Mauritius has long been an attractive destination for international investors due to its political and economic stability, strategic location, and investor-friendly policies. In May 2022, a new product known as the VCC was introduced. The Mauritius VCC is a flexible and efficient investment vehicle designed to meet the needs of investors looking to set up private funds, hedge funds, and lately with changes brought to the VCC Act, allowing family office activities. To provide tax certainty, clarifying laws have been passed to ensure that the revenue authority doesn’t have recourse to the assets of other sub-funds or assets of the VCC itself to settle liabilities of one sub-fund. With its existing features such as separate legal personality, ease of distribution, fast processing time, the possibility for multiple strategies within a single roof, flexibility for adoption of accounting standards, confidentiality of shareholder records, cost-efficiency, enlarged scope, and tax clarity further enhance the attractiveness of the Mauritius VCC.
To bring industry players together, and align the understanding of this new product, Mauritius Finance hosted a half-day course on the VCC theme. The session was facilitated by Sateeta Jeewoolall-Jessoo, Director of Client Services from our Apex Mauritius office. Besides elaborating on the provisions of the VCC Act, the content also covered the uniqueness of the Mauritius VCC, its edge over other competing jurisdictions, practical scenarios and FAQs. Other than our team, participants consisted of management companies, law firms, bankers, and client representatives.
Representatives from the regulator intervened to provide valuable insights from a regulatory perspective- be it at the application stage or supervisory stage. The CEO of Mauritius Finance equally provided well-founded perspectives on the background of the VCC, as well as providing some general sector-related updates.
Overall, it was an all-rounded session with interactive discussions, and thought-provoking questions from the participants, which contributed to a stimulating learning environment, and enriching the training experience for all present. The training deck was compiled by our colleagues, with input from Rubina Toorawa, Regional Head of Mauritius at Apex, who has in-depth knowledge of the raison-d’etre of the VCC and the philosophy behind bringing this new product; colleagues with proximity to clients and potential clients who have shown interest in the product and thus aware of the type of queries to expect; and colleagues from tax, legal and set up teams, each with a specialist type of skills. The experience of having already set up two VCCs within our company also served as a strong basis.
Mauritius already has a robust regulatory framework that is in line with international best practices. Add to it, the diligence of the regulator in ensuring adherence to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations further promote a safe and transparent investment environment. This provides investors with confidence and reassurance when considering Mauritius as an investment destination. With the local service providers fully versed in the intricacies of Mauritius VCC, they are ready to assist promoters, investment managers, and investors with setting up, conversion and re-domiciliation. This should surely contribute towards gaining traction and the VCC playing a pivotal role in the Mauritius financial services sector.
