Mauritius- About Freeport

In a competitive global market, it is important for businesses to choose the best location for their processing activities and centralized distribution system. The Mauritius Freeport provides you with the ideal Warehousing, Processing and Distribution Hub, combining the services of one of the best port in the Eastern and Southern African region with an efficient and dynamic logistics platform.

The Mauritius Freeport is today the trading hub of the Eastern and Southern African region that boasts excellent infrastructure and transshipment facilities, highly qualified labour forces and offers investors extremely attractive incentives. It is the ideal warehousing, processing and distribution hub that provides access to a 425 million consumer market in this African region. Europe and Asia can also be reached cost effectively from Mauritius.

Strategic Location Bridging Asia and Africa
Mauritius is strategically located and is the natural gateway to Eastern & Southern Africa. Being on a major sea route, Mauritius is serving as a bridge between Asia and Africa. Asia is 9 days away and Eastern Africa 5 days. Mauritius is today capitalising on this strategic location and is acting as a transhipment base for cargo destined for Eastern and Southern African countries.

The Mauritius Freeport is a duty-free logistics, distribution and marketing hub for the region. Logistics and warehousing facilities are readily available for the transhipment, consolidation, storage and minor processing of goods.
Indicators for financial year 2007 /08
Infrastructural facilities:
(120,000 m2 )
Freeport operators:
More than 400 Freeport companies
Freeport turnover (FOB):
Value
MUR 21.5 billion
Total Trade Volume
389 887 tons

Advantages to Operate under Freeport

Mauritius has successfully adopted an export-oriented manufacturing strategy thus making the country to be known being a reliable and competitive supply for manufactured goods.

The preferential market access can be summarised as:

- Access to the European Union under the Cotonou Agreement. This agreement provides African Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) countries unilateral preference in terms of duty and quota free access to the important EU market for goods manufactured in the ACP countries.

- Access to the US market under the Africa Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Under this Act, the US Administration provides duty and quota free access to the US for goods manufactured in Sub-Saharan African countries. The Act makes special provision for exports of apparel products. In addition, GSP preferences provided to more 6,000 products allow these goods duty free entry to the US.

- Access to the Common Market for Eastern & Southern Africa (COMESA). The COMESA comprises 19 member states of the Southern & Eastern Africa region. Goods that have undergone transformation are re-exported from the Mauritius Freeport to the COMESA member states have to satisfy the COMESA rules of origin in order to benefit from the reduced tariffs. Nine countries of the COMESA have implemented the Free Trade Area that allows duty free entry of goods among these member states.

- Access to the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SADC comprises 15 member states. The SADC Trade Protocol makes provision for the phased elimination of customs duties over a 12-year period starting from September 2000 on goods that satisfy the Trade Protocol rules of origin criteria.

Other Advantages Freeport Operators may benefit from the following fiscal incentives:

* Zero tax rate on corporate profits generated on all listed Freeport activities apart from minor processing activities

* Dividends are not taxable

* All Freeport operators are exempted from customs duties on all goods imported and used exclusively in the Freeport zones

* Preferential port handling charges on all goods destined for re-export

* Free repatriation of profits

* 100% foreign ownership

* The operator has the possibility of selling a percentage of the total turnover on the local market

* Freeport Operators are not subject to any exchange control

Efficiency Logistic services

Attractive Operating Costs

The Mauritius Freeport offers significant cost advantages. Utilities, rental of logistics infrastructure, cost of logistics services, overheads and living costs are among the lowest in the Indian Ocean region. Skilled labour is also available at very competitive rate. The average salary of a skilled worker is only US$ 2,600 per annum.

Furthermore, major shipping lines such as Maersk, MSC, Mitsui, P & O Nedlloyd and Evergreen are using Mauritius as their transshipment hub in this region. This ensures frequent connections to the region at very competitive rates.
Sea/Air Combinations

The combination of Sea-Air activities enables international trading companies to optimize their logistics costs and speed up the delivery of their goods. By using the Mauritius Freeport intermodal platform goods imported by sea can be dispatched rapidly by air via the Freeport logistics platform located at the International Airport. Goods can be transferred within less than three hours from the quayside of Port Louis to the Airport Freeport Zone.

Being at a strategic trading crossroads between Asia and Africa, Mauritius is served today by more than 14 major shipping lines and 12 airlines serving 27 destinations around the world.

A Broad Range of Logistics Services

The Mauritius Freeport provides investors with a one-stop-shop service for their total logistics needs.

A wide range of value-added services are offered at competitive costs including:

• Computerised stock management and order processing modules that operate in real time;
• Access to information about stock level at any time via Internet;
• Plug-in facilities for reefer containers;
• Container yards for storage of containers
• Inspection and verification of containers;
• Repairs and maintenance of containers;
• Fully air-conditioned International Exhibition Centre which provides Internet facilities;
• A complete “Garment on Hangers” (GOH) service designed for the textile industry;
• Transfer of cargo from the container terminal to the Freeport Zone and vice versa;
• Combination of sea-air activities for faster delivery and easy access to landlocked markets;
• Unstuffing and palletizing of cargo, repacking, labelling, shrink wrapping;
• Consolidation and de-consolidation of containers;
• Ship to warehouse service;
• Paperless environment with an electronic declaration system and a computerised licensing system;
• E-Market place for on-line marketing and trading of goods;
• Some specific light processing, assembly, tests and packaging services are also available in the Freeport.

Company Formation and Freeport Trade Licence

In order to operate in the Freeport zones, a company, registered under the Companies Act 2001 must be set-up with a minimum of one shareholder. No minimum capital is required for the incorporation of the company.

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