Middle East &Africa
Mauritius

50. Beyond beaches and palm trees
Oct 16th 2008 | PORT LOUIS | From The Economist print edition

An isolated island continues to reinvent itself and confound the sceptics

50-1-229
THE 1.3m people of Mauritius love to prove famous people wrong. On independence from Britain in 1968, pundits such as a Nobel prize-winning economist, James Meade, and a novelist, V.S. Naipaul, did not give much of a chance to this tiny, isolated Indian Ocean island 1,800km (1,100 miles) off the coast of east Africa. Its people depended on a sugar economy and enjoyed a GDP per person of only $200. Yet the island now boasts a GDP per person of $7,000, and very few of its people live in absolute poverty. It once again ranks first in the latest annual Mo Ibrahim index, which measures governance in Africa. And it bagged 24th spot in the World Bank's global ranking for ease of doing businessthe only African country in the top 30, ahead of countries such as Germany and France. How does it pull it off?
The country has come a long way from relying exclusively on sugar cane. It has become a popular destination for tourists craving sun, palm trees and good service, with more than 100 hotels, up from a single decent one at independence. Since then it has built a textile industry on the back of preferential market access. Although there were plenty of sceptics when it tried to become an offshore financial centre, the island now hosts 19 banks, including foreign heavyweights such as HSBCand the introduction of Islamic banking has brought petro-dollars from the Gulf. Thanks to some helpful double-taxation treaties, Mauritius became a low-tax gateway for investment into other countries, especially India.

A. 어휘
isolated island 고립된 섬. confound 어리둥절케 하다, 혼동하다.
skeptic 의심 많은 사람, 회의론자. pundit 박식한 사람, 대학자.
give much of a chance to ...를 희망적으로 보다. absolute poverty 절대빈곤.
rank first 1등 하다. annual 해마다의, 1년을 단위로 하는, 年報(연보).
index 指標(지표). measure 측정하다. governance 통치. bag 손에 넣다, 잡다.
spot 장소, 地點(지점). pull off 달성하다. rely on ...에 의존하다.
exclusively 유일하게, 독점적으로, 배타적으로. sugar cane 사탕수수. crave 갈망하다.
destination 목적지. textile industry 직물공업.
on the back of ...을 이용하여, ...의 등을 타고.
preferential 우선권이 있는, 先取權(선취권)이 있는. access 접근.
preferential market access 시장에 우선적으로 접근할 수 있는 권리(개도국 상품이 선진국시장에 우선적으로 진입할 수 있도록 베푸는 특혜). offshore 바다의.
offshore financial centre 해양에 위치한 금융중심지. introduction 導入(도입).
Islamic banking 아랍 등 이슬람국가의 은행. petro-dollar 석유수출로 벌어들인 달라.
the Gulf 중동지역. double-taxation 二重過歲(이중과세). treaty 條約(조약)
gateway for investment 投資關門(투자관문).

B. 구문
- The 1.3m people of Mauritius love . . . famous people wrong.
[Mauritius의 1백 3십만 국민들은 저명인사들의 예측이 틀렸다는 것을 증명하기를 좋아한다.]
- it bagged 24th spot . . . ease of doing business.
[Mauritius는 세계은행이 실시하는 기업하기 쉬운 나라 등급평가에서 스물네 번째의
자리를 차지하였다.]
-tourists craving sun. . .→ tourists who are craving sun. . .

50-2-230
That rosy outlook might have darkened in 2005 with the end of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement that had restricted Chinese textile exports. As Mauritian factories closed, about 30,000 jobs were lost. Europe also started dismantling the sugar preferences it granted to its former colonies, which used to guarantee above-market prices. Local farmers were squeezed.
Instead of moaning, Mauritius's government moved swiftly to embrace global competition. It simplified and cut taxes, slashed red tape and lowered or dropped tariffs. The government tightened its purse-strings. Last month it brought in a new labour law, making it easier to hire and fire. The authorities and the private sector, working hand-in-hand for years, promote Mauritius as a business destination.
This has paid off. Unemployment is down, from 9.6% in 2005 to 7.6%. So is the budget deficit. Raju Jadoo, the dynamic head of the Board of Investment, says that more foreign money has been invested in Mauritius in the past three years than in the previous two decades. Long a gateway for investment into Asia, Mauritius now promotes itself as a stable jumping-board for investment into Africa. The government has persuaded China to select Mauritius as one of the five African destinationsand the only one with no oil or minerals on offerwhere special investment zones will be set up. The Chinese will spend about $700m to build offices and factories north of the capital, Port Louis, for their companies keen to export to Africa.

A. 어휘
rosy outlook 장미 빛 전망. Mluti-Fibre Arrangement 多者纖維協定(다자섬유협정).
restrict 제한하다. dismantle 해체하다, 철거하다. preference [관세 따위의]특혜.
former 前(전). colony 식민지, 群落(군락). guarantee 보장하다.
squeeze 壓搾(압착)하다, 짜다. moan 한탄하다, 신음하다.
embrace 받아들이다, 포용하다. slash 칼로 베다, 잘라내다. red tape 관료주의.
tariff 관세. tighten ...을 꽉 죄다. purse-strings 돈주머니의 끈.
the authorities 정부당국. private sector 민간부문. pay off 소기의 성과가 나다.
budget 예산. deficit 赤字(적자). the Board of Investment 투자위원회.
previous 以前(이전)의. stable 안정된, 마구간. jumping-board 도약대.
persuade 설득하다. select 選定(선정)하다. mineral 광물. on offer 팔려고 내 놓은.
keen 갈망하고 있는, 날카로운.