Extract from the speech of Mr Patrice d'Hotman de Villiers, Chairman of Mauritian Eagle Insurance, made during the cocktail organised at The Hilton Mauritius Resort & Spa Hotel in Wolmar, Flic en Flac, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Mauritian Eagle Insurance :

"I am pleased to welcome you this evening to the 30th anniversary celebration of Mauritian Eagle Insurance. I would like to briefly recap the numerous milestones which have paved the history of the company.

Mauritian Eagle Insurance was incorporated in December 1973 and started its operations in 1974 as a general insurance company. It started as a joint venture between Ireland Blyth Ltd, which owned 80% of the shareholding, and South African Eagle Insurance now a member of the Zurich Financial Services group, which owned the remaining 20% of the shareholding. The first chairman of the company was Mr Colin Hare, an Executive Director of IBL, and its first General Manager, Mr Mike Hepburn.

In 1991, the company then headed by Mr Guy Leroux as General Manager obtained its licence to provide Life Assurance. The company was among the first to be listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius in 1993 with a resulting change in shareholding profile. The general public having been offered and having taken up a 25% share in the company's shareholding, IBL's and South African Eagle's shareholding were diluted to 60% and 15% respectively.

In 1996 Mauritian Eagle Insurance acquired a 15% stake in H Savy Insurance in the Seychelles, one of the only 2 insurance companies of the archipelago. This association has developed into a mutually beneficial relationship which so far has been quite profitable.

In October 2001 with Mr Gaetan Lan as Managing Director,the company enhanced its activities as financial services provider by creating the Mauritian Eagle Leasing Co in which it holds a majority stake. In September 2003, Mauritian Eagle became the first insurance company in Mauritius to receive the ISO 9001:2000 certification. This certification came as a testimony to the dedicated efforts of the whole staff to deliver quality service to its customers.

From a mere Rs 1million invested as equity in 1973 the company is now one of the leaders in general insurance holding one of the strongest balance sheets of the industry in Mauritius. This should provide quite a level of comfort and security to the clients of Mauritian Eagle Insurance specially following the events which have shaken the insurance world lately. In spite of the difficult market conditions which have prevailed over the last few years, the priorities of Mauritian Eagle Insurance have been to innovate and try to meet the clients' needs. The market has shown its appreciation to such an approach. I would like to thank all the players namely clients, brokers, agents and reinsurers for their support.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the staff of Mauritian Eagle for their professionalism and the quality of service being offered which have contributed immensely to the company's development. From a company with a staff of 15 and a turnover of Rs2.7M in 1974,the company now employs 58 people and has a turnover which neared the Rs400M mark in 2003. With its subsidiary Mauritian Eagle Leasing, we expect the group's turnover to reach the Rs600M mark in the coming financial year.

I would like, on this auspicious occasion, to congratulate Mauritian Eagle Insurance for the quality of service demonstrated over the last 30 years and to wish them continued success over the many years to come."