Agriculture Drought pushes up sheep price for Eid in Morocco The price for a sheep in Morocco for the annual sacrifice at Eid al-Adha has increased on average at 10 times the 2.2 percent rate of inflation. A medium-sized female sheep costs MAD4000 ($400) as opposed to MAD3000 last year. This puts it out of range for many families in the country where a high […] June 17, 2024
Infrastructure Project to ease Casablanca water crisis begins Construction has begun on a $653 million seawater desalination plant to combat water shortages in Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco. The plant, one of the biggest in Africa, will have an annual production capacity of 300 million cubic metres, serving an estimated 7.5 million people, Morocco World News reported. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI […] June 11, 2024
Aviation Airbus to expand production in Morocco as orders grow European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is expanding its production capacity in Morocco to meet growing demand for its aircraft. The Airbus Atlantic Morocco Composites plant in Nouaceur aims to build parts for 75 A320 family aircraft per month by 2026. The 30,000 square metres plant, with 17,000 square metres dedicated to workshops, “specialises in producing composite […] June 11, 2024
Manufacturing Morocco signs Chinese deal to build EV battery factory China has announced a second large-scale investment in Morocco’s electric vehicle sector with plans for an EV battery factory to take advantage of access to the European market and a burgeoning automotive sector. A $1.3 billion deal has been signed between the Moroccan government and the Chinese-European group Gotion High Tech to build a gigafactory […] June 7, 2024
Infrastructure Morocco to invest $1bn in public transport Morocco is to invest $1.1 billion to enhance its public transport network in the latest move to improve the North African country’s infrastructure. The plan, announced by the Ministry of Interior and will be centred around the provision of 3,500 new buses by 2029, which will operated in 32 cities. Interior minister Abdelouafi Laftit said […] June 4, 2024
Oil & Gas $25bn Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline gains momentum Morocco’s energy minister has said studies on a $25 billion gas pipeline with Nigeria, which will be backed by investment from the UAE, are almost finished. Work is underway to determine the best route for the pipeline, Morocco World News, a daily news outlet, reported, quoting Leila Benali. The front-end engineering design (Feed) studies cover […] May 31, 2024
Economy AfDB launches $13bn plan to support Moroccan economy The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched its €12 billion ($13 billion) five-year strategic roadmap to support Morocco’s economic growth. The new strategy aligns with the country’s new development model until 2035 and will strengthen Morocco’s economic competitiveness and resilience, sustainable growth, and consolidating economic and social inclusion dynamics, the bank said. “This new strategy […] May 28, 2024
Manufacturing Stellantis to remove Italian flag from Fiats made in Morocco The automobile giant Stellantis will remove the Italian flag from its Fiat Topolino model after being accused of breaking Made In Italy laws because the car – technically a quadricycle – was produced in Morocco. Dozens of the vehicles were seized at the port of Livorno for violations of the law, which insists on strict […] May 22, 2024
Finance EU reveals total aid to North Africa to combat migration The European Union provided €673 million ($718 million) in funding to four North African countries from 2021-23 to help the quartet reduce what it calls irregular migration to the 27-member bloc, official data shows. Last year about 270,000 “irregular migrants” arrived in the EU via sea crossings, 64 percent more than in 2022. Crossings from […] April 28, 2024
Logistics Boeing plane conversion facility to be built in Casablanca A production facility is to be set up in Morocco to convert Boeing 777-300ER passenger jets into freighters. Stratos Industries will build three wide-body aircraft hangars at the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca as part of a deal between US-based companies Kansas Modification Center (KMC) and Integrated Aerospace Alliance (IAA). KMC will convert up […] April 25, 2024
People & Lifestyle Cairo has most billionaires in Africa, but wealthy are leaving Cairo is home to more billionaires than any other African city, but Egypt is facing an exodus of its wealthiest citizens. The international wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners said Cairo is home to four billionaires, and 30 centi-millionaires – those worth $100 million or more. Most reside in affluent parts of Greater Cairo, including […] April 25, 2024
Renewable Energy Cost of Xlinks Morocco-UK project balloons by a third The cost of an ambitious project to deliver green energy from the south of Morocco to power homes in the UK has ballooned by more than a third to $30 billion. Xlinks First is behind the Morocco-UK renewables project, which would construct the world’s longest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea power cable between the North […] April 19, 2024
Opinion Media & Advertising AI will free up local creatives for more award-winning campaigns Robots can help, but it's still humans who win the trophies April 12, 2024
Oil & Gas British companies strike deal on Moroccan offshore gas licences Two British energy companies have completed a deal over stakes in two offshore Moroccan gas licences. The transaction between Chariot Energy and Energean, announced Wednesday, involves the Lixus and Rissana offshore licences. The Lixus Offshore licence covers an area of sea north of Rabat of approximately 1,800 sq km, with water depths ranging from the […] April 11, 2024
Analysis Economy Lebanon needs more than US rate cuts to turn its economy around Probable US interest rate cuts could help Jordan and Morocco attract additional foreign investments as well as easing their already manageable loan repayment commitments, experts predict, but Lebanon’s financial problems remain so acute that a reduced debt burden will make little difference. US 10-year treasury yields – the most important determinant of government borrowing conditions […] April 9, 2024
Tourism Morocco denies subsidising Ryanair domestic flights Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism has denied claims that it is subsidising the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair’s expansion across the country. Ryanair will open domestic flights throughout Morocco from the summer as part of its $1.4 billion investment in the North African country. It had been reported that the Moroccan National Tourism Office would be providing […] April 8, 2024
Transport UK’s Global Ports to operate Casablanca cruise terminal A consortium led by British cruise operator Global Ports Holding (GPH) has secured preferred bidder status for operating a new cruise terminal in Casablanca. The consortium was awarded a 15-year concession agreement with Morocco’s state-owned Agence Nationale des Ports (ANP). The consortium and ANP are working towards finalising the concession terms, the London stock exchange-listed […] April 8, 2024
Trade Israel’s trade with Arab countries up 16% in 2023 Trade between Israel and the seven Arab countries that have normalised relations with the Jewish state broke records in 2023, exceeding $4 billion, up 16 percent from 2022, according to a report. Bilateral trade among the nations decreased by only 4 percent following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October, from $937 million […] April 5, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Manufacturing Stellantis boss hails ‘massive untapped potential’ in Gulf Samir Cherfan tells AGBI about his plans to lift car sales across the GCC April 4, 2024
Agriculture UAE’s Invictus buys 60% of Moroccan grain trader Invictus Investment Company has acquired a 60 percent stake in Morocco’s largest grain trader, Graderco, and its subsidiaries from Zalar Holding. The deal will lead to 20 percent growth in consolidated revenues over the nine-month post-acquisition period, said the Abu Dhabi-listed company. Invictus reported revenue of AED8.1 billion ($2.2 billion) and 5.4 million metric tonnes in […] April 1, 2024
Infrastructure Morocco issues tender for high-speed rail to Marrakech Morocco has issued a tender for a high-speed rail link as part of its $37 billion strategy to connect more of its cities, ports and airports by train. The national rail operator ONCF is seeking companies to build a 375km line, which will stretch from Kenitra on the northwest coast to Marrakech in the south. […] March 26, 2024
Sustainability Acwa Power faces $47m loss in Morocco solar plant outage Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power estimates it will incur a revenue loss of $47 million following a breakdown at one of its Morocco renewable energy plants. The 150-megawatt Noor III solar power plant will face a “forced outage” until November 2024 due to a leak in the molten salt hot tank, the company said in a […] March 25, 2024
