Robert Maynard Pirsig Bibliography :: Author, Pirsig, Biography

Robert Maynard Pirsig Bibliography Robert Maynard Pirsig was born in Minneapolis on September 6, 1928. After high school Pirsig decided to join the army and from the ages of 18 to 22 served the United States. Once discharged, he decided to study at the University of Minnesota. Here he obtained degrees in philosophy and journalism.(1) Once finished, Pirsig decided to travel to India. He talks about this trip in his book, stating it as a trip that expanded his experience but not his understanding. When he returns, he marries his first wife, Nancy Ann James, an administrator, on May 10, 1954. (2) Working many jobs, including an instructor for English composition at Montana State College and instructor of rhetoric at the University of Illinois, he receives a break and then becomes a technical writer for a variety of technical institutions. Though the time period could not be found (puzzling?), I believe his transition from teacher to writer was when he suffered his â€Å"mental breakdown†. During this event he received electric shock treatment, which coincides with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. He divorced on August, 1978 and remarried to Wendy L. Kimbell on December 28, 1978. His first child, Christopher, from the first marriage dies shortly after on November 17, 1979.(1) He is now living in New Hampshire with his wife and 2 kids, Theodore and Nell. He tries to remain reclusive explaining â€Å"The Buddhist monk has a precept against indulging in idle conversation, and I think the basis of that precept is what motivates me.† (Letter from Robert Pirsig to Boduar Skutuik, August 17th, 1997) While residing here he released his newest book, Lila: An Inquiry into moral, released in 1991.

New Historicism

CO-TEXT: A historical document which is contemporary with and studied alongside a literary document. COMEDY: A play or literary composition written chiefly to amuse its audience by appealing to a sense of superiority over the characters depicted with a (usually) happy ending for the leading characters. CULTURAL MATERIALISM: – A critical practice that concentrates on the interventions whereby men and women make heir own history and situate the literary text in the political situation of our own (and not of its own day as New Historicists do). It reads the literary text in a way as to enable us to â€Å"recover histories†. – It uses the technique of close textual analysis but often employ structuralist and post-structuralist techniques. – It works mainly within traditional notions of the canon. EMPLOTMENT: The process by which a text is organized into a plot. EMPLOTTED: Organized into a plot. EPIC: A long narrative poem celebrating the great deeds of one or more legendary heros in a grand ceremonious style. EQUAL WEIGHTING: A combined interest in â€Å"the textuality of history, the historicity of texts† (L. Montrose) FICTION-MAKING: The historian bestows a particular significance upon certain historical events and then matches them up with a precise type of plot. MAINSTREAM LITERARY HISTORY: : Old historicism, dominant historical scholarship, monological, earlier historicism, single political vision, internally coherent and consistent, the status of historical fact, a stable point of reference. NARRATIVE: – A set of events (The story) recounted in a process of narration (or discourse). – A telling of some true or fictitious event o connected sequence of events, recounted by a narrator. NEW HISTORICISM: – A critical practice that gives equal weighting to literary and non-literary texts. – It insists on the textualization of reality (from Derrida) and the premise that society is governed by the collusion between discourse and power (from Foucault). – It places literary and non-literary texts in conjunction and interprets the former through the latter – It looks for manifestations in text and co-text of State power, patriarchy and colonization. PLOT: – A particular selection and reordering of the full sequence of events (story). The pattern of events and situations in a narrative or dramatic work. ROMANCE: – A fictional story in verse or prose that relates improbable adventures of idealized characters in some remote or enchanted setting. – A tendency in fiction opposite to that of realism. SATIRE: A mode of writing that exposes the failings of individuals, institutions, or societies to ridicule and scorn. STORY:  œ The full sequence of events as we assume them to have occurred in their likely order,, duration and frequency. In modern narratology, the sequence of imagined events that we reconstruct from the actual arrangement of a narrative. – In the everyday sense, any narrative or tale recounting a series of events. TAILORING: Adapting the facts to a particular story form. TRAGEDY: A serious play or novel representing the disastrous downfall of a central character, the protagonist. VALUE-NEUTRAL: Historical events acquire narrative value only after the historian organizes them into a specific plot type. VERBAL FICTIONS: A construct which is made of words and based on invention rather than reality.

