The petition is scheduled for a hearing next week, and the funds claimed that their investors had been unfairly disadvantaged by Sebi’s orders requiring them to adhere to particular restrictions that did not apply to other FPIs, according to persons with direct knowledge of the case.

LTS Investment Funds and Lotus Global Investment have requested that SAT grant their request for an expedited ruling from Sebi on their exemption application. Additionally, they have requested protection from Sebi’s directive, which requires funds that do not comply with the new FPI concentration norms to unwind their portfolios by September 9. They have requested that SAT instruct Sebi to provide them until March 2025 to comply with these standards.

While Lotus claimed that the size of its global investment portfolio was $900 million, LTS claimed to have a portfolio worth approximately $4 billion. It was impossible to determine the extent of their India portfolio, though. They both violate a particular requirement that FPIs limit the amount of money they invest in India to no more than 50%.

On August 23 that up to 43 billion applications had been submitted to Sebi and that a number of FPIs were having problems because of the FPI concentration regulations. As per the regulations, FPIs that violate the concentration norms must sell their excess assets by September 9th.

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Organised by the National Women Entrepreneur Council (NWEC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, the event saw the participation of some 60 women entrepreneurs with the primary objective of promoting locally manufactured products and enhancing the entrepreneurial talents of NWEC-registered women.

In a statement, Minister Koonjoo-Shah highlighted that NWEC was established in 1999 with the main goal of assisting women entrepreneurs, promoting entrepreneurship, and fostering a business culture to empower women in Mauritius. She noted that over 1000 women are currently registered with NWEC, benefiting from various support services, including business management guidance and product marketing strategies.

The Minister emphasised that women registered with NWEC are active in four main sectors: crafts, textiles, agri-food, and services. She underscored the primary objective of the exhibition as helping women entrepreneurs to sell their products effectively, generate more orders, and importantly, increase visibility. This forthcoming sales exhibition, she underlined, is more than just a marketplace; it is a celebration of women’s entrepreneurial spirit.

The exhibition provided a platform for women entrepreneurs to directly market and sell their products, facilitated meetings between potential buyers and sellers, enabled participants to generate additional orders, enhanced visibility for women-owned enterprises, and promoted NWEC’s economic empowerment services for women.

Various products were featured and sold during the exhibition, including Potted Plants, Handicrafts (such as pyrography, bags, decorative clay lamps, fancy jewellery, macrame, and crochet), Textiles (covering ladies’, men’s, and children’s wear, as well as bedsheets), Food items (such as Boulettes, noodles, local snacks, cane juice, popcorn, crepes, Rodrigues specialties, pickles, and spices), and Wellness Products (like Noni Oil, soaps, and infusion).

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A number of actions have been done to assist the export industry. Charles Harel, President of the MCCI, made this observation on Friday night during the Business Mauritius news conference. He said that the business sector will benefit from this. Charles Harel reiterated his explanation that the measures that have been announced regarding the digitization are welcome.

It was good to see the quota for hiring foreign labour in the manufacturing, BPO, and ICT sectors eliminated. It is desirable, therefore, that this policy be extended to other industries.The Chamber of Agriculture’s general secretary, Jacqueline Sauzier, also voiced her opinions over the hiring of foreign labourers in the industry. She expressed her approval of the proposal pertaining to the Agricultural Workers Regulations modifications that were announced.

At first glance, we are satisfied that the budget includes the national priorities that we have discussed. Here, I consider human capital, climate change, and sustainable development. The announcement of a Climate and Sustainability Fund is crucial for both businesses and society as a whole. A public-private committee will oversee the funds, and governance is of utmost importance. Despite a cost to an organization’s profits, if it is managed well, the money invested will be well spent, the speaker stated.

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On Wednesday, Nvidia’s stock rose 5.2% to settle at $1,224.40, increasing the company’s market value to $3.012 trillion.

The most valuable business in the world, Microsoft, increased by 1.91 percent, while Apple saw a 0.78 percent boost.

The California-based company Nvidia, whose graphics processing units have fueled a rise in artificial intelligence (AI), is continuing its incredible run of gains with its current climb. The company’s revenues have increased by nearly 260% during past one year, as major internet companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have rushed to implement AI.

In an effort to “make stock ownership more accessible to employees and investors,” Nvidia announced a 10-for-1 stock split last month. Small-time investors are likely to find the company’s shares even more appealing as a result of the split, which takes effect on Friday.

