L’HEBDOMADAIRE ÉLECTRONIQUE GRATUITÉDITION 151 – VENDREDI 23 JUIN 2017

The Future of Saving: The Role of Pension System Design in an Aging World

L’HEBDOMADAIRE DIGITAL GRATUIT

IMF STAFF DISCUSSION NOTES

Le Mauricien veut-il travailler ?

BILLET

ÉDITION 224 – SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019

Évolution du prix de l’essence et du diesel

2008 - 2018

L’année a démarré sur une bonne note pour les automobilistes. Le Petroleum Pricing Committee (PPC), qui s’est réuni le 11 janvier, a annoncé une baisse de 5.34% et de 5% respectivement au niveau du prix de l’essence et du diesel. La chute sur le marché mondial du prix de la tonne métrique des carburants aurait fait pencher la balance selon la State Trading Corporation. Quelle a donc été l’évolution du prix

mondial de l’essence et du diesel pendant la dernière décennie, ainsi qu’à Maurice ?

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

ANALYSE BOURSIÈRE3

LUNDISéance marquée par Lavastone Properties

La valeur totale échangée reste en dessous de Rs 16 millions tandis que le SEMDEX grimpe légèrement d’environ 0,5%. Le duo bancaire, le Groupe MCB et la SBM Holdings, gagne respectivement 0,7%. IBL Ltd se hisse à Rs 51 en gagnant une roupie. La séance a été principalement marquée par les échanges au niveau de Lavastone Properties (anciennement Cim Proper-ties). Le prix d’action a démarré en baisse à Rs 3.50 (-13%) avant de chuter davantage à Rs 3.35 (-16%). Il rebondit légèrement à Rs 3.39 à la clôture de la séance. Cim Financial Services délaisse, pour sa part, 0,6%. PhoenixBev chute de 0,9% à son plus bas niveau en dix mois.

MARDIAscencia poursuit sur sa lancée

Quelques hausses ont marqué la séance. Notamment au niveau du prix d’action d’ABC Banking Corporation qui atteint son plus haut niveau en six mois à Rs 27.25 (+4,8%). Rose Hill Transport grimpe à son plus haut niveau en quatre semaines à Rs 33.95 (+3%). Quality Beverages gagne 50 sous à Rs 17.50. Au niveau du secteur immobilier, Ascencia établit un nou-veau record au niveau de son prix d’action en enregistrant une hausse de 1,3% à Rs 19. À l’opposé, BlueLife perd 3,5% pour finir à Rs 2.75. Quant à CIEL, le prix d’action chute à son plus bas niveau en deux ans à Rs 6.30 (-0,9%).

MERCREDINMH chute à nouveau

Les titres financiers ont stimulé la séance de mercredi. Ce qui a répercuté en une hausse de 0,1% au niveau du SEMDEX. Les investisseurs étrangers ont sollicité les actions du Groupe MCB à hauteur de Rs 8 millions. Son prix d’action grimpe ainsi de 1,1% à son plus haut niveau en six semaines à Rs 278. La SBM Holdings, qui a rejoint le Sustainability Index de la Bourse de Maurice, se hisse à son plus haut niveau en deux mois à Rs 6.14 (+0,3%). Par contre, ABC Banking Corporation perd 3,7%. Cim Financial Services rebon-dit de 5,6% à Rs 7.50 et sa filiale Lavastone Properties de 11,5%. Au niveau des groupes hôteliers, New Mauritius Hotels chute, lors de la séance, à son plus bas niveau en deux ans à Rs 20.25 avant de clôturer à Rs 20.40 (-1,9%). Enfin CIEL chute à son plus bas niveau en deux ans à Rs 6.10 (-3,7%).

JEUDIRs 8 millions d’échanges seulement

La séance d’hier n’aura générée qu’une valeur totale de Rs 8 millions. L’absence des investisseurs étrangers s’est fait sentir. Probablement en rai-son de l’avenir incertain du Brexit. L’indice SEMDEX a néanmoins grimpé légèrement de 0,2% en raison de la performance de Rogers. Le prix d’ac-tion de ce titre a enregistré une hausse de 4,8%. Le peu d’échanges sur la plateforme de la SEM concernait Alteo qui perd 2,1% pour finir à Rs 23. Le groupe MCB clôture en baisse à Rs 277.50. L’hôtelier LUX gagn 50 sous pour terminer à Rs 72. Ciel Textile sacrifie 2% pour atteindre son plus bas niveau en deux ans à Rs 42.80. Ascencia poursuit son ascension et clôture à Rs 19.05 (+0,3%).

