The Financial Services Promotion Agency of Mauritius has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, to set up a mechanism by which the two jurisdicitons can help each other and collaborate in promotional matters to help Hong Kong's financial businesses penetrate China and Mauritius' financial businesses penetrate Africa.

The MOU was signed, as is often the case, on the fringes of a conference. The 10th Asian Financial Forum took place in the middle of this month and featured Federal Reserve alumni Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner.

The main objectives of the MOU are:

• for the two organisations to co-ordinate efforts in putting on events and roadshows in both their jurisdictions;
• to explore and promote opportunities that people might have to do business in Hong Kong and Mauritius;
• to support, if and when possible, inward delegations as recommended by one party to the other party in its territory;
• to organise the exchange of information in relevant subject matters;
• to arrange for the transfer of knowledge and the sharing of skills if and when appropriate; and
• to disseminate, as and when possible, information about each others' jurisdiction and services.

Harvesh Seegolam, the head of the Mauritian FSPA, thought that his outfit's strategy of diversification for Mauritius included the introduction of the new products for the purposes of global headquartering, treasury management, investment banking, legal services and family offices and said that he was already aware of business coming in on those fronts. He also expected the new MOU to make Hong Kong and Chinese firms more aware of opportunities in the Mauritian international financial centre. He was, essentially, there to persuade Hong Kong and Asian investors that Mauritius was an advantageous venue for their money. His delegation has now proceeded to Shanghai for a similar business forum.