Nepal, Mauritius sign labour deal

Nepal and Mauritius today signed a labour deal on the sidelines of the ILO Centenary Conference in Geneva, Switzerland – to facilitate the flow of Nepali migrant workers to the Sub Saharan African island nation – in the the presence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
The agreement – signed by Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista and Mauritius Minister for Labour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training Soodesh Satkam Callichurn – commits that both the country will employ workers in accordance to the principles of transparency, ethical recruitment, fairness and mutual benefit. “
According to the pact, all the costs and fees for recruitment shall be borne by the employer, including the fees paid to the recruitment agencies in Nepal. “Nepali migrant labourers in Mauritius will be employed in the hospitality, hotel and manufacturing sectors; recruited persons will get a minimum wage equal to that of Mauritians, which is about $240, and no worker will be discriminated based on wages, compensation, work environment, overtime and access to justice,” it reads.
Likewise, the agreement also reads that Mauritius employers will incur all the travel and other costs of Nepali workers under ‘Employer Pays Principle’, which includes fees to recruitment agencies, travel expenses, work permits, insurance fees, medical expenses and other expenses incurred during the recruitment process.
Similarly, the employer will also bear expenses in the event of death and repatriation of the body and the last rites involved, with the consent of deceased persons’ families, the provisions of the Nepal-Mauritius Labour Agreement, reads, adding that the workers have the right to judicial remedy at ‘no cost’, along with allowing them to apply for visa and get temporary employment even when a case is sub judice – under judicial consideration but prohibited from public discussion. “Through the MoU, both countries have expressed their commitment to control and regulate the practice of charging workers unnecessary fees while going for employment.”
The Nepal-Mauritius labour pact also includes leave for workers in the event of family members’ death, emergency insurance coverage, medical treatment in accordance with Mauritius laws, one month gratuity for each year of employment and employment certificate on return to Nepal after completion of work experience. “Both the countries shall cooperate to address issues of irregular and/or illegal recruitment of workers as well as matters relating to trafficking and forced labour.”
Workers shall have the ability to change jobs legally in case the employer does not abide by the contractual obligations or a business shuts down, the agreement reads, adding, “In such cases, the worker shall have the right to return to Nepal if he or she so desires and the employer will have to bear all associated costs. The agreement also has provisions for proper monitoring of timely payment of wages and other benefits.”
Likewise, a Joint Working Group will be set up to ensure proper implementation of the pact and to determine other key items associated with the workers’ recruitment, employment and repatriation, including mutual skills recognition, insurance coverage amount. Medical treatment and insurance for workplace injury shall be provided as per the laws of Mauritius, the pact reads.
The labour pact is the government’s effort to expand the number of job destinations for Nepalis seeking foreign employment, though the government has been claiming to create employment in the country. The government has also started the Prime Minister Employment Programme (PMEP) to create the employment, which according to the experts the gross misuse of the tax payers money.

IMF to open regional training center for Sub-Saharan Africa in Mauritius

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to establish a Regional Training Centre (RTC) for Sub-Saharan Africa in Mauritius. RTCs elsewhere in the world have facilitated the training of government officials on the formulation and implementation of macroeconomic policies as well as related statistical and legal frameworks.
With support of donors, such centers and programmes are operational in Austria, Kuwait, and Singapore, complementing training at IMF headquarters. Thus, the new center will close a longstanding gap, as Africa has lacked an IMF training center despite considerable training needs.

The RTC in Mauritius will start operations in 2013 with courses and seminars covering macroeconomic policy making and financial programming, public finance, exchange rate and monetary policies, economic integration, and financial sector issues, including banking supervision.
The training will complement the activities of the IMF’s Regional Technical Assistance Centres in Africa (AFRITACs), as well as other regional initiatives. In addition, the centre will seek to host training by other international and regional organisations in their respective areas of expertise, thereby expanding the range of courses and seminars offered.

The selection of Mauritius was made following an open and transparent consultation process in the Sub-Saharan region, with the authorities of Mauritius committing to provide substantial funding for the center through in-kind (including suitable facilities) and cash contributions. For this purpose, the government of Mauritius will establish a trust fund at the IMF.
Contributions are under discussion with other donors, and activities will be scaled up once additional donor resources have been secured.