Suite à la fusion des principales sociétés holding du groupe ENL en une entité unique, le Groupe ENL s’est donné de meilleures options pour financer son développement sur les marchés de capi-taux. Ainsi, ENL Limited vient d’achever sa première émission d’obligations pour un montant de Rs 3 milliards, dans le cadre d’un programme de notes à moyen terme pouvant aller jusqu’à Rs 6 milli-ards. Ces fonds disponibles sur une durée comprise entre 5 et 10 ans, permettront notamment de refinancer des emprunts existants et de soutenir la croissance du groupe en finançant plusieurs projets au sein de Moka Smart City. Les obligations sont assorties d’un mixte de taux fixe et variable. Plus de 75% de l’emprunt sont assortis d’un taux d’intérêt fixe concurrentiel, ce qui permettra au groupe ENL d’avoir une meilleure visibil-ité sur ses coûts financiers dans le moyen terme et par la même occasion d’atténuer

des éventuelles fluctuations des taux d’in-térêt. Quant aux obligations à taux vari-able, elles portent un intérêt inférieur au coût actuel des fonds, ce qui résultera en des économies importantes.

Qu’est-ce qu’une note à moyen terme ?

Ce type de programme de gestion de la dette est utilisé par une entreprise afin de lui permettre de disposer d’un apport im-portant en termes de cash-flow et adapté à ses besoins de financements. Dans ce cas, la note à moyen terme arrive à échéance dans 5 à 10 ans.Pour rappel, depuis le 1er janvier 2019, les sociétés ENL Limited, ENL Land, ENL Commercial, ENL Finance et La Sablon-nière ont cessé d’exister et ont été rem-placées par une nouvelle entité, baptisée ENL Limited. Cette réorganisation s’in-scrit dans le cadre de la One-ENL Strate-gy adoptée par le groupe et qui préconise une structure simplifiée, l’alignement des intérêts de ses actionnaires au sein d’une même société cotée en bourse et le ras-semblement des équipes autour d’un pro-jet d’entreprise solide énoncé dans Vision 2020, le plan stratégique du groupe.

BIZweekBIZweek

J’AI ENTENDU...

HERRSHA L-BOODHUN

3A N A L Y S E B O U R S I È R E

BIZweekBIZweek

J’AI ENTENDU...

HERRSHA L-BOODHUN

3A N A L Y S E B O U R S I È R E

ENL lève Rs 3 milliardsMARCHÉ OBLIGATAIRE

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

LA TOUR4

Bonne nouvelle en ce début d’année pour les automobilistes. Depuis le 12 janvier, l’essence coûte Rs 2.65 moins

cher, et le diesel Rs 2. Ainsi, les prix passent à Rs 47 et Rs 38 respectivement pour l’essence et le diesel. C’est ce qu’a décidé le Petrole-um Pricing Committee lors de sa réunion du vendredi 11 janvier. La State Trading Cor-poration (STC) affirme que cette décision a été prise en fonction d’une baisse du prix du carburant sur le marché mondial.

Quelle a donc été l’évolution du prix mon-dial de l’essence et du diesel pendant la dern-ière décennie, aussi bien sur le plan local ? Selon les données de l’Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), la

moyenne (pour l’essence par tonne métri-que) pour l’année 2018 a été de USD 70.66. Les prix les plus forts ont été enregistrés en juillet 2008, 2011, 2012 et 2013, soit USD 145.29, USD 107.46, USD 109.45 et USD 105.87.

Évolution du prix de l’essence et du diesel

2008 - 2018

L’année a démarré sur une bonne note pour les automobilistes. Le Petrole-um Pricing Committee (PPC), qui s’est réuni le 11 janvier, a annoncé une baisse de 5.34% et de 5% respectivement au niveau du prix de l’essence et du diesel. La chute sur le marché mondial du prix de la tonne métrique des carburants aurait fait pencher la balance selon la State Trading Cor-poration. Quelle a donc été l’évolution du prix mondial de l’essence et du diesel pendant la dernière décennie, ainsi qu’à Maurice ?

makes searching simple

O�cial online directory of Mauritius Telecom

Business People

DATE PRIX MONDIAL (USD) ESSENCE (RS) DIESEL (RS)

