Section 46: Official foreign reserves

46. Official foreign reserves (1) Subject to this section, the Bank shall maintain and manage, on a best effort basis, the official foreign reserves of Mauritius consisting of all or any of the following – (a) gold; (b) foreign exchange in the form of currency or bank balances held by the Bank or for its account abroad, denominated in convertible currencies; (c) the holdings by Mauritius of Special Drawing Rights issued by the International Monetary Fund; (d) securities denominated in convertible currencies, and claims resulting from their purchase or sale and repurchase; (e) such other assets denominated in convertible currencies as the Board may approve. (2) The Board shall determine the composition of the official foreign reserves and it shall aim to achieve their security, liquidity and return, in that order of priority. (3) Subject to subsection (2), the Board shall determine the investment policy regarding the management of the official foreign reserves of Mauritius. (4) Subject to section 25, the Bank may appoint any consultant, or other person, of international repute and with proven experience, to manage the official foreign reserves on its behalf. 260 Acts 2019 (g) in section 47, by repealing subsection (5) and replacing it by the following subsection – (5) Funds out of the Special Reserve Fund may be used, only and strictly, in the following order of priority – (a) for the purpose of increasing the amount paid as capital of the Bank in accordance with section 10(4); (b) by the Bank, in exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Board – (i) for monetary policy purposes; (ii) for repayment of central government external debt obligations, provided that this is not likely to adversely affect the efficient discharge by the Bank of its functions under this Act. (h) in section 50(6)(a), by deleting the words “or requirement imposed by the Bank” and replacing them by the words “by the Bank or requirement imposed”; (i) in section 52 – (i) in subsection (1), by inserting, after the words “hire purchase or”, the words “, any crowdlending platform or any”; (ii) in subsection (1A), by inserting, after the words “hire purchase, or”, the words “any crowdlending platform or any”; (iii) in subsection (5A), by deleting the words “or utility body” and replacing them by the words “, a crowdlending platform or a utility body”; (iv) in subsection (7), by inserting, in the appropriate alphabetical order, the following new definition – “crowdlending platform” means an online portal or electronic platform to facilitate the offering, execution Acts 2019 261 or issuance of funds between prospective lenders and borrowers, and which holds an appropriate licence issued by the Financial Services Commission; (j) in section 52A, by inserting, after subsection (1), the following new subsections – (1A) The Bank may seek the collaboration or co-operation of the Financial Services Commission and such other agency, other than the Financial Intelligence Unit or the Counterterrorism Unit, as may be necessary for the establishment of the Registry. (1B) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the Financial Services Commission and any agency referred to in subsection (1A) may extend such collaboration and assistance as they may determine to the Bank for the prompt and efficient establishment of the Registry.