receive more information about the Premium Visa and the various types of Occupation and Residence Permits that are available to foreign nationals, please write to our Relocation Team at relocation@intercontinentaltrust.com

Alternatively, you can access our publications on Work and Live in Mauritius:

Introduction of the Premium Visa: HERE

Re-opening up to the world: HERE

Access the full ranking from KAYAK here

Since Friday 7 January 2022, Mauritius has lifted its travel ban for visitors coming from the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The initial closure, instated on 29 November 2021, was further to the detection of the Omicron variant in the above-mentioned countries.

As of now, all commercial passenger flights from South Africa and the neighbouring countries to Mauritius have resumed.

We had released a newsflash on the above travel update – click here to access it.

Anchored in its aim of enhancing its relationships with leading regulatory authorities, the Bank of Mauritius (BOM) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). This MoU, as stated in the media release from the BOM on 14 January 2022, outlines a formal framework for cooperation, assistance and exchange of information relating to regulatory and supervisory mandates, development of banking and financial systems and compliance with international standards and regulations between the two authorities.

Through this MoU, the BOM and the CSSF also aim to promote mutual collaboration in the fields of financial inclusion, digital innovation in financial services, Fintech regulation, private banking, green finance, risk-based supervision and macroprudential supervision, virtual assets and cybersecurity, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.

Access the full communique from the BOM here

The European Commission (the “Commission”) has approved Mauritius’ removal from its List of High Risk Third Countries (commonly referred to as the “EU Blacklist”) in an official publication released on 7 January 2022.

The delisting is set to be officialised on the twentieth day following the publication of the amended Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 in the Official Journal of the European Union, falling on 27 February 2022.

If you have missed our Newsflash on the above, you can access it here