Juillet 2008 145.29 49.50 42.70

Décembre 2008 40.81 36.85 37.95

Juillet 2009 65.63 45.45 38.30

Avril 2010 84.87 46.65 34.40

Janvier 2011 89.11 48.50 39.90

Mars 2011 105.40 49.30 41.20

Mars 2013 90.68 52.25 43.95

Octobre 2013 97.85 52.25 43.95

Janvier 2014 92.72 52.25 43.95

Novembre 2014 76.51 47.90 39.45

Janvier 2015 48.69 45.95 37.80

Novembre 2015 40.74 41.35 32.75

Février 2016 30.89 38.85 29.50

Novembre 2016 44.07 38.85 29.50

Janvier 2017 53.99 38.85 29.50

Août 2017 49.58 44.90 35.35

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

POST SCRIPTUM5

The Future of Saving: The Role of Pension System Design in an Aging World

IMF STAFF DISCUSSION NOTES

National saving—the sum of public and private saving in a country—is the main source of financing for domestic investment, even in a world

with high capital mobility. It also plays a crucial shock-absorbing role, with im-plications for growth and economic stabi- lity. In countries with aging populations, national saving is important to bolster retirement security and allow workers to more easily bear the costs of finan- cing pension programs while maintaining their living standards.

LOOMING AGING CHALLENGE AND SAVING. Many advanced and emerging market economies are facing rapid, un-precedented aging of their populations, driven by declining fertility and rising life expectancy. Previous work (for example, Clements and others 2015) has shown that population aging and dwindling working age populations could place significant pressure on public pension systems, erod-ing public savings. This is because more retirees will receive benefits while fewer people will work and contribute to the system through taxes. Not surprising-

ly, policy debates around the world have focused on the long-term sustainability and requisite reform of pension systems. However, less attention has been devoted to prospects for private, and hence ag-gregate, national saving. How will the forthcoming demographic shifts affect private saving decisions? Will the design of pension systems have differential im-plications for private and aggregate sav-ing patterns across countries?

INTERACTION BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SAVING. Saving patterns typically change with age: the young bor-row, prime working age individuals save, and the old dissave after retirement. Ag-ing is thus likely to depress private sav-ing as the percentage of elderly people in the population rises, and longer lifespans mean that people might need to save more for retirement throughout their working lives. The impact of demographic chan- ges on private saving decisions will de-pend, among other factors, on the design of government pensions and social safety nets.Variation in the availability, struc-ture, and coverage of pension systems around the world could influence indivi-

duals’ saving decisions. For instance, lack of development and coverage of pension systems could cause households to save too little for retirement, particularly if fi-nancial markets do not offer appropriate saving instruments. However, insufficient coverage could also encourage excessive precautionary saving. On the other hand, overly generous pension regimes featur-ing early retirement provisions could cre-ate disincentives to work and affect saving behavior. The interaction between aging and pension systems is therefore crucial to understanding private saving behavior and its evolution across countries.

WHY DOES THIS INTERACTION MATTER? At the individual level, sav-ings provide households with a cushion to smooth consumption and plan for the future. For those coming of working age now, pensions won’t provide as large a safety net as they did for earlier genera-tions. In many countries, efforts to address the financial sustainability of pension sys-tems by reducing pension generosity could force the future elderly to live in poverty. Furthermore, because most household saving is done by the highest income earn-

Contd on page 6

David AmaglobeliIMF - PENSION

Over the coming decades, declining fertility and increasing longevity will profoundly change the population age distribution in many countries, albeit at different paces. The fiscal consequences of this demographic transition have received considerable policy attention around the world, but what implications will it have for saving rates across countries? What role does the de-sign of retirement systems play? This discussion note investigates how impending demographic shifts and the design of pension systems could influence future national saving

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

POST SCRIPTUM6

ers, lack of savings could be a particularly acute problem for the poor. At the macro level, understanding the implications of demographic developments and pension system characteristics for future saving is critical, as national saving is an important source for financing domestic investment and absorbing country-specific shocks, with implications for growth and econom-ic stability. The saving rate also determines how fast a country can rebuild buffers at a time of historically high global debt (IMF 2018b). Motives for personal saving and the design of pension systems could also directly influence individual saving behavior, thereby affecting the overall net foreign asset position of a country and the composition of investment port-folios (Staveley-O’Carroll and Stave-ley-O’Carroll 2017; Eugeni 2015). This has implications for the dynamics of in-ternational capital flows, external imbal-ances, and global interest rates.

AGING SOCIETIES. The global popu-lation is undergoing a significant transi-tion; after a record increase in the 20th century, population growth is decelera- ting. Declining fertility rates, combined with increased life expectancy, will re-sult in older populations in the coming decades (Figure 1). In many countries—especially Japan and some European countries—fertility rates are below those required to replace the population. At the same time, life expectancy at age 65 is projected to increase by around a year per decade. As a result, by 2050, on average, the old-age dependency ratio-the ratio of the elderly population (65 years and old-er) to the working age population (15–64 years)—will double. Today, Japan is the only country with an old-age dependency ratio over 40; by 2050 more than 55 coun-tries will exceed that ratio.