High rates of youth unemployment in North Africa

In North Africa and the Middle East, the youth unemployment rate at 25 per cent, is the highest in the world. But that statistic alone doesn't tell the whole story.
World Bank researchers are finding that the actual number of jobless people between the ages of 15 and 29 in the region could be much higher. Many young people who are out of school and out of work are not reflected in the statistics because they are not looking for work.
Young urban males, in particular, are at a serious disadvantage in the labour market, with many underemployed, employed in off-the-books informal work, or not working at all.
"It's a huge problem, and there a no quick fixes,” said Gloria La Cava, a senior social scientist who leads youth programmes in the World Bank's Middle East and North Africa (MNA) region and the youth partnership with the League of Arab States.
New research is being conducted in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan on the main trends in the employment and social outcomes for young people – work that has involved piloting approaches to the problem, collecting data, and developing a new instrument for measuring youth participation in the labor market and community life.
Research has found that unemployment and underemployment are taking a toll on young people, often forcing them to wait years to obtain housing, get married and have children. As a consequence, young men between the ages of 25 and 29 in the region have the lowest marriage rates in the developing world at only 50 per cent.
"Across the board, the key challenge now faced is how to address unemployment that has been above 10 per cent throughout the past 10 years or so," said Shamshad Akhtar, World Bank vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa, at a conference in Tunisia.
She said reasons for persistently high unemployment in the region include economic growth that has been below the region's potential, the failure of most countries to seize emerging technological opportunities, weak quality of education despite impressive achievements in primary and secondary education enrollments, and mismatches between the supply and demand of skills.
"In today’s world, competitiveness depends on firms that employ a well-educated, technically skilled workforce that is capable of adopting new technologies and selling sophisticated goods – hence a priority on higher-level cognitive as well as non-cognitive skills," Akhtar said.
The situation is one reason why several governments in the region are increasingly interested in developing youth services or volunteer programmes. Underprivileged and less-educated youth, in particular, could benefit from programs that promote social cohesion and offer 'opportunities for volunteering and traveling to other parts of the country to improve job skills and prospects for future employment,” said La Cava.
Such programmes, along with vocational training and partnerships with the private sector, could help address a mismatch in the skills acquired through education and those demanded by the marketplace.
A recent study found that one-third of businesses reported that lack of appropriately skilled labor constrained their growth.
The World Bank is working with the League of Arab States, a leader in the field of youth affairs in the region, to jumpstart youth-oriented programmes in the region, including voluntary service. A proposed grant would help the League and several countries set up the programmes.

African recovery 'satisfactory'

Economic recovery has been solid in most of Africa, according to a new United Nations report. It is projected to grow by five per cent in 2011 and by 5.1 per cent by 2012.
In the release of its annual report, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011 (WESP), the UN emphasises that the outlook remains uncertain and surrounded by serious downside risks. The cooperative spirit among major economies is waning, which has debilitated the effectiveness of responses to the crisis. Uncoordinated monetary responses, in particular, have become a source of turbulence and uncertainty in financial markets. The recovery may suffer further setbacks if some of the downside risks materialize, in which case a double-dip recession is looming for Europe, Japan and the United States.
The economic recovery in the Middle East and other countries in Western Asiais also expected to moderate from 5.5 per cent in 2010 to 4.7 per cent in 2011 and 4.4 per cent in 2012. At this pace, the average annual output growth will be lower than the pre-crisis rate.
The rebound is expected to push through at about 5 per cent per year in 2011 and 2012, but this is well below potential and conditions vary across the region. The economies inEast Africa are showing strong growth, but several of the poorest countries, especially those in the Sahel, have suffered from droughts and conditions of insecurity, which is causing hunger and hampering the recovery of their economies.
Growth in Latin America is projected to remain relatively strong at around 4.0 per cent, though less robust than the GDP growth of 5.6 per cent estimated for 2010. Brazil, the engine of regional growth, continues with strong domestic demand to boost export growth of neighbouring countries. The sub- region also benefits from strengthened economic ties with the emerging economies in Asia.
Developing Asia, led by China and India, continues to show the strongest growth performance, but some moderation (to around 7 per cent) is expected in 2011 and 2012.
The recovery of the world economy has started to lose momentum since the middle of 2010, and all indicators point at weaker global economic growth.
The UN expects that the world economy will expand by 3.1 per cent in 2011 and 3.5 per cent in 2012 – far from sufficient to enable recovering the jobs lost because of the crisis.
Developing countries continue to drive the global recovery, but their output growth is also expected to moderate to six per cent during 2011-2012, down from 7.0 per cent in 2010, because of the slowdown in the advanced countries and phasing out of stimulus measures.
The WESP 2011 says that in the short run more fiscal stimulus will be needed to reinvigorate the recovery, but that it will need to be better coordinated with monetary policiesand reoriented to provide stronger support to employment generation and facilitate a sustainable rebalancing of the global economy. This cannot be done without better international policy coordination. Among developed economies, the US has been on the mend from its longest and deepest recession since World War II. Yet, the pace of recovery has been the weakest in the country’s post- recession experience. At 2.6 per cent in 2010, growth is expected to moderate further to 2.2 per cent in 2011 before improving slightly to 2.8 per cent in 2012, according to the report.
This pace will not make much of a dent in unemployment rates, and recovering the jobs lost during the crisis would take at least another four years. The growth prospects for Europe and Japan are even dimmer, the report says.

