Evaco Ltd was placed in receivership on 26 May 2026. Its own published accounts had been signalling distress for at least two years. What the numbers said, where the risk now sits, and what other developers, lenders, and a jurisdiction built on foreign property capital should take from it.

The standard account of Mauritius's 1990s financial services pivot is tidy: the EPZ matured, wages rose, and a pragmatic government found a new pillar. It might also be incomplete, because , it omits the actors who most directly shaped the transition and what they stood to gain. This proposition aims to dig a little deeper: the shift from EPZ manufacturing to offshore financial services was not merely a policy response to economic maturity.

When valuing a private company, the discount rate is where most of the real work - and most of the debate - happens. One component sits at the centre of that debate more than any other: the Company-Specific Risk Premium, or CSRP.

Every year, the IMF conducts a bilateral review of each member country's economy under Article IV of its Articles of Agreement. The findings are the closest thing to an independent, authoritative audit of a country's macroeconomic health. For Mauritius, this is the most credible external assessment available - more rigorous than any local commentary. What the 2026 mission found was not alarming. But it was pointed.

On 28 February 2026, US and Israeli forces struck Iran. Within days, the Strait of Hormuz — through which 25% of the world's seaborne oil trade passes — was effectively closed. The IEA called it the greatest global energy security challenge in history. Brent crude crossed $100 a barrel. Global shipping rerouted overnight.