ASYNCHRONOUS DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITIONS AND IMPLICATIONS. Countries are at different stages of the demographic transition. The pace and timing of the transition will have dif-ferent implications across countries for labor supply and for private and public saving rates. • Most advanced economies and some

emerging market countries (for ex-ample, Russia and Ukraine) are in the late stage of demographic transition, with aging well underway and the working age population declining or about to decline. United Nations pro-jections suggest that the working age population will fall by about 20 per-cent in Europe between 2015 and 2050 and by almost a quarter in Korea. In the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, however, the working age population will still be growing over this period. A lower share of workers in the population means that output per capita will fall and national saving rates could potentially decline, owing to increased transfer payments to and lower private saving rates among the growing elderly cohort.

• Other emerging and some developing countries (for example, China and some countries in Latin America) are at an advanced stage of demographic transition, having already enjoyed the bonus of a demographic dividend—a period during which the working age population expands relative to the

young and the old. More workers make it easier to take care of a relatively smaller pool of elderly people through intergenerational transfers (pensions or intrafamily transfers) and contri- butes to higher saving rates in some countries. This bonus has now ended in many countries in this group and will end very soon for the rest.

• In countries at an early stage of de-mographic transition (for example, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and coun-tries in the Middle East and North Af-rica), fertility rates are declining but remain relatively high, with the share of working age population expected to peak in coming decades.

• Countries in the pretransition demo-graphic phase (mainly countries in sub-Saharan Africa) have yet to expe-rience the benefits of a demographic dividend (IMF 2015a) and are not the focus of this note.

ARCHITECTURE OF PENSION SYS-TEMS AND AGING. Differences in pen-sion system arrangements and their funding have important implications for how aging could affect saving. Most countries rely on defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, under which benefits depend on the number of years of con-tributions and the individual’s earning history, typically complemented by a means-tested basic pension. Some coun-tries have defined contribution pension systems based on individual accounts, which often coexist with the DB scheme. Pension systems also differ in the extent to which liabilities are prefunded. Most DB schemes are financed on a PAYG ba-sis, in which general revenues or specific contributions from current workers and employers fund the benefits of current retirees. In contrast, pension benefits in most DC schemes depend on the value of accumulated assets over the individual’s working life. This difference in funding structure implies that aging (by increa- sing the ratio of elderly beneficiar-ies to younger workers who fund benefits) is likely to have a direct im-pact on public saving in PAYG schemes and (through the life-cycle theory of saving) on private saving in DC systems.

PUBLIC PENSION SYSTEM PARA- METERS AND PRIVATE SAVING. The parameters of public pension systems can influence workers’ consumption-ver-sus-saving decisions. The impact on pri-vate saving depends largely on pension system generosity, which encompasses both the size of benefits per person (the benefit ratio) and the coverage (the per-centage of elderly people who receive a pension). With a more generous pension system, retirees will have to rely less on private saving. As a corollary, low benefit ratios or low coverage can induce higher private saving, as people save on their own to avoid a large drop in their living stand-ard at retirement. There is significant crosscountry heterogeneity along these two dimensions. In Europe, for instance, Greece and Cyprus provide pension ben-efits that are about 65 percent of the av-erage economy-wide wages. The corre-sponding number is less than 30 percent in Latvia and Ireland. Advanced econo-mies provide some type of public pension benefits to nearly all of their elderly cit-izens. In most emerging and developing

economies, however, only a third to two-thirds of the elderly are covered, because pension systems were designed to cover salaried workers or those in urban areas, leaving those who are self-employed or in the informal economy outside the system.

AGING AND FISCAL SUPPORT FOR PENSION SYSTEMS. Pressures on public saving may arise even in funded systems, because increases in longevity or lower than expected investment returns could cause funding to fall short of providing adequate pension benefits at retirement. Governments might have to make up part of the future shortfall, draining public re-sources. Fiscal support ratios that relate taxpayers to public pension system bene-ficiaries are also estimated to rise between 2010 and 2050 in many advanced econo-mies. For European countries, tax reve-nues would have to be between 14 percent and 28 percent higher than they are today (or expenditures commensurately lower, or some combination of the two) just to offset the increased costs of aging popu-lations (Lee and Mason 2017). For Japan and the United States, the corresponding numbers are 26 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

TRADE-OFFS ASSOCIATED WITH RECENT PENSION SYSTEM REFORMS. To deal with the costs of aging, many countries have enacted significant pen-sion reforms in recent years. Reforms aim largely at containing the growth in the number of pensioners, typically by changing the key parameters of the pension system; for example, increasing the retirement age, tightening eligibility rules, or reducing the size of pensions by adjusting benefit formulas. Many of these parametric reforms have improved the long-term sustainability of DB/PAYG pension systems.

