Investors’ Participation in the Mauritian Stock Market

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Applied Research in Management, Economics and Accounting

Year: 2026

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Investors’ Participation in the Mauritian Stock Market

Dr. Ushad Subadar Agathee, Coorjee Darshinee Nagjee

ABSTRACT:

Stock markets are important as they help to unlock a range of investment opportunities. However, in many developing countries, there is still a tendency for stock market participation rates to remain low as many individuals still prefer traditional financial instruments offered mainly by banking institutions. Against this backdrop, it is important to study the factors affecting investors’ stock market participation. As such, the aim of this paper is to consider the investment intention of individual investors in Mauritian Stock market. Based on the Theory of Planned behaviour, a survey has been carried based on a sample of 124 investors on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM). The main findings reveal that attitudes towards stock market participation, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and age significantly impact on intention to invest on the SEM. Interestingly, it is found that age is inversely associated with investment intention implying that on average, younger investors are more likely to take on more risky equity investments on the local stock market. The results also highlight and reinforce the policy implications on the importance of stock market literacy towards the younger age groups in developing a conducive investment culture for more stock market participation.

Keywords: Stock Market, Behavioural Finance, Financial Literacy, Investments, Mauritius