Findings and Analysis of the performance of investments in Mauritius - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 16 Words: 4765 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The Republic of Mauritius, advantageously located at the crossroads of investments in the Indian Ocean region, has benefited from surprising socio-economic growth with a huge economic growth averaging 5% for the past 20 years (Mauritius Bright Future; Grand Baie Trust). This is the result of wary economic governance support by sound business and financial infrastructure with a reputation of trustworthiness, competence and integrity. https://www.consilexltd.com/ Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Findings and Analysis of the performance of investments in Mauritius" essay for you Create order The Government initiated a wide range of incentive to attract investments, and as a result, the greater part of the Mauritian economy is accounted for. Mauritius has faced growth as an outstanding offshore financial service centre due to the fact that the legal and fiscal structure has been further strengthened through the performance of a series of up to date and user-friendly legislation and this fact is adding a new aspect to the economic prosperity of the country. Mauritius and DTTs According to information that is available from the Ministry of Finance, the first double tax treaty by Mauritius was by Germany and the year the treaty was signed dates back to the 1978 but it was ratified in 19901. As of this year, the number of treaties signed comes to 35 and a series of treaties are under negotiation. Most of the treaties are based on model conventions established by international organisations such as the OECD (organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) or the United Nations, where the former accounts mainly for the interest of industrialised countries and the latter for those of less developed economies. 1: Annex 3: Summary of the features of the double taxation avoidance treaties from the Ministry of Finance. The reason as to why the country started to sign DTTs is the same as other countries. That is, whenever funds are invested from one country to the other, the returns on investment are liable to taxation in both countries. The purpose of double taxation avoidance is to get rid of this double taxation between the two countries signatory of the treaty, this ought to be done without creating loopholes that permit tax evasion. In doing so, the treaty encourages the movement of capital and persons as well as boosting trade between the two countries. An argument similar to this was made by Dagan (2000), Radaelli (1997) and Gravelle (1998). The Indian Tax treaty had reinforced the coming of Mauritius as main channel for FDI into India. In 2002, the Indian tax authorities due to suspected abuses by Indian-resident investors questioned the treaty. However, after a string of impressive court hearing, the status quo was brought back. The Indonesian treaty lapsed for similar reasons on the 1st January 2005 after the Indonesian government informed the public about the termination in 2004. The matter was closed without any discussion regarding the issue The reasons given were that, allowing an assessment and evaluation of the implementation of the treaty, the Indonesian government has concluded that there was an abuse that was inflicting a loss upon Indonesia. The letter referred specifically to those foreign companies that are registered in Mauritius as Global Business Licence companies and to our domestic legislation that enabled them to obtain tax dispensation or nullification on their business Income from Indonesia, said the Government (source: www.lowtax.net/lowtax.html) Mauritius Reason of going for DTTS Most direct tax treaties were negotiated with FDI in mind (Manoj Pant Professor, JNU, 2006). Hence, one has a reason to believe that Mauritius went for DTTs for the same reason. Mauritius went for tax treaties so that investors investing in the country are comfortable. Treaties provide a structure for so that there is no or very minimal conflicts between the contracting parties. The treaties are also advantageous in the sense that it helps in signalling to investors that Mauritius is part of the international organisation and one can carry out business and investments there (Diane Ring(2006)). Another reason as to why Mauritius favours DTTs is so that companies may get some relief from taxation in both the country of origin and the country it is investing in. In addition to that, with the varying tax systems around the world, no taxation scheme can guarantee an impartial capital export or import regime. DTTs also reduce tax avoidance, tax evasion and other more or less legal tax-saving strategies such as transfer pricing. Mauritius and the offshore Jurisdiction Mauritius launched its global business sector in 1992 and has concluded several tax treaties since long before that. The Government has set up a wide choice of incentives to attract investment and consequently, while the agricultural sector used to lead, tourism followed by textile production makes up a huge part of the economy of Mauritius. The legal and fiscal framework has been strengthened through a series of