However, additional reforms may be needed; for example, rationalizing gen-erous grandfathering arrangements in earlier reforms (Italy, Portugal); reduc-ing benefit ratios (Argentina, Brazil); and curtailing early retirement benefits (Russia). In many countries, reforms have been designed to protect current pensioners, shifting most of the adjust-ment burden to future generations of re-tirees (Chen and others 2017). In some countries, changes in the indexation of pension benefits are likely to erode real pension benefits over time, potentially contributing to old-age poverty (Hernan-dez de Cos, Jimeno, and Ramos 2017). In the 1990s a number of countries in-troduced DC systems that were funded by redirecting contributions from existing public PAYG systems. This transition put pressure on public saving, as it worsened the finances of the public scheme. In ad-dition, lack of advance funding, low cov-erage, and low contribution rates contin-ue to plague many DB and DC systems, with attendant implications for pension adequacy down the road.

Because pension savings tend to be concentrated in high-income households for both types of pension systems, rap-id aging could also exacerbate income inequality in the future.

Prepared by David Amaglobeli, Hua Chai, Era Dabla-Norris, Kamil Dybczak, Mauricio Soto, and Alexander F. Tieman

Contd on page 7

CONCLUSIONS AND POLICY OPTIONS

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

POST SCRIPTUM7

Aging challenge and saving. Aging populations will have important consequences for the evolution of saving rates across countries. Under current policies, public pension outlays in advanced and emerging market economies will increase by an average of 1 to 2½ percentage points of GDP, respectively, by 2050, depressing public saving. The impact on private and aggregate saving depends on the interaction of asynchronous demographic transitions and the design of retirement systems; that is, funding, coverage, benefits promised to the elderly, and when they would start receiving those transfers. Thus, the appropriate responses to the aging challenge will vary across countries and will have to account for country-specific policy and institutional settings, including how pensions are determined and financed. For instance, in countries with relatively high saving rates and inadequate social security systems, increasing generosity may be warranted. In rapidly aging countries with relatively low saving rates and rising pension liabilities, the challenge will be to increase saving ratios in a sustainable way. For today’s younger generations in many countries, saving more for the future will become increasingly important to ensure retirement income security.

Public pension system reforms. Overly generous pension benefits (owing to high benefit ratios or a low statutory retirement age) can interact with projected demographic trends to lower aggregate saving. Reducing public pension generosity (for example, curtailing early retirement benefits or reducing benefit ratios) could attenuate long-term fiscal vulnerabilities and moderate the fall in aggregate saving. To counter these trends, today’s workers will need to prepare for the future by saving more and extending their work lives. In advanced economies where pensions have been largely reformed, for those born between 1990 and 2009, simulations suggest that increasing the retirement age by five years (from today’s average of 63 to 68 in 2050) would close half the projected gap in benefit ratios relative to today’s retirees. If members of the same cohort were to put aside an additional 6 percent of their earnings each year, they would close the other half of the gap in the benefit ratio. Financial sector and labor market policies could support such behavioral changes.

Balancing sustainability and equity considerations. The distributional consequences of pension system reform can be significant. While ongoing and planned reforms will improve pension system sustainability, average benefit ratios are projected to decline sharply in many countries. Thus, additional pension system reforms would need to be carefully calibrated to avoid undercutting the welfare of future retirees and fueling poverty among the elderly. One option would be to link additional increases in retirement age to longevity gains, with adequate provisions for the poor, whose life expectancy tends to be shorter than average. To minimize unintended negative consequences of such programs on aggregate saving (either through excessive fiscal costs or indirectly by crowding out private saving), antipoverty programs should be carefully designed and targeted.Improving pension system adequacy to reduce precautionary saving. In China, for instance, the transition to a market-based economy that began in the 1980s resulted in a weakening of the social safety net, reducing pension spending and social transfers to very low levels. Lower income households now have a saving rate of 20–30 percent, compared with minus 20 percent in many peer countries (IMF 2017). Similarly, in Korea, the public pension system covers only about a third of the elderly, and replacement rates are low by international comparison, resulting in a saving rate of nearly 30 percent. These countries have room for fiscal maneuver; they could redirect resources to reduce old-age poverty by expanding coverage of the social security systems, raising social pensions, and enhancing targeted social transfers. These

actions would reduce households’ need for precautionary saving while ameliorating inequality and old-age poverty.

