MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Bhavna Ramsurun, Pinki Mahata, Lorna Senivassen and Shreya Mungur, BLC Robert & Associates
2.3.3 Local Regulatory Requirements for Non- Local Managers Prior FSC approval is required to appoint a for - eign manager to manage a fund authorised in Mauritius. However, this option is only available where the fund holds a GBL. The FSC will assess whether the licence of the foreign investment manager is issued by a regu - latory body in a jurisdiction that has comparable regulation to Mauritius for investor protection. In support of the application for prior approval, a draft of an investment management agreement between the fund and foreign investment man - ager and evidence of the licensed status of the manager must be submitted to the FSC, along - side details of the management team’s appropri - ate competence and relevant fund management experience. 2.3.4 Regulatory Approval Process The timeframe for the application for a fund authorisation is around 60 business days from the time the application is submitted to the authorities, assuming the application is com - plete and related queries are cleared on time. 2.3.5 Rules Concerning Pre-Marketing of Alternative Funds The production and offering of marketing mate - rials are regulated by the Securities Act 2005 and the regulations and rules thereunder, as well as by the FSC’s Guidelines for Advertising and Marketing of Financial Products 2014. These guidelines regulate the conduct of the marketing and the content of advertisements and market - ing materials. They also require certain specific disclosures and disclaimers on the product and the persons promoting them. The regulatory framework does not provide specific rules on the pre-marketing of alterna -
• the requirement to have a prospectus in the prescribed form (the offering memorandum can be customised subject to a few manda - tory disclosure requirements); • the minimum funding requirements; • investment and borrowing restrictions; • the requirement to prepare and file manage - ment reports and quarterly reports; • the requirement to conduct daily valuations; and • the requirement to publish the prices of inter - ests in the CIS on a weekly basis. To qualify for categorisation as a professional CIS, the restrictions set out under 2.2.3 Restric- tions on Investors would apply. 2.3.2 Requirements for Non-Local Service Providers Non-local service providers cannot provide services as administrators, custodians, direc - tor services providers, etc, in Mauritius by way of business. They will need to set up either a branch or a subsidiary in Mauritius, which will need to apply for a licence from the FSC in order to conduct business in Mauritius. Where there is no business establishment in Mauritius and the service provider does not solicit Mauritian retail investors in respect of services related to the marketing of securities, there will be no prohibition on the service pro - vider dealing with such persons, and usually no licensing requirement will be triggered for such non-local service provider. However, depending on the services being provided and the cate - gorisation of the fund granted by the FSC, the fund may be limited to local service providers or may require the approval of the FSC prior to the appointment of a non-local service provider.
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