modern and user friendly legislation being into practice. This fact has helped Mauritius rise as a prominent offshore financial services centre. Trends in the Mauritian Offshore sector On an international scale, the offshore industry has highly helped to bring forward the global financial structure. This chapter illustrates the activities, strengths and weaknesses of the offshore sector in Mauritius. It also depicts its role and growth throughout the last nine years. Definition In most countries, an offshore jurisdiction is often perceived as a conventional key to decrease disproportionate tax burdens levied on investors. According to the International Monetary Fund (June 2000), Offshore finance is, at its simplest, the provision of financial services by banks and other agents to non-residents. Worldwide offshore activities have been one of the various famous issues which had attracted the attention of the international standards involved in the international regulatory system. Over the years, Mauritius has diversified its economic activities from the sugarcane export through the manufacturing sector and has now become a nearly full-fledged offshore investment platform. Offshore business has been a useful tool for the financial integration of Mauritius and has greatly contributed to its economy. The Financial Services Commission outlined that Mauritius continued to develop as a world class financial services centre, focusing on high levels of service and international standards within a business-friendly and professional environment. The Mauritian offshore sector has been able to impose its well-defined status as a valuable business spot. History of the offshore sector In 1989, offshore Banking has been the start of the financial services in Mauritius when the first Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) was licensed. A governmental framework for non-Banking offshore institutions has been operating since 1992. At the time, the Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority (MOBAA) was launched to act as a regulatory body for all non-banking business activities. Ever since, the offshore companies and fund registrations grew swiftly. List 1 in Appendix details the activities that the MOBAA consent to. On May 15, 2001, the Financial Services Development Act was approved. It recognized the FSC as an institution reliable to perform all functions that were previously carried out by the MOBAA. Since then, the FSC has been motivated towards the consolidation of a flexible and robust regulatory environment for financial services. In August 2002, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has been established to fight against crime, alleged money-laundering and terrorism. The key opportunity which hugely helped to the development of the Mauritian offshore sector is the network of tax treaties, especially with India. Double taxation agreements provided striking features to Mauritius as an appealing investment prospect. Mauritius has now attained a number of 35 tax treaties with the rest of the world. Thanks to India which has been promoted as the 2nd most attractive global FDI location from the World Investment Prospects Survey 2008-2010 published by United Nation Conference, Mauritius is being seen as a flourishing fund administration. Types of companies operating in the offshore sector of Mauritius Offshore activities are carried out by various corporations in Mauritius which are explained below. The descriptions are largely inspired by FSC annual reports and the Income Tax Act. Global Business Companies Under the Financial Services Development Act 2001, a global business is defined as a corporation holding either a Category 1 or a Category 2 business licence. GBC1 According to the FSC, a GBC1 is a corporation which undertakes any activities listed in the Second Schedule of the FDSA 2001 which is carried on from within Mauritius with persons all of whom are resident outside Mauritius and which is conducted in foreign currency. If properly managed and controlled, a GBC1 might qualify as a tax resident and will take advantage of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) network. This provides a golden opportunity for international tax planning. GBC2 If a private company does not conduct any business with the people residing in Mauritius and thus does not deal in Mauritian Rupee and is incorporated under the Companies Act 2001, then it is said to hold a Category 2 GBL. A GBC2 is nonresident by definition and thus cannot benefit from the network of DTAAs available in Mauritius. Better confidentiality being one of its main advantages, a GBC2 is very efficient in holding and managing private assets, given that the company is properly handled. Table A in appendix gives a brief summary and comparison of the features, limitations and incorporation procedures of GBC1 and GBC2. Source: HSBC MAURITIUS: A GUIDE TO GLOBAL BUSINESS Since the initiation of the Global Business Sector (Offshore Sector), its evolution has been quite evident. The number of both GBC 1 and GBC 2 companies has been kept increasing as shown in the above figure of Evolution of Global Business Companies. Protected cell companies (PCC) A PCC is a special type of offshore entity. It allows