If the GNP per capita of a country determined its size, then this is what South East Africa would look like. The tiny island of Mauritius enjoys the highest GNP per capita of the region. Its economical success is due in no small part to the dynamism of the banking sector. For 160 years, the Mauritius Commercial Bank, by far the largest bank of the island, has forcefully helped its development as a regional market leader.
In so doing we have put ourselves in the top 1500 banks in the world. Innovation is the key. As the twenty first century approaches the MCB's range of services include: Internet and telephone banking, stock broking, leasing, private banking and fund management. We also play a vital role within the Offshore and freeport sectors. Dynamic, innovative, with a proven track record, the MCB is an obvious business partner in the region.
 STRATEGY |
| INTERVIEW OF MR. PIERRE GUY NOEL - GENERAL
MANAGER OF THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED |
4TH DECEMBER 1998
Q. There is no doubt that your institution is very well known in
Mauritius, could you give us a brief historic background of your company?
A. The Mauritius Commercial Bank started its operation in 1838, we
are celebrating this year our 160 years of existence and we have always been active within
the Mauritian economy. Mainly dependent on sugar until our independence in 1968, the
economy was since diversified with the creation of the Export Processing Zone which is
mainly textile based, and the development of the tourism industry. The bank has played a
catalyst role in these developments and today is still responsible for 60% of the
financing of the Export Processing Zone and finances almost 50% of the tourism sector. We
also hold the number one position among the banks of the island, with nearly 45% of the
market share in terms of "savings" that is 700,000 savings accounts for a
population of 1.2 million. We have some 40 branches throughout the country as well as ten
bureaux de change. In the early 90’s we started to extend our activities in the
region. The Mauritius Commercial Bank is today the majority shareholder in Banque
Française Commerciale (Océan Indien), a Paris based French bank, affiliated to Banque
Indosuez, which operates nine agencies in Reunion Island, three in the Seychelles and
another three in Mayotte. We have set up the Union Commercial Bank Ltd. in Antananarivo,
Madagascar as the majority shareholder, the others being the Standard Bank of South Africa
and Malagasy partners. With Credit Lyonnais and Banque de la Réunion, MCB is a minority
shareholder of Banque Internationale des Mascareignes, an offshore unit based in
Mauritius. We lay a lot of emphasis on the regional role of the bank and we intend to be
in Mozambique by the middle of 1999 where we believe there is big potential in
agriculture, manufacturing and tourism.
Q. As we are
nearing the end of the year, what are your forecasts for the end of this year as regards
to profitability?
A. Our financial year ends in June; we are therefore in the middle
of our financial year, which looks promising with a lending portfolio growth of some 20%
and net profit growth before tax of 12.5%. The financial sector has experienced a steady
growth of around 10% for each of the past ten years, with banking growing faster than the
rest of the financial sector.
Q. Being the General Manager of the MCB, what are the improvements that
need to be brought to the financial sector?
A. Banking has always dominated the financial services sector in
Mauritius and recent liberalisation has helped to boost it further. The insurance sector
has also traditionally been well established. We have however, over the past ten years,
witnessed the emergence of other financial services.
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The Bank itself has been closely
associated with the development of certain of these new activities through its
subsidiaries. MCB Stockbrokers Ltd was set up, when the Stock Exchange of Mauritius was
launched, to provide brokerage services to our customers and MCB Registry and Securities
Ltd provides registry services and is currently being geared to provide administration and
custody services. More recently, MCB Investment Management Co. Ltd started providing
investment advice to our customers. Through our associated company, Fincorp Investment
Ltd, we are also very active in the leasing industry. The financial services sector still
has enormous scope for further development and modernisation and will no doubt emerge as
the fourth pillar of our economy.
Q. Coming back to the banking sector, what are your comparative advantages with
respect to your competitors?
A. The first advantage is no doubt our long established experience
serving our customers loyally in good and bad times. Also as a local institution, we have
an edge over the foreign banks in that we understand the local environment better.
Furthermore, we have constantly been innovating our services to meet our customers’
demands and have indeed systematically been pioneers, be it in ATM services, credit card
operations, PC banking solutions or more recently, this November 1998, in internet
banking. Nowadays more than 70% of our savings account transactions are being carried out
through ATMs or POS and our PC Banking product, " Fidelink" enables our
corporate customers to have direct access to all normal banking services, such as the
opening of letters of credit from their own site. Through our Internet Banking services we
are now accessible to all our customers anywhere in the world 24 hours a day 7 days a
week.
Q. There is no doubt that Mauritius is a bridge between Asia and
Africa, being based here in Mauritius, would you say that Mauritius is already a financial
centre in the region?
A. It would be very optimistic to say that Mauritius is already a
financial sector in the region; I would rather consider us as an emerging market in the
region. There are other much bigger and more developed financial centres than ours. I
personally believe that building a financial centre is a long term process which requires
the development of a trusted and loyal climate that will favour the country in the long
run. We are actually well located in this part of the world, we believe that a bright
future lies in being a financial centre where people can invest in. Our freeport has
undergone the first stage of development successfully, investment within this sector has
been sizeable and the bank has been actively supportive of this new venture.
Q. Our readers are always interested in new business
opportunities, in which areas of your activities are you interested to have partners or
interested to attract investment?
A. Mauritius is like a crossroad in this region; we are the gateway
to Africa and every foreign investor is welcomed at The MCB. There is scope for
investment, namely in the offshore sector and the freeport. Joint venture partners for
regional investments within SADC (South African Development Community) are also welcome.
Q. Could you tell us more about your professional experience?
A. I am a chartered accountant by profession and the holder of a
degree in Economics. I have worked in an accounting firm for 10 years before joining the
Banking Sector.
Q. What has been your greatest achievement as head of The MCB?
A. It’s been only three years that I have been at
the head of the bank. I personally consider The Mauritius Commercial Bank as a big family,
our employees are fully involved and committed to the success of our institution - they
have been, over the generations, the pillar of the Bank’s success.
Q. As a final issue what would be your final message to our readers?
A. Make no mistake, other than being a tourist attraction Mauritius
has a lot of business opportunities to offer in this region. |
