The Official Market of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius has been going through a rough patch for several months now, yet foreign investors don’t seem to be losing faith. Figures released by the exchange point to a paradox worth unpacking.
Since the start of the year, cumulative foreign purchases have topped 1.6 billion rupees, against roughly 1.4 billion in sales. That gap leaves a net positive investment of close to 206 million rupees. In other words, foreign capital keeps flowing into the Mauritian market even as local indices struggle to gain ground.
The SEMTRI, which tracks total return including dividends paid out, hovers around 11,300 points, having eased slightly in recent weeks. The SEMDEX, the exchange’s broader benchmark, sits near 2,300 points, well below the all-time high of 2,530 points reached in early 2025. The SEM-10, which groups the market’s largest capitalisations, has held around 438 points. Total market capitalisation on the Official Market stands close to 322 billion rupees.
Over the past year, the overall trend has stayed negative, with declines in the range of six to seven percent depending on the index. Even so, the banking sector, led by heavyweights like MCB Group and SBM Holdings, continues to account for a sizeable share of trading activity, alongside tourism names such as Lux Island Resorts. That pattern points to the relative resilience of the island economy’s traditional pillars, even while the market as a whole loses momentum.
So how to explain this apparent disconnect between falling indices and steady foreign inflows? A few readings are possible. Some international fund managers appear to view current levels as an attractive entry point, betting on a medium term rebound. Others may simply be drawn by Mauritius’s macroeconomic stability, often held up as a model on the African continent, which continues to attract capital seeking a predictable regulatory environment more than an immediate stock market payoff.
Whether this pattern of net buying continues in the months ahead, or whether downward pressure on the indices eventually dampens foreign appetite too, remains an open question. Upcoming weekly reports from the Stock Exchange of Mauritius should help sharpen that picture.