The government of Mauritius established State Bank of Mauritius in 1973 under the name State Commercial Bank. In 1994, SBM opened its first overseas branch in Mumbai, India. In 1995, the bank was listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. Then in 1997 the South African bank Nedcor acquired 20.1% of SBM’s voting equity. That same year SBM opened its second branch in India in Chennai, and the next year one in Hyderabad, India. Banque SBM Madagascar, a fully owned subsidiary of SBM, started banking operations in Madagascar in January 1998. The company operates from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. The next year, SBM and Nedcor established SBM Nedcor International (SNI) as a 50/50 joint venture to engage in offshore banking, and SNI started operations in 2000. In order to avoid any conflict of interest with SBI International, Mauritius (formerly State Bank International), another joint venture offshore company between SBM and State Bank of India, SBM disinvested its 49 percent…