. these companies represent a direct threat to financial stability. i must here stress that should this not be done, companies would face difficulties in servicing their financial obligations, thus adversely impacting the banking sector. the risk of citizens losing their jobs is high. in this respect, mic will invest in large - and medium - sized enterprises having a minimum annual turnover of rs100 million ; second, invest in companies geared towards building self - sufficiency in key basic necessities ; third, invest in companies enhancing mauritius as an innovation - driven economy ; and last but not least, it will support the development of return - generating key strategic assets and projects. to meet its objective, up to two billion us dollars from the foreign exchange reserves of the bank will be made available to the mic. mic will invest and manage these funds with a view of building a value base for the citizens of mauritius. i must again point out that globally returns are in negative territories. by promptly investing part of our reserves in our country in these testing times, we are investing and building the future of mauritius, hence allowing for orderly and balanced economic development. i must reassure the public that, should the full amount of usd 2 billion be used, the foreign exchange reserves of the bank would still remain at an adequate level which is well above the 3 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches international norm. mic will invest in eligible companies through a number of investment tools including both equity and quasi - equity instruments. transparency, good governance and independence will be the bywords of the mic. the mic will be run within a strict governance structure and in line with international norms. the board of directors of mic will comprise an independent chairman, the first deputy governor, the second deputy governor, and two non - executive directors. i am pleased to announce that lord meghnad desai, member of the house of lords of the uk and renowned economist, has agreed to chair the board of the mic. there will be two distinct committees that will be set up : an investment committee, made up of independent experts who will assess all projects and make appropriate recommendation to the board of mic. an asset management committee will manage the assets under mic. mic will work closely with commercial banks in achieving its objectives. mic will publish its audited financial statements and an annual report covering its activities during its financial year. the financial statements will be consolidated with that of the bank. concluding remarks amidst this rising uncertainty, the bank of mauritius is focused on working towards an

harvesh seegolam : measures of the covid - 19 support programme and setting up of the mauritius investment corporation statement by mr harvesh seegolam, governor of the bank of mauritius, to the press, port louis, 29 may 2020. * * * friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. welcome to this press conference. i will provide you with an insight on the current economic situation and also elaborate on the latest measures which the bank has announced under its ongoing covid - 19 support programme. let me at the very outset give you an overview on where the global economy stands. what we are experiencing today are unprecedented economic conditions. major companies around the world have shown worrying signs of distress leading to rapid job losses. the ensuing implications on financial stability are serious. i must emphasise that there is still substantial uncertainty on how the pandemic will evolve and what will be the ultimate impact on economies. as you are aware the world continues to face an unmatched crisis. global productive capacity and demand have shrunk massively as the pandemic intensified. both production and the global supply chain have been severely disrupted by the “ great lockdown ”, as termed by the imf. the global economic outlook has turned gloomier since april 2020, as countries struggle to contain the pandemic. most economists no longer see a ‘ v ’ shape recovery of the global economy and predictions are for a much longer downturn. more than 150 countries around the world will be facing a gdp contraction. policy responses by central banks faced with such worsening situations, central banks around the world are finding themselves in the frontlines. since the onset of the pandemic, central banks have resorted to all kinds of measures, whether conventional and unconventional measures to salvage their respective economies. central banks are being looked up as saviours in these testing times. domestic economic outlook and risks mauritius, as well, is not being spared by this global crisis. much has already been said about the impact and threat that the pandemic increasingly poses to our economy. the sectors most at risk include tourism, manufacturing in particular exports of textile, wholesale and storage, business and administrative activities, ict / bpo, transportation amongst others. these sectors account for nearly 40 per cent of gdp. the contraction in output this year will be severe and we have estimated that the economy could contract between 7. 5 % and 15 %. the bank is monitoring the situation closely.