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Nasa, World Bank team up

On December 4 and 5, in over twenty locations around the world, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA and The World Bank will host the third Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), their progressive initiative that brings together volunteer software developers and experts in disaster risk management for a weekend-long “hackathon” to create software solutions that can help mitigate or respond to disasters around the world and help save lives.
This RHoK will see events being hosted in locations including Atlanta, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, in the United States and internationally in Toronto, Canada; Aarhus, Denmark; Berlin, Germany; Bangalore, India; Birmingham, UK; Jakarta, Indonesia; Nairobi, Kenya; Lusaka, Zambia; Mexico City, Mexico; Bogota, Colombia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Singapore; Tel Aviv, Israel and São Paolo, Brazil.
“Microsoft is honored to support this global community of developers committed to making a difference,” said Curt Kolcun, Vice President, Microsoft US Public Sector. “While Microsoft has a tenured global crisis management team focused on accelerating the impact technology can have, it’s fantastic to see a complimentary effort like Random Hacks of Kindness performing this kind of sustainable development work while at the same time connecting developer communities with disaster risk experts around the world.”
"Random Hacks of Kindness goes to the heart of what we believe at Google; that the creative and cooperative use of technology can help make the world a better place and that collective intelligence is strength,” said Vint Cerf, Google Chief Internet Evangelist and popularly known as the “Father of the Internet.”
The first RHoK event was held in Mountain View, California in November 2009 and resulted in applications that were later used on the ground during the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. The second RHoK hackathon was held simultaneously in six countries around the world in June 2010 and one of the winning applications from the Washington D.C. event - a tool that allows engineers to easily visualize landslide risk to help guide urban and rural development and building planning - is already being piloted by the World Bank in the Caribbean.
“We’re trying to use technology to make the world a better place,” said Todd Khozein from SecondMuse, RHoK’s operational lead. “The event gives hackers the opportunity to use their skills for a noble cause with the guidance of experts who understand the real world challenges.”
“Yahoo! is proud to be a part of the Random Hack of Kindness effort and draw upon our history and knowledge in fostering collaboration and technological innovation among developers,” said Raymie Stata Chief Technology Officer, Yahoo!. “We are looking forward to seeing how technology can give people and organizations the tools to improve disaster relief efforts and help save lives.”
"NASA is proud to be supporting Random Hacks of Kindness and promote wider usage of our open data to solve the world’s greatest challenges," said NASA CIO Linda Cureton.
"We are glad to support the growth of this dedicated community of volunteers using their skills to tackle disaster risk management challenges,” said Inger Andersen, World Bank vice-president of Sustainable Development. "That is why we are working closely with the hackers so they continue to develop practical applications such as the landslide risk reduction tool 'Chasm', one of the winners of the last event. We're excited to see how this volunteer community evolves and what software solutions it will come up with in the future."

Mauritius most business-friendly in Africa

Mauritius is ranked as Africa’s most business-friendly country at World Bank’s Doing Business survey report overall standing.
Mauritius is ranked 20 out of 183 economies. It landed as the top Sub-Saharan economy for second year in a row in terms of the overall regulatory ease of doing business.
It adopted a new insolvency law, established a specialised commercial division within the court, eased property transfers, and expedited trade processes.
Rwanda, Cape Verde and Zambia led the 27 sub-Saharan African countries that improved their position in World Bank’s Doing Business survey, a report that measures the ease of conducting business in 183 countries.
In a year of fast-paced reform, 67 regulatory reforms were recorded in 29 of 46 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, finds Doing Business 2010: Reforming through Difficult Times, the seventh in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank.
And for the first time a Sub-Saharan African country—Rwanda—was the world’s top reformer, based on the number and impact of reforms implemented between June 2008 and May 2009. Ghana, which is set to become West Africa’s newest oil exporter, ranked highest on the continent in terms of access to credit, while the southeast agricultural economy of Malawi “demonstrated itself on a world scale,” in its improvements in regulating contracts, according to the report.
A third of the report’s top 30 reformers since 2005 are in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Rwanda, Ghana, Mauritius and Madagascar.
About half of all trade facilitation reforms in 2009-10 took place in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa. Several were motivated by regional integration. Some of these efforts built on existing initiatives such as the Southern African Customs Union.
In East Africa single border controls speeded up crossings between Rwanda and Uganda. Different electronic data systems are still used by customs authorities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. But efforts are under way to create a single interface between these systems. Overall, 27 of 46 Sub-Saharan economies implemented Doing Business reforms.
In the Middle East and North Africa 11 of 18 economies implemented business regulation reforms. Six modernised customs procedures and port infrastructure to facilitate trade and align with international standards. These include Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt and UAE. Singapore is ranked first followed by Hong Kong in the report.
Doing Business analyses regulations that apply to businesses during their life cycles, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of business environment that matter to firms and investors. But it does not measure security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, skill level, or strength of financial systems.

