Here is why businesses set up their headquarters in Mauritius
The Global Headquarters Administration Licence
With the objective of establishing Mauritius as an International Financial Centre (IFC) for multinationals doing business in Africa, the government introduced, in 2016, the Global Headquarters Administration licence. Today, the licence has proven to be crucial in enabling several multinational companies to effectively set up their regional administration, procurement and accounting offices within the IFC of Mauritius.
It also allows them to provide headquarter services, namely (at least three of the following services to at least three related companies): administration and general management; business planning; development and coordination; and economic or investment research and analysis.
In addition, companies holding a Global Headquarters Administration Licence are eligible for an 8-years tax holiday on corporate income, subject to meeting its licensing requirements. Further to standard Global Business Company licencing requirements, a company that holds a Global Headquarters Administration Licence also needs to meet the following requirements: have a physical office in Mauritius; employ a minimum of 10 professionals, with at least two at managerial level; and incur an annual expenditure of at least MUR 5 million (approx. USD 150,000).
Why do international firms choose to set up their headquarters in Mauritius?
Mauritius has recently obtained the ‘Global Headquarters Administration’ licence in Mauritius. The country features the following combination of attributes:
- Extensive bilateral and multilateral agreements with African countries (including in areas of taxation, trade and investment)
- Hybrid legal system (Common Law and French Civil Code)
- First country in Africa for doing business (World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index)
- Good corporate governance (1st in Africa on Mo Ibrahim’s Governance Index)
- Reliable banking system
- Qualified and experienced workforce (English and French)
- Stable democracy (1st in Africa)
- No foreign exchange controls, capital gains, nor withholding tax
- In its latest report on Peer Review Results, the OECD points out that Mauritius fulfils all the requirements of the OECD’s BEPS Action 5, meaning it does not have any harmful practices in its tax regimes. The country was also recently removed from the EU grey list and is fully compliant with EU tax good governance principles. All these characteristics are the evidence that Mauritius is a compliant and transparent IFC, a jurisdiction of repute and substance.
DM professionals help you in the setting up and administration of your company
According to the investors: “Obtaining the Global Headquarters Administration licence is an important milestone in our strategy, one which will allow us to expand our reach locally and internationally. The team of DM Business Consultants Ltd provides professional advice and is solutions-oriented as experienced and knowledgeable specialists smoothly accompanying us all way through. We are proud to say that DM Business Consultants Services is a trustworthy and reliable service provider for specialised licences in Mauritius”.
Our 100% success in applications for the Global Headquarter Administration licence shows we are a knowledgeable corporate services provider”.