Apple, the first firm to cross the $1 trillion and $2 trillion market capitalization thresholds, is facing challenges related to slowing down demand for its iPhones in China and views that it is lagging behind in the AI adoption race.

This year, Apple’s stock price has only increased by roughly 5%, significantly less than the broad-based S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes.

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The consultative workshop is an initiative of the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

On the occasion, presentations were made by the Economic Affairs Officer at the UNECA, Mrs Dobrina Stoyanova; the Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Bankers Association Limited, Mr Daniel Essoo; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Mauritius Africa FinTech Hub, Ms Benazeer Saidoo.

In his address, Minister Bholah, underscored the commitment of the Government, through the elaboration of a National Fintech Strategy and the setting up of a Fintech City in Mauritius, to foster an environment that encourages creativity, collaboration and growth in the Fintech sector. The key objective, he affirmed, is to have a concerted approach on the development and implementation of new policies in the Fintech sector in Mauritius so as to be at par with other International Financial Centres.

“Fintech is more than just the convergence of finance and technology”, he stated, “it simplifies financial transactions for consumers and businesses, making them more accessible and generally more affordable”. Over time, he observed that Fintech has evolved from straightforward mobile payment apps to complex blockchain networks with encrypted transactions, giving rise to new terms such as WealthTech, InsurTech, GreenTech and LegalTech, amongst others.

Minister Bholah also pointed out that the takeover by Fintech represents a fundamental shift in the financial services industry. According to Expert Market Research, he said, as of 2023, the Fintech space is worth over $226 billion and there are approximately 30,000 Fintech startups globally. “In the next 8 years, the global Fintech market is projected to grow annually by over 16%, reaching a value of more than $917 billion”, he added.

As such, the Financial Services Minister emphasised the importance of thriving in an increasingly interconnected and digital world by tapping the potential of Fintech in terms of innovation and efficiency. “It is crucial to empower entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with access to capital, digital payment solutions and market insights as Fintech is fuelling innovation and entrepreneurship around the world”, he noted.

With regard to the workshop, he underlined that the goal is to engage in an open and constructive dialogue to drive the National Fintech Strategy forward, foster collaboration and gain knowledge on the current status, existing business models, market sizes and constraints to the growth of the sector.

Besides, Minister Bholah expressed his gratitude to the UNECA for extending its expertise and technical support to work out a strategy that is pro-innovation and contributes to reducing the cost and improving access and quality of financial services, without compromising the stability of the markets.

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The Group’s net banking income rose by 20.8% to Rs 27.8 billion. Net interest income rose by 24.9%, driven by improved margins on assets held in foreign currencies and on rupee-denominated investment securities, as well as growth in the loan portfolio. Non-interest income rose by 14.0% on the back of improved revenues from trade finance, payments and wealth management services.

Despite the volatile environment, the MCB Group is forecasting a solid performance for the current financial year.

According to Jean Michel Ng Tseung, Chief Executive – MCB Group Ltd, MCB is in good shape: “MCB Group achieved a solid performance for the 9 months to March 2024, with net profits up 14.6% to Rs 12.4 billion. In addition to interest rates remaining high overall, our revenues were positively impacted by sustained growth in our banking division’s activities.”

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The Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck; the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection, Dr Marie Christiane Dorine Chukowry; the Minister of Public Service, Administrative and Institutional Reforms, Dr Anjiv Ramdhany; and the Minister of Industry, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mrs Naveena Ramyad, each met Dr Padayachy to put forward their proposals in view of the forthcoming budget.

Arts and Cultural Heritage

In a statement after his meeting with Dr Padayachy, Minister Teeluck highlighted those discussions focused on the two priority areas of his Ministry namely cultural heritage and arts as well as ongoing and new projects to be implemented and their financial costs.

Speaking about measures on the cultural front, he underscored the need to put in place more facilities for artists so that they continue to thrive. He also deemed important to rethink the way that cultural activities such as concerts are organised.

Commerce and Consumer Protection

For her part, Dr Chukowry stated that the meeting she had with the finance minister was very fruitful, with the latter very attentive to the proposals put forth with regards to the requests and aspirations of the population and consumers.

Public Service

As for Dr Ramdhany, he stated that the proposals put forward by his Ministry aim to ensure continuity and the welfare of public officers and their families. He mentioned the two-hourly casual leave which public officers are now entitled to and the granting of leave with pay against annual/vacation/sick leave to take care of sick children, parents and grandparents. These measures, he added, have been implemented following recommendations from Trade Unions.