Thomson Reuters introduces real-time derivatives data from Mauritius GBOT exchange

Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for business and professionals, today began offering real-time prices and data from the Global Board of Trade (GBOT), a multi-asset class exchange based out of Mauritius.
The Thomson Reuters agreement was announced following Friday’s official opening of the Global Board of Trade exchange.
The GBOT is the first international multi-asset class exchange from Mauritius that will offer a range of commodity derivative products including metals, energy, agri-soft and currency derivative products.
From today, financial professionals using Thomson Reuters Eikon or Thomson Reuters 3000 Xtra desktops will be able to access real-time data from GBOT for gold and silver contracts and five currency futures; EUR/USD, GBP/USD, JPY/USD, ZAR/USD and USD/MUR.
Thomson Reuters will carry the data in real-time including bid and ask prices, volumes, latest trades and related information and news on the commodities and currencies.
Russell Haworth, Managing Director of Middle East & Africa, Thomson Reuters, commented that Thomson Reuters is proud to be a part of this historic moment for the Global Board of Trade and welcomes the agreement which will help bring the data from this new multi asset class exchange to the rest of the world. Mauritius is well positioned to become a hub for trading in the continent. "Thomson Reuters is encouraged by the growth prospects for Africa and the increasing demand for information and insight into this vibrant market. We are committed to helping their financial markets further develop and prosper.”
Joseph Bosco, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of GBOT commented: “Having Thomson Reuters on board to disseminate real-time data from GBOT to its global network is a very significant development for us. As an international multi-asset exchange from Mauritius, we will ensure global investors get access to the fastest growing economies of Africa. We will definitely benefit from the wide reach and network of Thomson Reuters. We are proud to associate with a reputed information services provider like Thomson Reuters and look forward to working together to create mutually beneficial opportunities”.
GBOT is the latest African exchange to be added to Thomson Reuters offering of real-time data and follows its recently commenced real-time data offerings from Zambia’s Lusaka Stock Exchange, Kenya’s Nairobi Stock Exchange, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Financial Technologies launches exchange in Mauritius

Global Board of Trade (GBOT), promoted by the Financial Technologies Group, will offer commodity and currency derivatives products on its state-of-the-art electronic exchange platform, regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, from Monday.
It will offer trading in gold and silver futures as well as Mauritian rupee/dollar, rand/dollar, euro/dollar, British pound/dollar and Japanese yen/dollar. For the first time worldwide, two African currency futures will also be traded.
GBOT, the first international multi-asset class exchange based out of Mauritius, was officially launched on Friday by Navinchandra Ramgoolam, the prime minister of Mauritius.
All contracts are cash settled, according to the exchange.
“GBOT adds depth to our domestic financial markets and brings a new dimension to the financial services systems by providing knowledge, technology and business knowhow. We welcome currency derivatives segment as part of GBOT, with the Mauritian rupee against the US Dollar, as well as other currency pairs. This will offer possibility to hedge in fluctuations on exchange rates, particularly for importers and exporters and other companies. This is a small step for GBOT, but a big stride for the Mauritian economy,” said Ramgoolam.
“The launch of GBOT today will be a landmark development in redefining Africa’s commodity and currency derivatives landscape. GBOT is well poised to cater to the demand for a transparent and efficient exchange that will ensure price discovery, risk management and hedging in tune with the world benchmarks. Our new exchange will be instrumental in unifying the fragmented African financial markets and in bringing the world to Africa and the African potential to the world and to its own people,” said Jignesh Shah, vice-chairman of GBOT and chairman of Financial Technologies Group.
GBOT is also a member of leading industry associations such as Association of Futures Markets (AFM), Futures and Options Association (FOA), Swiss Futures and Options Association (SFOA), and Defra EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).