Boosting private saving by improving pension system architecture. The presence of a DC scheme can support higher private saving rates, attenuating the negative effect of aging on national saving. Countries with an enabling environment might consider complementing the public pension scheme with a funded DC scheme.32 However, such reforms are not a panacea to deal with the aging challenge; for example, too few people may be covered or contribute to the system, or contributions over the working life of an individual may fall short of providing adequate pension benefits at retirement—many private pension funds are underfunded.33 In addition, future returns on savings (interest and investment rates) in an aging world could be lower, leading to lower-than-expected returns on the accumulated assets in such systems. In this case, governments might still have to make up for at least part of the gap. Country experiences also suggest that pension system transitions from PAYG to funded schemes can generate large and persistent fiscal costs (to fulfill the promises made to people who had contributed to the old systems) that reduce national saving.

Development of financial sector instruments to encourage voluntary saving. The ability of households to diversify retirement-related risks will depend on the availability of age-specific financial products (for example, annuities and long-term care insurance). Countries with underdeveloped financial sectors would benefit from boosting financial inclusion (for example, efforts to reduce the costs of bank account for individuals) and creating sound and resilient banking sectors that offer the right mix of long-term saving instruments. Financial literacy could foster a culture of saving and help people better plan for retirement. And government policies could focus on increasing voluntary private saving; for example, by providing tax-preferred saving vehicles related to pensions, such as the 401(K) plans in the United States. Tax-preferred general or education saving accounts could also be considered, but participation of middle-income households would be essential for these schemes to generate additional saving rather than displacing existing saving elsewhere (OECD 2007). Nudges to encouraging workers to save can also help; for example, by automatically enrolling them in pension schemes, as in the United Kingdom.

Counteracting the effect of aging on labor supply. On current demographic trends, many countries will face a declining labor force, which will drive down saving. Policies should focus on reforms that close gender gaps in labor force participation (as was done in Italy and Spain) and encourage people to lengthen their productive work lives, given their increased longevity. Policy actions could include ensuring equal remuneration for equal work and providing childcare services. Governments can make it easier for older people to remain in the workforce by reconsidering taxes and benefits that favor early retirement. Migration could also play a role in boosting the labor force in many advanced economies, but this is a politically contentious issue. In many emerging market economies, it is important to decrease the large share of young people who are neither participating in the labor market nor studying. Furthermore, reducing the large share of the labor force that does not work in the formal sector— and thus does not pay taxes or contribute to social security—could boost saving. Education and training policies could use some modifications to better align skills with rapid technological change, which will replace labor in some sectors but may be labor-augmenting in others (Manyika and others, 2017). Private (and to some extent public) saving will play a key role in helping individuals cope with these trends and changes.

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

POST SCRIPTUM8

Le Mauricien veut-il travailler ?

BILLET

Au fil de mes pérégrina-tions de fin d’année, il m’est souvent arrivé de

m’adresser en créole à des gens que je croisais dans des commerc-es ou des restaurants. Grande a été ma surprise de constater qu’en guise de réponse, je rece-vais d’abord un haussement de sourcils interrogateurs.

Exemples: Dans un super-marché au rayon légumes :

- “Laitue la bien frais?”- “Very good Sir, you can

buy...”Mon interlocuteur n’était vis-

iblement pas Mauricien... Et pourtant son job, qui consistait à peser et emballer des légumes, ne nécessitait pas une qualification telle qu’il faille le confier à un étranger qualifié.

La semaine précédente, au restaurant, une fois la carte de-mandée au serveur, je voulus avoir de lui quelques précisions sur un certain plat que je ne con-naissais pas. Après avoir bougé la tête de gauche à droite, il alla chercher un de ses collègues qui me dit en riant que l’autre était étranger et qu’il ne parlait ni créole, ni français et visiblement

ni même l’anglais.Loin de moi l’idée d’avoir

quelque considération anti-im-migration. Je ne pus quand même m’empêcher de penser qu’il au-rait été plus normal qu’un local comme moi occupe ce poste !

Deux jours plus tard, j’en dis-cutais avec un de mes amis pro-priétaires d’un restaurant. Il me confia s’arracher les cheveux devant la pénurie de main-d’œu-vre pour son établissement au point qu’il serait bientôt obligé de fermer le soir. Il me raconta dans la foulée l’inconstance criante de ceux qui acceptaient de venir travailler et qui s’en allaient sans prévenir une semaine plus tard...

