Port Louis - Mauritius has cut its economic growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 3.5 percent, the statistics office said on Monday, citing lower growth in textile and information and communication sectors.
Statistics Mauritius said the economy grew by 2.4 percent in the first quarter against 3.8 percent a year earlier.
The Indian Ocean island, with an annual gross domestic product of $10 billion, had in March forecast 3.7 percent growth this year, after a 3.2 percent expansion in 2013.
“Textile manufacturing (is) to grow at a rate of 1.5 percent, based on exports data for the first quarter of 2014 compared to the 2.6 percent growth observed in 2013,” Statistics Mauritius said in a statement.
The information and communication sector is also expected to grow at a slower pace, by 6.5 percent from an earlier forecast of 6.9 percent, the agency said.
Last week the deputy managing director of the IMF, Min Zhu, told Reuters Mauritius' economy would grow by 3.7 percent this year, driven by financial services sector.
The island state is striving to diversify its economy to cut a reliance on the economically troubled euro zone, its main source of revenue from tourism and a major market for its textiles, sugar and services industry. - Reuters