Mauritius improves ranking to be ninth free economy

Mauritius improved its ranking and climbed three spots to ninth position -- from last year's 12th -- in this year's just-released international survey of economic freedom. Hong Kong maintains the highest level of economic freedom worldwide followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Chile, the USA, Canada, Australia, Mauritius and the UK, according to the Survey. "Between 2005 and 2008, the largest improvements occurred in Ghana, Mauritius, Malawi, Turkey, and Rwanda, and the biggest declines were observed in Algeria, Iceland, Chad,Syria, and Ireland," the report said. The bottom 10 nations in the list are Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Angola, Venezuela, Congo, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi and Algeria. The highest form of economic freedom provides an absolute right of property ownership, fully realised freedoms of movement for labour, capital, and goods, and an absolute absence of coercion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself, according to the Index's 2008 definition of economic freedom. The index scores nations on 10 broad factors of economic freedom -- Business Freedom, Trade Freedom, Monetary Freedom, Government Size, Fiscal Freedom, Property Rights, Investment Freedom, Financial Freedom, Freedom from Corruption and Labour Freedom -- using statistics from organisations like the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Economist Intelligence Unit. This year’s publication ranks 141 nations representing 95 per cent of the world’s populationfor 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data have been revised. This year’s report includes new research examining the impact of economic freedom on rates of unemployment. The results suggest that high levels of economic freedom lead to reduced joblessness. Given the substantial costs of unemployment and the enormous number of jobless peopleworldwide, governments should consider increasing economic freedom as a means of reducing unemployment, particularly in the wake of the global recession, the report said. Markets foster better cooperation among the citizenry, as reflected in the negative correlationbetween rates of economic freedom and homicide, it added. Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions ofcountries are supportive of economic freedom. The 2010 report was prepared by JamesGwartney, Gus A Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University; Robert A Lawson, Auburn University; and Joshua Hall, Beloit College.

Mauritius improves ranking to be ninth free economy

Mauritius improved its ranking and climbed three spots to ninth position -- from last year's 12th -- in this year's just-released international survey of economic freedom.

Hong Kong maintains the highest level of economic freedom worldwide followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Chile, the USA, Canada, Australia, Mauritius and the UK, according to the Survey.

"Between 2005 and 2008, the largest improvements occurred in Ghana, Mauritius, Malawi, Turkey, and Rwanda, and the biggest declines were observed in Algeria, Iceland, Chad,Syria, and Ireland," the report said.

The bottom 10 nations in the list are Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Angola, Venezuela, Congo, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Burundi and Algeria.

The highest form of economic freedom provides an absolute right of property ownership, fully realised freedoms of movement for labour, capital, and goods, and an absolute absence of coercion or constraint of economic liberty beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect and maintain liberty itself, according to the Index's 2008 definition of economic freedom.

The index scores nations on 10 broad factors of economic freedom -- Business Freedom, Trade Freedom, Monetary Freedom, Government Size, Fiscal Freedom, Property Rights, Investment Freedom, Financial Freedom, Freedom from Corruption and Labour Freedom -- using statistics from organisations like the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Economist Intelligence Unit.

This year’s publication ranks 141 nations representing 95 per cent of the world’s populationfor 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data have been revised.

This year’s report includes new research examining the impact of economic freedom on rates of unemployment. The results suggest that high levels of economic freedom lead to reduced joblessness.

Given the substantial costs of unemployment and the enormous number of jobless peopleworldwide, governments should consider increasing economic freedom as a means of reducing unemployment, particularly in the wake of the global recession, the report said.

Markets foster better cooperation among the citizenry, as reflected in the negative correlationbetween rates of economic freedom and homicide, it added.

Economic Freedom of the World measures the degree to which the policies and institutions ofcountries are supportive of economic freedom. The 2010 report was prepared by JamesGwartney, Gus A Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University; Robert A Lawson, Auburn University; and Joshua Hall, Beloit College.

FT to launch three international exchanges

Billionaire Jignesh Shah-promoted Financial Technologies said it will launch three new international exchanges, including Bahrain Financial Exchange and Singapore Mercantile Exchange, this year.

The Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SMX) will go live in August 2010, the Global Board of Trade (GBOT), Mauritius in September and the Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) in October this year, the company said in a statement.

The bourses, as regulated market platforms, will endeavor to be the enablers of financial inclusion through efficient transmission of fiscal and monetary policies of their respective governments and regulators and will democratise 'access' to financial products and services, Financial Technologies said.

They aim to propagate inclusive and equitable growth and an investment cult in regions they operate in to further propel economic growth and job creation in their respective local markets, it said.

"Financial Technologies Group is perhaps the first company in the history of modern civilisation to successfully set up three greenfield regulated exchanges from ground-up which would go live in the same year," Financial Technologies Group Chairman and Group CEO Jignesh Shah said.

SMX, based out of Singapore, will be regulated by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), GBOT by Financial Services Commission (FSC) and BFX by Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

SMX -- as an international Pan-Asian Exchange -- will offer a basket of commodities including bullion, base metals, energy, grains and soft agricultural produce, commodity indices, currencies and oil as well as other financial instruments on its trading platform.

