On 8 July 2020, at the post-MPC press conference, the Bank of Mauritius announced the extension of specific measures under its COVID-19 Support Programme. The measures aim at further assisting Mauritian businesses across all economic sectors.
These specific measures are the following:
SPECIAL RELIEF AMOUNT OF RS 5BILLION
- The Bank of Mauritius has introduced a Special Relief Amount of Rs5 Billion through commercial banks to meet cash flow and working capital requirements of economic operators which are being directly impacted by COVID-19.
- This Special Relief Amount is being made available, through commercial banks up to 30 September 2020, to all sectors of activities impacted by COVID-19, including SMEs.
- Disbursements will be effected through commercial banks and the Bank of Mauritius is capping interest on these advances to impacted economic operators at the fixed rate of 1.5 per cent per annum.
- The repayment period is extended from 30 months to 48 months, with a moratorium period of up to 9 months.
- Impacted operators are invited to contact their respective commercial banks.
SWAP ARRANGEMENT TO SUPPORT IMPORT-ORIENTED BUSINESSES
- The Bank of Mauritius introduced on 23 March 2020 a USD/MUR swap arrangement with commercial banks for an initial amount of USD100 Million.
- This arrangement aims at enabling commercial banks to support import-oriented businesses, except for the State Trading Corporation which will be dealing directly with the Bank of Mauritius for its foreign currency requirements until further notice.
- The Bank has increased the amount for swap transactions by an additional USD100 Million.
- This facility, which was initially effective until 30 June 2020, will now be available to banks for the next 6 months.
SPECIAL FOREIGN CURRENCY (USD) LINE OF CREDIT
- The Bank has now raised the amount of the FX line of credit to banks for funding purposes from USD300 Million to USD500 Million, that is, by an additional amount of USD200 Million.
- The additional amount will be available to banks for the next 6 months.
- The facility will be repayable one ( 1) year from the effective date of disbursement.
In light of the evolution of the economic context, the Bank of Mauritius stands ready to take any additional appropriate measure to maintain the stability of the financial system and mitigate any adverse impact on economic growth and development, consistent with its statutory responsibilities.
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