New Mauritius Hotels CEO resigns, shares up on state plan to boost tourism

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - New Mauritius Hotels said on Friday its chief executive would step down but the luxury hotel group's shares rose, extending gains on government plans to expand its budget for tourism promotion. The company said Herbert Couacaud would retire on June 30 but would stay on till the end of the year to support his successor Gilbert Espitalier-Noel, reassuring investors about a smooth handover. The firm owns eight hotels in Mauritius, one in the Seychelles and another in Morocco. By 0959 GMT, shares in one of the Indian Ocean island's most heavily traded stocks were up 4.7 percent at 67.00 rupees, continuing a climb from 57 rupees on Monday when plans to boost the tourist promotion budget were announced. "The appointment of a new CEO could also be seen by investors as bringing fresh blood to the company thus explaining the rise in stocks," Kavisen Senivassen, analyst at Anglo Mauritius Stockbrokers told Reuters. Finance Minister Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo said on Monday the budget for the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority would climb to 560 million rupees ($15.4 million) in 2015/16 from 390 million rupees. Analysts said this boosted confidence in a vital industry. The Indian Ocean island relies heavily on tourist revenues, although it has been seeking to diversify its economy by building a financial services industry. ($1 = 36.4000 Mauritius rupees)