for the legal separation of assets attributable to each cell of the company whether it is owned by another company or a single person. The procedures for a PCC to be licensed and incorporated are the same as for a GBC1 and can also be converted into a normal GBC1. Trusts This type of offshore vehicle can be set up by either residents or non residents. They provide a legal and efficient way of securing oneÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã‚ ¸s asset. Trusts can take various forms; charitable trusts, discretionary trusts, purpose trusts or trading trusts. Qualified global business can be carried by a Trust after obtaining a GBC1 license. A trust may not be able to obtain a GBC2 licence. Socit The Code de Commerce Amendment Act of 1985 allows for the formation of a socit en nom collectif which can be translated as partnership and socit en commandite simple which can be translated as limited partnership. Both are used in order to control and plan investment in the global business sector. The Finance Act 1996 allows the socits to benefit from the DTAAs. OTHER FACTOR AFFECTING FDI No Corruption It is among the countries which have recorded a significant improvement in apparent levels of corruption, according to the 2010 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International. Mauritius is ranked 39th out of 178 countries (source: https://www.transparencia.org.es), and is second in Africa, after Botswana. Corruption is not seen as an obstacle to foreign direct investment. Hence to keep up with the progress of FDI, the government must make sure that corruption is fully combated. Greenfield Investment Greenfield investment refers to the fact that companies from abroad (multinationals open up branches or subsidiaries in Mauritius. This acts as a capital inflow to the country, thus such investments may be encouraged to keep FDI sound. Evolving from employment quantity to employment quality Just going on creating employment is not enough to improve the states economic position. Quality of the employment provided also need to be considered. For example, just recently, the government started advertising about the number of job vacancies in different sectors, mainly in textile industry. This is employment quantity. There are many qualified persons, those possessing degrees in science, history and others, who are unemployed. Employment provided of these people would be employment quality. Economic upgrading Economic upgrading is important as a next step to industrial change. It is important to consider a countrys investment strategy. Developing the financial markets may help to attract FDI as the World Investment Report estimates that for every FDI dollar, 3 dollars are raised locally. The government also needs to upgrade existing FDI in medium term, that is, it needs to let firms think regionally, after establishing linkages, raise education levels, and tap niche markets. DOUBLE TAXATION TREATIES AND FDI IN MAURITIUS Developing countries sign double taxation treaties (DTTs) in order to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) (Eric Neumayer, February 2006). The same thing can be said in the case of Mauritius. The latter restricts its capability of taxing the income of foreign investors so that more FDI is the reward. If an international company is faced with double taxation, this can represent a hindrance to foreign investment. Through double taxation treaties, the incentives for investment are a low corporate tax rate or exemption from tax, exemption from customs and excise duties on imports of equipment and raw materials; exemption from tax on dividends and capital gains; a low rate of 5% registration duty for notarial deeds; free repatriation of profits, dividends and capital; and reduced tariffs for electricity and water. Even for Mauritius, the use of fiscal incentives (tax concessions, cash grants and specific subsidies) is standard just like other offshore jurisdictions. Mauritius sign s DTT for various reasons. Investors originating from the countries with which DTTs were signed invest in Mauritius, they benefit from the DTTs as the country provides them with safety measures and steadiness with regards to the issue of taxation. The country also commits to granting certain relative standards such as treating foreign investors better than national investors. Thus, this should be acting as motivation for them to put in funds in the economy. As a result, one would be expecting FDI to be quite high, both the inflow and outflow. https://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/download/jjwbgsp/2007/5_Mauritius.pdf Contribution of Offshore sector to the economy The Mauritian offshore sector has created a well-defined position in the domestic development. Since its establishment in 1992, it has continued expanding at a growing pace. In order to assess the impact of the offshore sector on the economy data from various reports of the FSC and the CSO will be analyzed. The data considered is based on four factors: 1. The contribution to GDP 2. The evolution in the employment levels 3. The growth of GBCs 4. The financial performance of NBFIs. 