BFX will be the first multi-asset exchange offering conventional and Islamic financial products from the Middle-East providing an avenue for global market participants to access alternate investment options in Shariah-compliant financial instruments as well as conventional derivatives and cash products, the company said.

GBOT -- based out of Mauritius -- will be the gateway for the US and the Europe to the African and Asian markets. The exchange will offer trading on both currency and commodity derivatives.

The FT Group operates one of the world's largest networks of ten exchanges connecting Africa, Middle East, India and South East Asia. In India, Financial Technologies is a promoter of several bourses, including the MCX and the MCX-SX.

SAFE to organise third conference

South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is holding the third edition of its flagship conference 'South Asian Capital Markets Conference-2010' in Mauritius on April 22-25.

The conference is being jointly organised by SAFE with the support of the Global Board of Trade (GBOT) Mauritius, MCX-SX-India's new stock exchange, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd and with Knowledge Partners; Financial Technologies Knowledge Management Co (FTKMC).

The SAFE conference is being held in the perspective of growing international recognition of South Asia and adjoining countries as a region of rapid growth and development. The rapid growth of economy and finance in India, the potential of consistent development in Pakistan, the economic dividend that Sri Lanka is likely to experience in the wake of its recent victory against the separatists, the inclusive growth approach of Bangladesh, and the emerging prospects for developments in economies like Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan; make the South Asian region a great prospect and promise for international investing community.

The South Asian region attracted nearly $20 billion in portfolio flows into stock markets, making it one of the most favoured destinations in the emerging markets, according to the data. With global and domestic policy working towards greater harmony and stability in the region, South Asia is expected to have an accelerated growth of financial markets and also engage a larger per cent of the population in the financial market activity.

The conference is being designed with the theme 'Expanding Asset Classes: South Asia'. It is expected to be attended by a galaxy of CEOs and heads of various corporates, banks, and financial institutions in South Asia and other regions, with technical sessions engaging in cutting-edge discussions on critical aspects of deepening of the South Asian Financial Markets.

The SAFE -- also called South Asian Dow Jones -- is an initiative towards regional and global integration of the regional capital markets. It's a non-profit association fashioned under the umbrella of SAARC to endorse the growth of securities market in the region. The existence of SAFE is truly a milestone towards an integrated and amalgamated South Asian securities market with a common objective of development and affluence of the capital markets' stakeholders in and outside the region.

SAFE has in April reviewed list of South Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index that is developed by Dow Jones for South Asian Federation of Exchanges -- a SAARC recognised forum of 23 stock exchanges and other capital markets institutions from eight South Asian countries and the UAE.

Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index has revised the South Asian index delisting nine Indian companies and eight Pakistani companies. Bajaj Holdings Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Siemens India Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd and Unitech Ltd are the Indian companies dropped from the index.

Pakistani companies delisted are Adamjee Insurance Co Ltd, Askari Bank Ltd, Bank of Punjab, DG Khan Cement Co Ltd, Faysal Bank Ltd, Indus Motor Co Ltd, Nishat Mills Ltd and Pak Suzuki Motor Co Ltd.

These 17 companies have been replaced by an equal number of companies --- six from Bangladesh, nine from India and two from Pakistan --- in the Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index.

According to SAFE, Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index represents the collective movement, direction and trend of regional stock markets and would enable global investors to use the same as a benchmark for the performance of their investments in the region. The index would also promote the region as an important asset class in the investment portfolio of the regional and international fund managers.

In Europe, there is Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) that represents 42 Securities Exchanges (in equities, bonds, and derivatives) through 23 Full Members from all EU Member States and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland as well as 7 Corresponding Members from European emerging markets.

FESE is one of the founding members of the European Capital Markets Institute (ECMI) and is a member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). Through its members' activities on a global scale, FESE enjoys links with the regulatory community and industry from around the world and works closely with the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (EACH) and European Central Securities Depositries Association (ECSDA) in particular in the context of the Code of Conduct on Clearing and Settlement.

In Africa there is African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) that is a non-profit company limited by guarantee that was found in Kenya in November of 1993, according to Chapter 486 of the Laws of Kenya, with the aim of establishing systematic mutual cooperation and exchange of information among its members.

The association started with Nairobi Stock Exchange as the first member in 1993, followed by Mauritius, Uganda and Dar-es-Salam Stock Exchanges in the 90's. The association is currently represented by 20 exchanges in 27 African countries.

