pension. There is really a waste of resources which are not allocated
in the most opƟmal way.
There have some efforts on the part of the public sector but these
have the tendency to favour the short term to the detriment of long
term. We should not let our fears dominate and hamper reforms
but on the contrary, we have to conƟnue to encourage reforms.
Do you think these services should be eliminated then?
I would not say ‘eliminate’ but rather adopt a systemof targeƟng. For
e.g, with regards to the health sector, there is a large porƟon of the
populaƟon who can afford to pay for their own treatment. Along the
same lines, there is no need for pension or for free public transport
for everyone. MauriƟus does not have unlimited resources. Hence,
we should think about the future of the country, even if this stance
is not a poliƟcally popular one.
What do you propose as an economic alternaƟve?
We have to develop economic strategies which focus on the long
term even if these policies may prove to be detrimental to short
term targets.
MauriƟus has been through mulƟple economic phases and unless
we double our efforts, we will not climb out of the ‘middle-income
country trap’. To do so entails a more substanƟal increase in growth.
And for this, we need more investments and value added. Our
investment level is around 20-21% whereas in Eastern Asia, the rate
is in the vicinity of 40%.
This is alarmingas today’s level of investment is the fuel of tomorrow’s
economic growth.
Will the economy pick up in 2014?
2013 was a turning point for developed countries and various
economic data point to an improvement in developed economies,
especially in the US and Europe. Europe has been recovering from
recession and reverƟng to growth. However, emerging economies
have been experiencing difficulƟes and have displayed a fall in
growth.
Broadly speaking, 2014 is deemed to be a beƩer year than 2013.
MauriƟus, being highly dependent on Europe, a recovery in the
laƩer can only be beneficial to our economy.
We can thus expect a GDP growth of at least 3.6% for this year. We
already note a revival in the tourism sector and the level of exports
is on the rise. However, I wish to re-iterate the fact that we are sƟll
operaƟng below capacity and are under-uƟlising our resources.
13
In its quest to become the asset
management reference in the region,
AfrAsia Capital Management (ACM) has
recently recruited not less than 6 highly
qualified investment specialists to beef up
its team to meet new challenges.
“We conƟnue to hire top people as our
client base grows,”
says Swadicq Nuthay,
CEO AfrAsia Capital Management, adding:
“These high-caliber professionals will
enhance our ability to provide clients
with disƟncƟve insights for the strategic
posiƟoning of their wealth. Each of them
has already demonstrated remarkable
professional achievement and we are
delighted to have them on board.”
Among the new recruits are:
Michael
Ng
, a CFA charter holder with over 16
years’ experience in the financial services
industry, who has been appointed
Senior
Fund Manager
in charge of insƟtuƟonal
clients;
Stephen Coombes
who joined
as
Senior Porƞolio Manager
and has 7
years’ experience in asset management;
and
Michael Yap San Ming
who joined as
Senior Analyst
.
NEW RECRUITS
AfrAsia Capital Management strengthens execuƟon capabiliƟes to offer top notch advisory services
14
Michael Ng
Stephen R Coombes
Michael Yap San Ming