3.4.1 Contribution to GDP The link that exists between the offshore sector and the economy can be studied by considering the contribution of the financial services to GDP. GDP is defined as the grand total money value of all goods and services produced in an economy over a specific period of time. Table 1: Gross Domestic Product by industry group at current basic prices, 2000-2008 In the beginning of the millennium, textile was the predominant agent that added most to GDP; nevertheless, the above table shows that financial intermediation also has its share. In 2000, Financial Intermediation accounted for 9.6% of GDP and Textile represented 11.9%. However in 2008 the former represented 10.9% of GDP while Textile stood for 5.4%, or approximately half the value of Financial Intermediation. In nominal terms, Financial Intermediation grew by 150.2% in nine years from 2000 to 2008. This impressive growth is the result of attractive investment incentives and structuring offshore regimes. Financial Intermediation can be broken down into three parts; the Insurance sector, the Banking sector and other. The latter is believed to account for the offshore sector. As shown in the table below, financial services sector, whether it is banks, insurance or other, has continuously increased and led to constant GDP growth. Table 2: GDP by industry group at current basic prices. The share of the offshore sector in the GDP increased from Rs1950 millions in 2005 to Rs 2910 millions in 2008, which represents a nominal increase of 49.2% in only 3 years. This is due to the independence of the FSC and the liberalizing of the international Global Business Companies system in 2007. As from its establishment, the offshore business has not stopped expanding and contributed to the development of the economy. While in 2000 the offshore sector represented 0.82% of GDP, in 2008 it grew to reach 1.25%. Another way of analyzing the contribution of the offshore sector to GDP is by considering the sectoral growth rates of GDP. Table 3: Gross Domestic Product by industry group sectoral real growth rates (% change over previous year ), 2000 2008 The table above shows that contrarily to other sectors of the economy such as Sugarcane and Textile, Financial Intermediation sustained a positive growth rate from 5.8% in 2002 to 10.1% in 2008 and for most of these years the growth has been greater than those of the other sectors. In fact, the positioning of the island as a business hub, the competent human capital base and network of tax treaties continue to be the key tools to accomplishment of that sector. Table 4: Gross Domestic Product by industry group sectoral real growth rates (% change over previous year), 2005 2008 The table shows that the offshore sector has been performing very well for all these years, with an ongoing positive growth rate .The average growth rate of the offshore sector was 11.8%. This might be due to a good and strong supervision and efficiency from the part of companies. Employment Generation Another direct impact of the offshore sector is the striking job creation that an international financial center may provide for the natives. Table 5: Employment in financial intermediation As shown in the table above employment in Financial Intermediation keeps on increasing. Originally, the emphasis was focused on employment creation in manufacturing rather than expansion of a financial services centre; but this has progressively changed. From 2000 to 2008, the increase in employment was of 51.2%. The insurance sector is the largest employer in the non banking financial institutions. The figures presented above comprise of local and expatriate staff, but the sector depends more local staff than expatriates. In the offshore sector most of the people employed work in Management companies or in Corporate trustees. The share that Financial Intermediation represents in total employment also did not cease to increase during all these years. Growth of GBCs A useful indicator to identify the impact of the offshore sector to the Mauritian economy might be to evaluate the number of licences that have been granted allowing companies to operate in Mauritius. New companies help to develop innovative activities and expand the existing ones in the offshore sector. The table below shows that Mauritius has developed a niche industry in the increasingly competitive global business sector. The sector demonstrated a total of 36711 licensed GBCs in 2008. Throughout the years, the number of licensed GBC1 kept on increasing. Its growth rate was continuously positive. The number of GBC1 almost doubled in 2008 as compared to 2001. In 2008 there was a fall in the number of license granted to GBC2 from an 11.88% increase in 2007 to a 9.12% increase in 2008. This could be attributable to the financial crisis. Even though, it was predicted that the credit crunch would have no impact on Mauritius, it was found inevitable that its offshore sector would be hit as less foreign investors came to Mauritius. However, the average growth rate was maintained showing a strategy building exercise to face the numerous challenges. Table 6: Growth rates of GBCs Financial performance of NBFIs When considering the value of the assets and profits as well as the turnover of NBFIs, one can assess the impact that this sector has on the economy. Table 7: Financial performance of NBFIs As can be seen from the table above, whether it is for GBC, insurance or for other NBFIs, assets, turnover and profit kept on increasing. In two years time the assets of insurance companies in Mauritius increased by approximately 27.5% while the profits of GBC almost tripled. Though it is not present in the table, the total value of the assets of the NBFIs represents a very high percentage of GDP illustrating that Mauritius is now slowly diverging from its other sectors and emphasizing on Financial Intermediation which acts as a route for investment. 