GBOT to start live exchange in Mauritius from April

The first multi-asset derivatives exchange is going live in Mauritius from April.
The first of its kind of currency and derivatives exchange in this region – Global Board of Trade (GBOT) – plans to offer eight-currency pairs with the dollar as the base – including Kenyan shilling and Ugandan shilling.
Joseph Bosco, deputy managing director and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of GBOT thinks that the region, with all its natural resources and huge potentials, is slowly waking up. “The African region is coming out of its troubled past and realizing its real strength,” he said adding that GBOT offers the region a better platform to exploit its natural resources and commodities like sugar and coffee. “Cocoa and coffee from the African region and Mauritius sugar are the world class,” he added.
It also expects to trade futures contracts in zinc, copper, aluminium, nickel, gold, silver and platinum apart from coffee, sugar and maize as well as crude oil and carbon credits.
The exchange will trade in 14 commodities, such as precious metals, base metals and agricultural commodities and eight dollar-based currency pairs - including the Mauritius rupee, euro, yen and sterling.
A good futures market can also control volatility of currency. “We will offer them the required risk management mechanism to hedge themselves against uncertainty,” Bosco added. “The east African countries like Kenya and Uganda can benefit a lot from it.”
The African continent has lately been on the radar of global powers like China and India. “And Mauritius is the gateway for Africa to the rest of the world,” he said. The Indian Ocean island nation offers every facility for an investor and has a democratic framework with a strong judicial system. “Apart from that its tax structure is very much favourable to the investors,” he said adding that the companies based in Mauritius and trading on other parts of the world would get 80 per cent tax rebate. “On top of that the people of Africa trust Mauritius more than any other.”
GBOT's main promoter is India's Financial Technologies (FT) that is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) of India.
The exchange that has invested around $20 million was looking to add options contracts in due course, apart from international stocks, bonds and IRFs. “But initially, we are looking at $1 billion to $1.5 billion per trading day for each of the two categories of products (commodities and currencies) from second year trade given a limitations in the region,” Bosco said adding that “though it would definitely go up by the time.”

Nissan most favourite car brand in Mauritius

Nissan is the most favourite car in domestic market.
It has been the most favourite car of the Mautitians as it has been the leading brand in terms of sales for almost one-and-half decade. “Despite the economic recession, we have sold 1,004 units of Nissan in the year 2009,” said Dean Ah-Chuen, executive director of the ABC Motors that is the sole dealer of the Nissan cars in Mauritius. “We are best selling brand since 1996,” he added.
In a country of 1.3 million population there are 40 brands in the market giving a customer a wide variety of choices. But the Japanese car brands have been riding ahead the British and European brands in the domestic market, though they entered into the market only after mid-60s.
Mitshubishi sold 830 units and Toyota sold 630 units in the year 2009, according to the Motor vehicles sales statistics.
From 1990, the Motor Vehicle Dealers Association (MDVA) started to compile the data of sales of every brands sold in the domestic market. “Nissan was the brand leader in the first two years – from 1990 to 1991 – then Toyota overtook it,” he said adding that “for four year – from 1992 to 1996 – Toyota led the market.
The domestic car market has been witnessing around four to five per cent growth annually. “So are we,” claims Ah-Chuen.
In 2008, ABC Motors sold 1,499 units of Nissan surpassing its sales record of 1,303 in 2007. In 2006 it sold 1,190 units of Nissan, according to him, who is more upbeat over the current year’s promising start. “The demand has started picking up in the first month itself,” he said adding that the signs of overall economic rebound are going to help accelerate the sales of automobiles in the year 2010.
The constructions that were halted last year have started to gain momentum pushing demands up for the automotives like pick-ups. “It is definitely going to help propel the auto sector,” he said.

