Mauritius business confidence bounces back in last quarter of 2015

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Higher sales volumes boosted business confidence in Mauritius during the last quarter of 2015 after a decline in the previous quarter, a survey of leading private-sector companies showed on Thursday. The Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry's quarterly confidence index climbed 6 percent to 93.4 points. However, the index remained well below the long-term average of 100 points since the third quarter of 2012. The Indian Ocean island's economy grew by an estimated 3.4 percent in 2015, down from a forecast of 3.6 percent issued in September. Statistics Mauritius forecast growth at 3.9 percent this year with an expected rebound in the construction sector. Chamber economist Renganaden Padayachy said 49.1 percent of business leaders interviewed in the survey said expansion and diversification prospects into new markets were the main growth drivers in the last quarter of 2015. "A majority of enterprises are confident for 2016 and expect an improvement in their business this year," he told a news conference. (Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Drazen Jorgic and Dale Hudson)