3.5 Conclusion The various activities and evolution of the offshore sector have been targeted. The above figures in short reveal that the offshore sector as well as the whole of the financial services sector in Mauritius is in good health and is very likely to sustain it. Foreign Direct Investment by Sector, 2006-2009 (USD millions) Manufacturing Tourism Banking Real Estate Other 2006 5.7 83 114 15 11.3 2007 8.5 187 127 32.2 5.3 2008 5 137 157 65 29 2009* 20.5 89 15 54 16.5 Foreign Direct Investment by Country of Origin, 2006-2009    2006 2007 2008 2009* (USD millions)             U.K. 121 87.6 70 37 France 16.6 36.7 40.2 56.7 U.S. 5.2 74.4 36.6 19 India 5 19 66.2 9.3 Switzerland 18.6 40.2 21 12 Dubai 3.6 40 29.2 11 South Africa 1.2 15.6 49 10.5 Belgium 2.6 14 9.8 3.1 Reunion Island 4 18 1.7 2.4 Germany 5.6 1.8 5.9 0.4 Luxembourg 1.1 2.1 7.2 2 China 0.2 2.7 5.3 Others 44.3 10.6 54 26.3 Total 229 360 393 195 Source: Bank of Mauritius * Figures for 2009 are for the period January-September only https://www.state.gov/e/eeb/rls/othr/ics/2010/138111.htm Analysis of the FDI: Following numerous years of downfall, FDI lifted strongly in 2006, after important economic reform measures taken by the authority to widen the economy, smooth the progress of business, and develop the investment climate. In the period 2006 to 2009, more than USD 1 billion of foreign investors was attracted in Mauritius as shown in the table above. In the year 2008, the major supply of FDI inflows into Mauritius were U.K, accompanied by India, South Africa, France and the United States and as we can notice, all of them apart from United States have DTTs with Mauritius. Altogether, these five countries contributed about three quarter of the total investments. Tourism and Banking Sector were the main driving force to attract the mass FDI. In the first nine months of 2009, FDI amounted to USD 195 millions with main contributing countries being France, UK and the United States along with Switzerland, Dubai and South Africa. The sectors which contributed most in 2009 were Hotel and Tourism, development in real estate through the Integrated Resort Scheme (Luxury Hotels), and banking. As we can see, there has been a large number of companies coming in Mauritius to inject capital as Mauritius has provided them with many incentives namely access to custom-free zone for goods particularly for re-exportation purposes and taking the advantages of Mauritius being a member of IOC, COMESA and SADC would give them favoured right of entry to a 380 million based customers market, representing imports prospect of USD 90 billion. Four main US investors in Freeport zone of Mauritius are Mauriden Ltd, Amazing Stone, Boxmore Plastic Ltd and Casamar Ltd in the Freeport Zone. To benefit from the ideal location of Mauritius that connects South Africa to India and China, Apollo-Blake and Teleforma Inc, two US investors, have started their Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company which is based on client relations services. Mauritian investors have been in joint venture with several French and British companies to infuse capital in the ICT sector following the government strong incentives to push technology-related businesses. Business Process Outsourcing activities, disaster recovery and business continuity centres, call centres, and software development are fields that have been undertaken by leading global players including Accenture, Hinduja, Huawei, Infosys and Orange Business Services. Then we have the Covance Laboratories Ltd holding two fifth of the total share capital of Noveprim Ltd, a domestic company which exports guinea pigs to U.S and European medical research laboratories. Moreover, in 2006, Coventa Energy and Gamma Civic Ltd in joint venture were to use USD 160 million for a green environmental project in Mauritius. Mauritius have an emerging Land-Based Oceanic Industry sector which is yet to be exploited. Eco-friendly technologies will be used to pump pure deep sea water for bottling and air conditioning purposes in the IT and tourism industries. Thompson-Chalon Associates (US and South African joint venture) have undertaken this project with execution of the first stage of the eco-park costing USD 150 million. Indian companies also have made significant investments in the last few years. Due to lack of competition in the retail petroleum station, Indian Oil Ltd jumped in to exploit the market with USD 18 million in storage terminals of fuel and retail distribution. Moreover, Phoenix Beer having monopoly power in the local country encouraged Universal Breweries Ltd to launch Black Eagle Beer with an investment of USD 9. In addition, in 2006, Mauritius