Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2016 | Page 60

MAURITIUS

First Generation Investors

in Mauritius

Mauritian residential property poised to reap exceptional returns

BY SAMANTHA BARTLETT

I

nvesting in emerging economies has become one of
the hottest global investment trends since the early
2000s, but as these often lucrative markets are very
susceptible to vacillating socio-economic stability and
therefore increased risk, they are a daunting prospect
for many investors.
One of the few exceptions is Mauritius, which
is currently rated by the World Bank as the easiest
place in Africa to do business and by the African
Development Bank as its most competitive economy in
sub-Saharan Africa.
The Mauritian government expects foreign direct
investment (FDI) to increase by as much as 46 percent
this year and their target is to become a high-income
country by 2025, which is defined as an economy with
a gross national income per capita above $12,735, by
2025. The island is preparing for it with infrastructure
upgrades evident across the board, an efficient public
transport system in place and a recently refurbished
international airport geared to manage the everincreasing volume of air traffic.
Timo Geldenhuys, Director of Sotheby’s
International Realty in Mauritius, says: “Real estate
currently attracts by far the largest share of FDI in
Mauritius, accounting for 80 percent of the foreign
investment received in the first quarter of this year.
“Statistics from the Mauritian Board of Investments
show that that 30% of foreigners who have thus far
bought property in the Integrated Resort Schemes
(IRS) on the island are from South Africa, 37% are
from France and 20% from the UK.”
The IRS and Residential Estate Scheme (RES) were
first introduced to facilitate the acquisition of resort
and residential property by non-citizens on the island.
International buyers can become Mauritian residents

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NOVEMBER 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

once they acquire a luxury property with a minimum
investment of US$500 000.
Last year, the two schemes were merged into
the new Property Development Scheme (PDS) to
streamline the process of foreign property ownership.
The PDS does not differentiate between small and
big landowners and harmonizes the registration duty
to a single rate of 5% instead of US$70 000 (just over
R1 million) on registration of a deed under IRS and
US$25 000 (about R360 000) under RES.
Jacques Nell, Real estate Projects Consultant for
Sotheby’s International Realty in Mauritius says:
“Lifestyle is an increasingly important factor when
deciding where to buy property these days as more and
more people are seeking a better quality of life; a more
relaxed and secure lifestyle away from the city where
they can enjoy quality time with their families.
“And those who cannot yet make a complete break
are buying second homes which are not only used for
two weeks in December, but as a haven to which they
escape as often as possible.”
Nell believes that Mauritius ticks all the boxes,
enabling investors to buy their own corner of
paradise, especially in the new developments which
offer residents an authentic island lifestyle in secure
upmarket comfort.
However, it is clear that Mauritius is no longer
regarded as only a tourism hot spot but also a
destination for foreign investors, and several South
African companies have already relocated portions of
their businesses to the island to take advantage of the
extremely favourable 15 percent corporate and personal
tax rate.

RESOURCES

bartlettcommunications
www.reimag.co.za