The island economy has contributed four companies namely GML, Ireland Blyth Ltd, Air Mauritius and Food & Allied Group, to the top ten companies in the Indian Ocean region.

In its 2014 special edition, business magazine L’Eco Austral has listed the “Top 500 of the Indian Ocean”, viewing the regional economy through the lens of the top performing companies across Reunion Island, Mauritius, Madagascar and Mayotte, with an analysis of their latest figures.

Reunion Island occupies the first two places on the list with companies Vindemia and Groupe Bernard Hayot which achieved a turnover of 866 million euros (approximately Rs 36.2 billion) and 785 million euros (approximately Rs 32.8 billion) respectively for the financial year ended 31 December 12.

Mauritius-based conglomerate GML Group is ranked third with a turnover of 698.7 million Euros (approximately Rs 29.2 billion) followed by Mauritius fisheries major Ireland Blyth Ltd which realised a turnover of 504.1 million euros (approximately Rs 21.1 billion). Figures for both pertain to financial year ended 30 June 13.

National carrier Air Mauritius is ranked sixth with a turnover of 452.1 million euros (approximately Rs 18.9 billion) for the year ended 31 March 13.

Finally, Mauritius-based conglomerate Food & Allied group, which is also present in Madagascar and is an example of successful family company, features in the ninth position with 347.75 million euros of turnover (approximately Rs 14.5 billion), for the financial year ended 30 June 13.

According to L’Eco Austral, as the island’s strategy is to position itself as a gateway for Asian investments into Africa, leading Mauritian groups worked on an international model for several years, abandoning the traditional conglomerate model to concentrate on certain segments suited to global businesses.

L’Eco Austral goes on to note that the Mauritian industry was in a state of flux with amalgamations and restructurings, for instance in the sugar sector, which had to take into account a significant decline in the purchase price guaranteed by Europe under the EU sugar quotas.

All these changes in the operating environment caused the companies to work towards an improvement in their productivity to successfully compete in a reshaping global economy.

The hospitality sector in Mauritius though seems to be reeling under the effect of a slower-than-expected recovery in its traditional European markets. New Mauritius Hotels, the first hospitality major from Mauritius to feature in the ranking, has only managed a rank of 33, with a turnover of 197.95 million euros (approximately Rs 8.3 billion).

Apart from the general rankings, L’Eco Austral has also compiled a list of the Top 500 banks in the Indian Ocean. This ranking serves to confirm the success of the financial sector in Mauritius as it features as many was twenty financial service majors from the island economy.

Mauritius Commercial Bank is ranked first, realising a turnover of 275.57 million euros (approximately Rs 11.5 billion) for the year ended 30 June 13.

MCB’s net profit of 108.7 million euros (approximately Rs 4.5 billion) is incidentally three times more than that of the second placed bank on the list, Crédit Agricole of Reunion Island at 36.1 million euros, for the financial year ended 31 December 12.

On the other hand, the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM) has also notched a good performance with turnover of 147.5 million euros (around Rs 6.2 billion) and net profit of 80 million euros (approximately Rs 3.3 billion) for the financial year ended 30 June 13, and is ranked third on the list.

Barclays Bank, Mauritius and HSBC Mauritius are the other two banks from Mauritius to find place in the top 10 banks in the Indian Ocean, at sixth and ninth place respectively.

Image (Just Luxe): GML, Ireland Blyth Ltd, Air Mauritius and Food & Allied Group feature in the top ten companies in the Indian Ocean region.

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