Telecom, the local utility, was the only fixed phone provider in Mauritius before Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Ltd (MTML) commenced its own telephone service in Mauritius. The State Bank of India took over the domestic Bank, Indian Ocean International Bank (IOIB) for the amount of USD 8 million to provide a easier frontier for people investing in India as Mauritius was reported in 2009 to be the largest investor in India. The Tourism sector being one of the most performing sectors in Mauritius in terms of revenues, has been a major incentive for Sagar Hotels Resorts to construct a Hotel with a USD 47 million estimation in 2006. Due to lack of medical services in the local country or from an investors point of view, medical services being a market yet to be exploited, Apollo Hospitals Groups from India constructed a high-tech hospital with 200-bed capacity with estimated cost of USD 30 million in 2007. In 2008, a Chinese company invested MUR 200 million in a paper recycling project for the manufacturing of toilet and photocopy paper. China intends to invest massively in the Jin Fei Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Mauritius to benefit from the trade zone that benefits Mauritius. First, to develop the infrastructure for the promotion of the Trading zone, the Chinese firm Shanxi Tianli Enterprise Group is preparing to invest USD 100 million. Moreover, the Chinese government is supporting the total cost of the Trade and Economic Zone project estimated at around USD 770 million and is looking forward to catch the attention of Chinese investors in a various sectors in order to conquer the regional markets of COMESA and SADC. In late 2009, the projects work started and is expected to complete in 2016. Over 30000 jobs will be available and will be generating around USD 215 million in export earnings per annum. Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) , African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Direct Invest Abroad by Sector (USD millions) Manufacturing Tourism Banking Real estate Other Total 2006 10.6 12.4 0.4 2.9 9.7 36 2007 7.3 33.4 3.5 7.6 5.2 57 2008 7 31.7 7.2 7.3 2.2 55.4 2009* 3.2 17.4 6.4 3.7 1.5 32.2 Direct Investment Abroad by Mauritius, 2006-2009   USD millions Maldives Madagascar Seychelles Mozambique France Reunion Island USA India South Africa Others 2006 3.4 9.2 5.9 8.6 2 0.2 0.4 8.1 2007 9.3 8.3 5.4 4.5 5.2 4 2.9 1 1.1 18.5 2008 21 8 5.7 0.3 6 4.8 0.4 0.9 0.7 8.4 2009* 9.8 2.7 6.3 0.3 1 0.8 0.4 4.9 Total 43.5 28.2 23.3 13.7 13.2 10 4.1 2.3 2.2 39.9 Source: Bank of Mauritius * Figures for 2009 are for the period January-September only https://www.sardc.net/Editorial/sadctoday/view.asp?vol=685HYPERLINK https://www.sardc.net/Editorial/sadctoday/view.asp?vol=685pubno=v11n1HYPERLINK https://www.sardc.net/Editorial/sadctoday/view.asp?vol=685pubno=v11n1pubno=v11n1 From the table above, we can observe that Maldives, Madagascar and Seychelles are the most influential countries in terms of capital outflows. Maldives has attracted capital through their tourism and Banking sector. The reason for investing in Maldives tourism sector is that  the substantial demand from the emerging economies in Asia has boosted the hotel industry in Maldives, and has even offset the decrease in demand from Europe due to recession. Maldives becoming an ideal location for tourists can also be translated to Maldives becoming an ideal location for investors to invest. Seychelles is in competition with Mauritius in terms of the Tourists and offshore investors preferred location. Not to put all eggs in one basket, investors in Mauritius went to the Seychelles to diversify their investment as both countries have plenty to offer. Local manufacturers in Mauritius have been allowed to use fabric from Third Country Source under African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Mauritius textile and garment sector can benefit substantially through this Third Country Fabric provision as it is going to help Mauritian textile factories to catch the attention of more US apparel buyers.   This is the reason why a few local textile entrepreneurs have been motivated to open factories in the nearby region, mostly in Madagascar and Mozambique. A Regional Food Company (RFC) has been set up by Mauritius, Madagascar and Mozambique as a measure to promote food security. African Development Bank has agreed to help Mauritius in this project with Mozambique and Madagascar. Under this cross-border initiatives, Mauritius envisage to grow a wide range of crops mainly rice, corns, onions and potatoes in Madagascar and Mozambique. Banks in Mauritius has started to open up their wings abroad in a view to widen their business. The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd has already settled itself in the Indian Ocean namely Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, Reunion and Maldives. On the other hand, the State Bank of Mauritius has started dealing in Madagascar and in India in a view of expansion. Mauritius, having been involved in the production of sugar from more than one century, is using its know-how to re-establish and organise sugar production in Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda and Madagascar.