Moody’s downgrades Mauritius’ rating
A few weeks ago, the Moody's agency upgraded Mauritius' rating from Baa2 to Baa3.. The government of the sister island attributes this decline to the consequences of the health crisis, which violently impacted the national economy in 2020 and 2021. Moody's rating is taken into account by financial institutions to assess a borrower's ability to meet its debt and influences the interest rate and credit conditions applied.. On the Moody's scale, the Baa3 rating is just above average (lower medium grade, lower middle level).
Sugar production on the decline
Mauritius is expected to produce 240,000 tonnes of sugar in 2022, announced the country's chamber of agriculture in early September, revising downwards initial forecasts (250,000 tonnes).
Field yields are slightly lower (69 tonnes of cane per hectare) to those of previous years, due to unfavorable weather conditions in the first half.
Tourism : hopes and doubts
During the first eight months of 2022, 557,000 tourists were welcomed to Mauritius, which has not yet returned to the level of attendance before the health crisis. Steven Obeegadoo, Minister of Tourism, maintains its optimistic forecasts and a return to pre-Covid level (1,4 million arrivals) mi-2023. According to Archim (the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of Mauritius), this objective will not be achieved if air service is not strengthened. AHL (Airport Holdings Ltd), the manager of Plaisance airport, is of the opposite opinion, naming the lack of hotel capacity as the main cause of the insufficient recovery.
Mauritius invited to the G20 2023 in India
Mauritius is one of the countries invited by India to attend the G20 summit which will take place in New Delhi in September 2023. India will take over the presidency of the group of 20 largest economies in the world next December. Eight other countries will be among India's guests at the summit : Bangladesh, Egypt, the Netherlands, the Nigerian, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Inflation at 11,5 %
Year-on-year, inflation reached 11,5% at the end of August in Mauritius. This very high value comes from the increase in energy and raw material costs, like everywhere in the world, but also the deterioration in the rate of the Mauritian rupee against the dollar. The rupee dollar parity is in a stabilization phase and oil prices have started to decline, analyzes predict a drop in inflationary pressure by the end of the year.