Mauritius ranks sixth in 2010 Environmental Performance Index

Mauritius ranks the sixth with 80.6 score in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
Iceland leads the world with a score of 93.5 in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges, according to EPI produced by a team of environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University. This is the third edition of the EPI, which has been revisited biannually since 2006.
Released on Thursday at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, the EPI ranks 163 countries on their performance across 25 metrics aggregated into ten categories including: environmental health, air quality, water resource management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, fisheries, agriculture, and climate change..
Iceland’s top-notch performance derives from its high scores on environmental public health, controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and reforestation. Other top performers include Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden, Norway and Mauritius – all of which have made substantial investments in environmental infrastructure, pollution control, and policies designed to move toward long-term sustainability, said the report.
Occupying the bottom five positions are Togo, Angola, Mauritania, the Central African Republic, and Sierra Leone –impoverished countries that lack basic environmental amenities and policy capacity.
The US places 61st in the 2010 EPI, with results on some issues, such as provision of safe drinking water and forest sustainability, and weak performance on other issues including greenhouse gas emissions and several aspects of local air pollution. This ranking puts the United States significantly behind other industrialized nations like the UK (14th), Germany (17th), and Japan (20th). Over 20 members of the EU outrank the US.
Of the newly industrialised nations, China and India rank 121st and 123rd respectively – reflecting the strain rapid economic growth imposes on the environment. However, Brazil and Russia rank 62nd and 69th, suggesting that the level of development is just one of many factors affecting placement in the rankings. Similarly, France ranked seventh, Australia eighth, South Africa at 115th and Madagaskar at the 120th.
The 2010 EPI report provides a detailed analysis for each country, showing its performance on each of the 25 basic indicators, the ten core policy categories, and the two over-arching objectives of environmental public health and ecosystem vitality. In addition, each nation is benchmarked against others that are similarly situated with groupings based on geographic regions, level of development, trading blocs, and demographic characteristics. These peer group rankings make it easy to highlight leaders and laggards on an issue-by-issue basis and to identify “best practices.”
Analysis of the policy drivers underlying the 2010 rankings suggests that income is a major determinant of environmental success. At every level of development, however, some countries achieve results that exceed what would be anticipated, demonstrating that policy choices also affect performance. For example, Chile, where substantial investments in environmental protection have been made, ranks 16th, while its neighbor, Argentina, which has done much less to improve its pollution control and natural resource management, lags in 70th place. Regulatory rigor, the rule of law and good governance, and the absence of corruption also show strong correlations with high EPI scores.
The Environmental Performance Index builds on the best data available with indicators drawn from international organizations, such as the World Bank, the UNDP, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as research groups such as the World Resources Institute and the University of British Columbia. But many of these data sets are based on reporting by national governments that is not subject to any external review or verification.
Serious data gaps, moreover, limit the ability to measure performance on a number of important issues. And incomplete data resulted in the exclusion of dozens of countries from the 2010 EPI, the report observes.

Ranking
1 Iceland 93.5
2 Switzerland 89.1
3 Costa Rica 86.4
4 Sweden 86.0
5 Norway 81.1
6 Mauritius 80.6
7 France 78.2
14 United Kingdom 74.2
17 Germany 73.2
20 Japan 72.5
28 Singapore 69.6
38 Nepal 68.2
61 United States of America 63.5
115 South Africa 50.8
120 Madagascar 49.2
121 China 49.0
123 India 48.3

Giant leap by Mauritius in proving efficiency of trading goods around the world

Mauritius improved significantly by 50 positions over the last four years in proving efficiency of trading goods around the world, according to the World Bank (WB) survey.
It is ranked 82 among the 155 countries in the global Logistics Performance Indicators (LPI), included in the report ‘Connecting to Compete 2010: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy'. The counrty was at 132th position in 2007. Madagaskar and Uganda are two other countries in the region that have improved significantly. Madagasklar is ranked 88 and Uganda at 66, whereas South Africa is at the 28 position in the list.
The LPI is an ‘interactive benchmarking tool’ created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities in their performance in trade logistics, the WB report said adding that the LPI 2010 allows for comparisons across 155 countries.
The report is based on a worldwide survey of operators on the ground (global freight forwarders and express carriers), providing feedback on the logistics 'friendliness' of the countries in which they operate and those with which they trade.
In the developing countries category per region, South Africa (28) is the top performer from Africa; China (27) from East Asia; Poland (30) from Central and Eastern Europe; Brazil (41) from Latin America; Lebanon (33) from the Middle East; and India (47) from South Asia.
Germany is the top performer among the 155 economies followed by Singapore, Sweden and the Netherlands.
According to the LPI, high income economies dominate the top logistics rankings, with most of them occupying important places in global and regional supply chains. By contrast, the ten lowest performing countries are almost all from the low and lower income groups. Nine other most significant overperformers for this year are: China (27), Democratic Republic of Congo (85) , India (47), Madagascar (88), the Philippines (44), South Africa (28), Thailand (35), Uganda (66), and Vietnam (53).
By contrast, the 10 lowest performing countries are almost all from the low and lower income groups.
Although the study shows a substantial “logistics gap” between rich countries and most developing countries, it finds positive trends in some areas essential to logistics performance and trade. Some of them include the modernisation of customs, use of information technology, and development of private logistics services.
Although the study shows a substantial ‘logistics gap’ between rich countries and most developing countries, it finds positive trends in some areas essential to logistics performance and trade. Some are the modernisation of customs, use of information technology and development of private logistics services.

What is LPI
The LPI is the weighted average of the country scores on the six key dimensions: efficiency of the clearance process by border control agencies, including customs; quality of trade and transport related infrastructure; ease of arranging competitively priced shipments; competence and quality of logistics services; ability to track and trace consignments, and timeliness of shipments in reaching destinations within the scheduled or expected delivery time.
In the LPI index 2010, Mauritius scored 2.72 where top country Germany bagged 4.11 points.
An overperformer is a country with a higher LPI score than expected -- based solely on its income level. An underperformer is a country with a lower than expected LPI scores.