Industrial Policy & Trade Monitor· 2663 actions· ✨ 89 recent

The Mauritius Finance Act 2025 (Act No. 18 of 2025), assented to by Acting President Dharambeer Gokhool G.C.S.K. and gazetted in August 2025, is an omnibus financial-sector statute amending the Companies Act, Financial Services Act 2007, Income Tax Act, Bank of Mauritius Act, and FIAMLA. Its headline provisions are: (i) introduction of a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (QDMTT) aligned with the OECD GloBE Pillar Two rules, imposing a 15% effective minimum tax on Mauritius profits of MNE groups with consolidated revenue ≥ EUR 750 million; (ii) new fiscal incentives for investments in AI infrastructure and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensees; (iii) enhanced beneficial-ownership (UBO) identification and record-keeping requirements under the Companies Act, aligned with FATF Recommendation 24; (iv) tightened substance and economic-presence requirements for Global Business Companies (GBCs); and (v) an expanded AML/CFT administrative- penalty framework under FIAMLA.

At its 34th session in Harare on 5 June 2025, the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade formally endorsed Angola's accession to the SADC Free Trade Area after Angola submitted its final tariff offer covering 90% of tariff lines — surpassing the SADC standard threshold of 85%. Angola becomes the 14th SADC member state to join the FTA, with implementation targeted for January 2026. The accession ends Angola's longstanding outlier status as the region's second-largest economy operating outside the bloc's duty-free zone, and opens tariff-free corridors between Angola and FTA members including South Africa, Zambia, DRC, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.