Je ne vous parle pas ici du tex-tile et de la construction où la main-d’œuvre importée pallie de plus en plus la paresse du travail-leur mauricien.

Tous nos secteurs d’activité se plaignent aujourd’hui de cette pénurie de main-d’œuvre jeune. Quant aux métiers qui ont fait les beaux jours de l’artisanat mau-ricien, tailleurs de pierres, fer-ronniers, menuisiers etc, c’est la Berezina...

Pendant ce temps-là, on croise

dans les rues, aux heures de tra-vail, des centaines de jeunes, télé-phone dernier cri collé à l’oreille

et mèches colorées haute coiffure sur la tête, déambulant fièrement sans but précis...

11P O S T S C R I P T U M

OPINION

JEAN PIERRE LENOIRJean Pierre Lenoir

Les dernières recherches sur le béton présentées aux professionnelsL’utilisation du béton remonte à l’antiquité romaine et n’a eu de cesse de se développer avant de devenir au-jourd’hui le matériau de construction le plus utilisé au monde. Afin d’encourager le secteur de la construction à Maurice à se développer de manière durable et présenter les innovations dans le domaine, Gamma Materials Ltd

a organisé un séminaire consacré au béton les 16 et 17 janvier. Le premier jour a été réservé aux professionnels du secteur et la session du 17 janvier était destinée aux étudiants de quatre universités locales. Le séminaire était animé par Jonathan Mai-NHU, expert et ingénieur dans le domaine de la microstructure, de la modélisation et de la durabilité, du Centre d’étude et de recherches de l’industrie du béton (CERIB France), autorité interna-tionale en matière de béton.

Rodrigues à l’honneur avec le concours Cité Zen « Député à ma façon »

Les gagnants du concours « Député à ma façon », invitant les collégiens à réfléchir à la sécurité des mot-ocyclistes, ont été annoncés. Anne-Sophie Speville du collège Grande-Montagne à Rodrigues a ravi le premier prix doté d’un cash prize de Rs 10,000. Le concours était

organisé dans le cadre de Cité Zen, programme de sen-sibilisation à la sécurité routière mené depuis 2013 par Vivo Energy Mauritius, l’entreprise qui distribue et commercialise les carburants et lubrifiants de la marque Shell à Maurice. Il avait pour originalité de proposer aux élèves des Grades 9 à 13 de rédiger un projet de loi visant à mieux encadrer la circulation des deux-roues motor-isés. Richa Rughoobeer (Droopnath Ramphul State College) et Devi Chaya Goolaub (France Boyer de la Gi-roday SSS) remportent respectivement les deuxième et troisième prix dotés d’un montant respectif de Rs 7 000 et Rs 5 000.

Clinique Darné : Connaître le diabète afin de mieux le traiter

Être bien informé sur la maladie et ses traitements est une bataille à moitié gagnée. Dans cet esprit et dans le cadre de la Journée mondiale du diabète qui s’est tenue le 14 novembre 2018, Fortis Clinique Darné a organisé une causerie, intitulée « A Nu Mett Enn Dialog », une discussion dans un cadre informel et éducatif avec l’un des principaux experts en diabétologie, le Dr Suleiman Shimjee. L’atelier consistait en une présentation de ce qu’est réellement le diabète, en insistant beaucoup sur les différences entre le diabète de type 1, qui est le moins courant et qui a plus de chances de survenir durant l’en-fance et même durant l’adolescence. La causerie, qui s’est déroulée dans le bloc administratif de la Fortis Clin-ique Darné, était ouverte au public. Un grand nombre de personnes à travers l’île ont assisté à la réunion afin de bénéficier des conseils d’experts sur la manière de traiter cette maladie.

SAMEDI 19 JANVIER 2019 | BIZWEEK | ÉDITION 224

DEBRIEF9

La Place Cap Tamarin doté bientôt d’un magasin « U Express »

Un magasin « U Express » ouvrira bientôt ses portes, soit en mars 2019, à La Place Cap Tamarin, centre commercial du groupe Trime-tys et qui fait partie du développement ‘Cap Tamarin Smart & Hap-py Village’. « U Express est avant tout un concept de magasin moderne, qui mêle proximité et fonctionnalité », explique Pascal Tsin, promoteur et CEO de « U Express » à Maurice.

U Express répondra aux aspirations des consommateurs désireux de trouver, en proximité, un choix adéquat de produits ainsi que de la qualité à un prix accessible, incluant des produits frais fournis quo-tidiennement. Le concept U Express est complètement en cohérence avec notre engagement pour la bonne alimentation et la santé de nos clients, ajoute-t-il.

