{"id":1436,"date":"2011-12-31T03:13:16","date_gmt":"2011-12-31T03:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/2011\/12\/31\/manou-bheenick\/"},"modified":"2019-11-27T12:41:08","modified_gmt":"2019-11-27T08:41:08","slug":"manou-bheenick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/manou-bheenick\/","title":{"rendered":"Banker of the Year, Africa\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Banker<\/u><\/em> designates Manou Bheenick as Central\u00a0<\/u><\/span><\/h4>\n

The role of central bank governor has come under increasing scrutiny over the past 12 months as markets in the developed world continued to wobble. <\/strong>The Banker<\/strong><\/em> (a professional magazine of the Financial Times Group, UK) recognises those who have led their countries\u2019 economies through what has been another tumultuous year.<\/strong>\u00a0 Mauritius is particularly vulnerable to the vagaries of external inflationary pressures, thanks to the openness of its economy and the fact that food and fuel \u2013 which mostly have to be imported \u2013 make up 40% of its consumer price index.<\/span><\/p>\n

The past three years have hardly been easy for Rundheersing Bheenick, governor of the Bank of Mauritius. First, he had to deal with a sharp fall in inflation in 2009 as the island\u2019s tourism industry and sugar and textile exports slowed, hurting the economy. Then, thanks to a quick recovery from late 2010, inflationary pressure increased again.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the country has been fortunate to have him as its central banker during this volatile period. From the moment he was appointed in February 2007, he has proved himself to be a reformer and far-sighted operator.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within two months of starting the job, he created a monetary policy committee (MPC). Mr Bheenick cites interest rate decisions being made by consensus, rather than opaquely by the governor, as a big reason for Mauritius\u2019s stable inflation since then.<\/span><\/p>\n

The MPC moved quickly to deal with the forces buffeting Mauritius during its downturn, cutting its key repo rate sharply, which helped launch the country\u2019s recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2011, the Bank of Mauritius had to react carefully to the economy\u2019s renewed buoyancy and ensure inflation did not rise too far. It succeeded, thanks largely to the MPC\u2019s decision to put up the repo rate from 4.75% to 5.5% in the course of the first nine months.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Bheenick says that November\u2019s inflation rate of 6.6% \u2013 significantly below the levels of 9% to 10% witnessed between 2006 and 2008 \u2013 marks the peak of the cycle. He expects it to fall to between 5% and 5.5% by June, within what he calls the central bank\u2019s \u201ccomfort zone\u201d of 4% to 6%.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Bheenick has helped Mauritius\u2019s economy, expected to grow 4% in real terms in 2012, in other ways too. In April 2011, to boost credit growth, he capped banks\u2019 holdings of Treasury bills \u2013 the rates of which he said had fallen to \u201cunacceptably\u201d low levels \u2013 to 20% of their liquid assets. \u201cWhen the crisis hit, our bankers seemed to become a bit risk averse,\u201d he says. \u201cThey preferred to sit on extra liquidity instead of lending it.\u201d Credit growth rose to a healthy 12% by the end of 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n

The central bank\u2019s policies have also led to a stable Mauritian rupee, which, unlike most other African currencies, appreciated against the dollar last year. Mr Bheenick had faced plenty of pressure from the island\u2019s exporters to weaken it, but he refused to budge, something he firmly believes is in Mauritius\u2019s long-term interests. \u201cWe do not believe we can gain competitiveness by depreciating the currency,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was the quick fix our exporters were always asking for. They had got used to it and were very surprised I didn\u2019t want to deliver on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Manou Bheenick<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 31 December 2011<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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