Luxury Indian Ocean No1 Édition 2014 | Page 27

Why invest in Mauritius ? fiscalité : le régime fiscal britannique me faisait payer 55 % d’impôts... Maurice est comme le paradis pour moi ! Je suis très attaché à ce pays, il progresse et le meilleur est encore à venir. Que diriez-vous aux investisseurs potentiels pour les convaincre de venir à Maurice ? Maurice jouit d’une stabilité politique réelle. La roupie mauricienne est forte et ferme face au dollar. Et puis, c’est un pays bilingue. L’Afrique deviendra dans les vingt prochaines années l’une des plus grandes économies du monde. La raison pour laquelle je vis à Maurice est que tout semble lui réussir ! C’est vraiment phénoménal. After twenty years of successful property development in Europe, Asia and South America, Murray Adair, a handsome English architect, has settled in Mauritius and runs the Indian Ocean Real Estate Company (IOREC). Married and father of two children, he speaks of Mauritius with sincere enthusiasm. As a real estate professional, tell us about the Mauritian market and the challenges it will face in the future. Like everywhere else, there is a good and a less good side to it. But Mauritius is going in the right direction: the infrastructure and the quality of buildings have greatly improved. Some people talk of a property bubble but I don’t see any signs of one here. In the years to come, I think the greatest challenge will be to increase the density of housing in Mauritius without harming the environment. I believe we need to build upwards. That’s the future for Mauritius which has to follow the example of Singapore. buyers of RES and most IRS too. The majority of our customers are from the middle class and many are entrepreneurs. Some buy as an investment, others acquire their property as a secondary residence and will spend only a few weeks in it each year. There are also expatriate families wishing to settle for the long term in Mauritius and finally retired people. I think that retirees represent a real opportunity for the Country The cliIn fact, mate is pleasant, the cost of carers is relatively low, medical facilities are Mauritius improving all the time. And the taxacould tion system, including inheritance tax, easily is very favourable. In fact, Mauritius become could easily become an ideal destinaan ideal tion for retired people, like Florida. destination I think it’s a community which will for retired prosper here. “ people, like Florida. Why would people come to settle in this part of the world? Mauritius is a great place to work or to settle thanks to its excellent legal and banking systems and its reliable asset management service. Another advantage is the tax laws: under the British regime I was taxed at 55%. Mauritius is a paradise for me! I am very attached to the country. It is progressing and the best is yet to come. How would you convince potential investors to come to Mauritius? Mauritius enjoys real political stability. The rupee is strong and stable against the dollar. Then it is a bilingual country. In the next twenty years, Africa will become one of the biggest economies in the world. The reason why I live in Mauritius is that everything seems to succeed here! It’s really phenomenal. You have launched the Azuri Village project, which has turned out to be one of the fastest-selling ones. How do you explain this? I think it is a project which really suits the present economic situation. In Azuri, the units come with full ownership, are on the beach and cost 40% less per square metre than any other IRS* project.The second reason is that the concept itself is innovative: we wanted to create a community where expatriates and Mauritians live together in an IRS environment. In fact, I was the first buyer in Azuri! The project is close to my heart because it’s an ideal place where I want to live. As an expat, I love the pluricultural society of the country. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be here! What is the profile of a typical IRS/ RES buyer in Mauritius? and in Azuri? The French, followed by the South Africans, are at the top of the list of * IRS / RES : Accessible properties for foreigners. Luxury Mauritius 27