Corporate Governance Chapter 5 662. More recently, Mauritius passed the Business Facilitation Act of 2006. It strengthens the existing legal framework for business operations in the country. The act aims to provide a new legal framework with comprehensive and clear guidelines for starting businesses. One of its main objectives is to enable small enterprises to start their business activities within a period of three working days of applying. 663. The Competition Bill has been the subject of much debate. Its objective is to establish a legal framework for reducing restrictive business practices in order to improve competition in Mauritius via measures designed to promote efficiency, adaptability and competitiveness in the economy. Its ultimate objective is to widen customer choice and enable consumers to buy goods and services at fairer and more competitive prices. 664. 665. ii. The Board of Investment (BOI) is the agency responsible for promoting and facilitating investment in the country. As Mauritius opens up to the world and transforms itself into a competitive global business economy, the BOI has made a personalised range of services, to attract international investment and talent to the country, available to the international business community. The Financial Services Development Act of 2001 established the FSC as the regulator for the nonbanking financial services sector. The FSC licences, regulates and supervises nonbank financial institutions. They include institutions involved in insurance and pensions, capital market operations, leasing and credit finance, and global business activities. Findings of the CRM The business environment 666. 244 The CSAR discusses the business environment in Mauritius briefly without elaborating on the key indicators that are important for assessing the business environment. Family companies dominate the private sector in Mauritius. This has had significant implications for corporate governance. For instance, there are still companies where senior managers are also major shareholders or are related to major shareholders. From a governance perspective, this may lead to conflicts of interest between personal and corporate goals. Chapter 5 Corporate Governance 667. The government is trying to attract FDI to help develop the country while the private sector, for its part, is keen that foreign investors should invest in companies listed on the SEM. There will only be a significant inflow of foreign capital if companies in Mauritius practise good corporate governance. Apart from foreign capital, corporate Mauritius is also trying to attract investment from pension funds based in Mauritius. Good corporate governance will encourage the trustees of these funds to invest in equities listed on the Mauritian stock market. Despite these concerns, Mauritius is regarded as a country with very favourable business regulations in Africa. 668. Public-private partnerships are essential for the rapid growth, modernisation and industrialisation of Mauritius. These partnerships rely on mutual trust and cooperation, as well as a common vision that addresses the challenges facing the country and highlights the opportunities for developing the country in general and the private sector in particular (see box. 5.1). Good practice 5.1: Public-private sector partnerships Mauritius is a country with effective and efficient public-private sector partnerships. The economic success of the country flows from these excellent partnerships and is led by the private sector. The government consults with members of the private sector on an as needed basis to promote their interests. The private sector, on the other hand, is always ready to help the government in matters of policy development and implementation through the Joint Economic Council (JEC). The JEC comprises nine business associations. They represent large enterprises that control about 90 per cent of its business and contribute to 79 per cent of its investments. The JEC is registered. It supports Mauritian leaders in their efforts to reinforce the rule of law and to respect the independence of the judiciary and private property. The JEC thanks successive national leaders for their continuity in designing and implementing economic policies aimed at supporting the private sector. Its leaders appreciate the supportive business policy of successive Mauritian governments. Since independence 40 years ago, for example, there have been 9 general elections and each elected government has committed itself to building on the achievements of previous governments in supporting the private sector. Source: CRM Assessing the business environment 669. According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Survey of 2009, Mauritius is 24th on the Ease of Doing Business Index. It progressed by four places since 2008. The report highlights Mauritius’s sustained 245