Industry, SMEs and Cooperatives

In a statement, Ms Ramyad recalled that the manufacturing sector is going through a difficult phase, with a drop in exportation. It is therefore important, she emphasised, to support the sector in digitalisation, promotion, and facilitate access to workers.

Speaking about cooperatives, she said that there is a need to formalise the sector through empowerment and training and devise tailor-made schemes.

As regards SMEs, Ms Ramyad observed that the private sector should also give an important place to SMEs as suppliers. Furthermore, any enterprise with a turnover of more that Rs 25 million has the obligation to accommodate 10 SMEs, she stated.

She underlined the need to help each of the 38,000 SMEs present in Mauritius on a case-to-case basis. She also spoke of financial assistance to SMEs and decreasing the administrative burden so that the SMEs can manage his business and their market easily, as well as enhancing their visibility at different places such as the duty-free section at the airport.

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Outlining the priorities of the Local Government, Dr Husnoo stressed the need to enhance meteorological services, disaster management, and fire services. He recalled that during discussions with Dr Padayachy, the bolstering of these sectors through facility upgrades and reinforcement was proposed. Moreover, he highlighted the importance of taking preventive measures to prepare for future challenges and adversities.

Addressing infrastructure concerns, Dr Husnoo outlined the substantial financing required to improve and fortify drainage systems. Given the prevalent adverse weather conditions and flash flood risks, proactive steps are imperative, he added.

Another Policy Dialogue meeting was with the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, and the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Dr Renganaden Padayachy.

Minister Balgobin underlined that he had a very fruitful meeting with Dr Padayachy adding that the latter was very attentive to the propositions put forth by his Ministry. He said that the propositions focused mainly on measures aimed at accelerating the digitalisation process across Mauritius and transforming it into a Digital Hub.

The main objective of Government, he said, is to digitalise all sectors of the country so as to ease the lives of citizens.

Dr Renganaden Padayachy, also met the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Mr Alan Ganoo. The later said that consultations with the Finance Minister focused on priority measures for his Ministry such as road safety and the renewal of the bus fleet.

He recalled that Government has invested massively in road infrastructure, sensitisation campaigns, education and dissemination of road safety tips through social media. He further highlighted that a Road Safety curriculum has been introduced in schools adding that students as from Grade 1 are being sensitised on road safety by some 700 trained Educators.

Minister Ganoo indicated that last year, some 1,000 drivers were tested positive for drugs, and 3,000 drivers for alcohol consumption while driving. He likewise said that excessive speeding was one of the main reasons of fatal accidents.

He similarly dwelt on the pressing issue of fleet renewal of buses in the transport sector.

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After the Zimdollar lost more than 70% of its value in relation to the US dollar earlier this month, the nation in southern Africa ditched the currency. Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), the country’s new currency, is backed by gold, other valuable minerals, and US dollars. On Tuesday, it was trading at 13.4 to the US dollar, not much different from earlier levels on the official market.

While some people utilized the new currency to purchase groceries, long lines developed outside banks and at automated teller machines (ATMs). While some Zimbabweans, like Melda Mudavanhu, have voiced skepticism regarding the new currency, others remained hopeful.

“If we support the currency, since it’s the first one of its kind, this currency will succeed. Getting rid of the money changers is also welcome because they were a menace,” Mudavanhu said.

Authorities moved to apprehend illicit foreign currency dealers prior to the introduction of the ZiG, alleging that they were selling the currency at a premium over the US dollar.

In an effort to control the money supply, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe established a daily withdrawal restriction of ZiG 3,000 for individuals on Monday.

The central bank claims that there are currently ZiG 80 million available on the market. The Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank promised on Monday to back strict monetary policy.

Since its introduction, the ZiG—Zimbabwe’s fourth effort at currency reform in ten years—has stayed steady on the official market.

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This increase was influenced by higher foreign assets in February, resulting in total assets of Rs 436 billion compared with Rs 432 billion in January. As for liabilities, those of the government fell from Rs 14 billion in January to Rs 9 billion the following month. On the other hand, total liabilities climbed by around Rs 2 billion and are estimated at Rs 415 billion in February 2024.

The currency in circulation also has an impact on the liabilities of the Bank of Mauritius. The latest weekly central bank survey published this month shows that currency in circulation stood at Rs 58.59 billion on 12 April. This represents an increase compared to the first quarter of this year, when the amount was Rs 57.40 billion in January, Rs 56.79 billion in February and Rs 57.09 billion in March.

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