Le magasin proposera principalement une large gamme de produits agro-alimentaires. L’enseigne participera ainsi au développement de partenariats divers avec les producteurs locaux, en mettant en valeur des produits et spécialités bien de chez nous. La clientèle trouvera une gamme importante de produits U dans le magasin, et suivra aussi le programme de fidélité de la carte U.

CSR : The Residence Mauritius remet Rs 875 000 à des ONG

Aider des institutions scolaires et des ONG de la région Est à améliorer le mode de vie des moins privilégiés. C’est dans cette optique que The Residence Mauritius a remis plusieurs chèques d’un montant global de Rs 875 000 aux différentes entités, à savoir Kewal Nagar Pre-Primary School, Lallmatie Social Welfare Center, Blood Donors Association, Eastern Welfare Association for Disabled, CEPEH, Vil-lage Hall Belle Mare, Link to Life, Laventure School et Camp Ithier Govt School. L’établissement hôtelier a convié les responsables à une cérémonie de remise de chèques, le 21 décembre dernier.

« Nous avons profité de la période festive pour faire ces dons afin de mettre du baume au cœur des bénéficiaires. Ce geste va au-delà d’un sim-ple soutien financier ; cela nous permet non seulement d’aider ces entités à atteindre leur objectif commun, qui est d’améliorer les conditions de vie des habitants de la localité, mais aussi de nous rapprocher de la com-munauté », souligne Jean François Chong, directeur général de The Residence Mauritius.

‘Crevettes’ à volonté tous les vendredis au Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel

À la recherche d’un endroit chic et convivial pour bien finir la se-maine ? Un dîner en famille, entre amis ou même entre collègues ? Tous les vendredis jusqu’au 29 mars 2019 au restaurant Brasserie Chic, c’est crevettes à volonté au dîner. Plusieurs recettes spéciale-ment élaborées par les Chefs vous seront proposées dont des crevettes grillées à la sauce au beurre d’ail ou encore des crevettes au péri-péri, le tout accompagné de riz safrané ou de frites. Le prix : Rs 1,400 par personne.

GROHE, a leading glo- bal brand for complete bathroom solutions and

kitchen faucets, continues on its road to success in 2019. In the past year, GROHE has evolved from a mere hardware manufac-turer into a driving force of the digital transformation within the sanitary industry, offering its own Internet of Things (IoT) pro- ducts. The intelligent water con-trol system GROHE Sense Guard has now arrived in the world of smart homes.

“All GROHE products, innovations and activities are based on our claim to be actively involved in handling water with a view to the future,” says Michael Rauterkus, CEO of GROHE AG. “It’s about finding answers to the most pressing issues of our time. At this year’s ISH, our big topic will be about which solutions we as GROHE can contribute in all areas of water management.”

GROHE’s commitment to smart, water-saving technologies has been acknowledged and appre-ciated. For example, at this year’s German Sustainability Award, the brand was voted among the top 3 “most sustainable big companies in Ger-many” for the third time. In addi-tion, with 63 design awards, 2018

is the most award-winning year in GROHE’s history.

Currently, GROHE is working hard to prepare for the 2019 ISH, the world’s leading trade fair for the responsible use of water and energy in buildings, which will take place in March in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. With a new

booth concept, new event formats and many innovations, GROHE will set new standards, just like at the 2017 fair. For the first time, GROHE will present itself com-prehensively as the leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions, kitchen systems and in-telligent water management.

GROHE is the driving force of the Digital TransformationFor GROHE, 2018 was all about strategic partnerships and the digitization of water. At the 2019 ISH, for the first time GROHE will present itself as one of the leading global brands for complete bathroom solutions, kitchen systems and intelligent water management

SANITARY SECTOR

Long Beach awarded as a Travelife Food Waste Champion

Sun Resorts is pleased to an-nounce that Long Beach has been named Food Waste Champion by Travelife. The five-star hotel sit-uated on the east coast of Mau-ritius in Belle-Mare ranked first before Kuramathi Maldives and Sunrise Royal Makadi Aqua Re-sort in Egypt. Travelife is a certi-

fication program that gives hotels and other accommodations the opportunity to be acknowledged for their sustainable efforts in the tourism industry. They also help to improve the efforts, and ultimate-ly, the impact of hotels on their local communities, economy and environment. Long Beach started

this month a collaboration with the University of Mauritius on Nation-al Program for a research on: ‘An assessment of food waste generat-ed by the Food and Beverages sec-tor of the Hotel Industry in Mau-ritius for Sustainable Food Waste Management’ chaired by Associate Professor MF Driver, OSK.