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South Africa: Mauritian Development Attracts SA Buyers
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
14 November 2007
Posted to the web 14 November 2007
Nick Wilson
Johannesburg
THE first two phases of luxury residential development The River Club, in Mauritius, were sold out at the weekend to South Africans at the Pam Golding Property Exhibition, held at Sandton Square in Johannesburg.
Andre Bruyns, chairman of GDI Holdings, which is managing The River Club development, says that as a result of these strong sales, construction is expected to start in April or May next year.
Bruyns says what is helping South Africans buy in Mauritius is the strength of the rand against the dollar.
"Also, because Mauritius is an SADC (Southern African Development Community) country, there aren't any foreign exchange restrictions from the South African government on South Africans investing in Mauritius, subject of course to the normal tax disciplines."
Another factor making Mauritius attractive to South Africans is the fact that the island is only a four-hour flight away. "There are also direct flights every day from Johannesburg and regular flights from Cape Town and Durban."
The River Club, which is situated halfway between Port Louis and Grande Baie, is an integrated resort scheme, which permits foreigners to own property in Mauritius. The development will be valued at $350m when completed.
Foreigners cannot own property in Mauritius, except in integrated resort developments, which have been introduced in the country by the government to target high net-worth foreigners in the leisure market.
In these schemes, foreigners are allowed full-title ownership and also obtain permanent residence in Mauritius. Also, if the foreign owners in the schemes spend more than six months in Mauritius they obtain Mauritian tax status, which is a 15% flat-rate tax with no estate duties. The River Club is being developed by a company called River Club, which is managed by GDI.
It is GDI's first development outside SA.
Bruyns says the company has another "two developments on the drawing board in Mauritius", as well as other projects in Zambia and Europe.
The River Club offers 337 units and includes a championship golf course, an exclusive beach and hotel managed by an international hotel group.
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Prices start at $670000 per unit and go up to $1,7m.
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