Banking & Finance Morocco signs $109m loan deal with African bank Morocco has received a loan worth €100 million ($109 million) from the African Development Bank to fund new investment and sustainable infrastructure projects across the country. The loan agreement was signed with Fonds d’Equipement Communal, a bank dedicated to financing investment projects and development programmes in Morocco. Funds will be used to improve public services, […] March 19, 2024
Renewable Energy Morocco offers new incentives for green hydrogen investors Morocco has launched new incentives to attract investors in green hydrogen projects. The Rabat government has allotted 1 million hectares (almost 3,900 square miles) of land for new projects as part of its “hydrogen offer,” the office of Morocco’s prime minister, Aziz Akhannouch, said in a statement. The first phase involves making 300,000 hectares of […] March 17, 2024
Renewable Energy XLinks reaffirms UK is priority for Morocco power project British renewable power company Xlinks is “100 percent committed to the UK” despite reports suggesting it was refocusing its attention on Germany. Xlinks is overseeing the $22 billion Morocco-UK renewables project, which involves building solar panel and wind farms in the desert of the North African country. Via the installation of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) […] March 13, 2024
Food & Drink Morocco gets $188m to build three desalinisation plants Moroccan fertiliser company OCP Group has secured $188 million worth of funding to build three new seawater desalinisation plants as part of the government’s emergency plan for drinking water supply. The state-backed company signed an agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund its green investment programme. The construction of the new desalinisation plants […] February 21, 2024
Employment Morocco job market hit by rise in rural unemployment Morocco’s unemployment rate increased by 13 percent to nearly 1.6 million last year as the country’s rural areas haemorrhaged jobs. Between 2022 and 2023, the national economy lost 157,000 jobs, according to the latest figures from the Higher Commission of Planning. Although urban areas recorded an increase of 41,000 jobs, employment in rural parts of […] February 7, 2024
Trade UAE’s Invictus seeks takeover of Moroccan grain trader Invictus Investment Company is planning to acquire a majority stake in one of the largest grain traders in Morocco as it seeks to expand operations across Africa. The UAE commodities house, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi bourse, is aiming to buy a 60 percent stake in Graderco from Zalar Holding. The deal is […] February 6, 2024
Trade Morocco’s 2023 trade deficit contracts on lower imports Morocco’s trade deficit narrowed 7.3 percent year on year to $28.6 billion in 2023, the country’s foreign trade watchdog, Office des Change (OE), said in a report. The improvement was due to an annual 2.9 percent reduction in imports, reaching $71.5 billion, and a marginal 0.2 percent rise year on year in export values to […] February 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Nigeria and Morocco renew focus on gas pipeline project Talks to deliver Nigerian gas to Morocco and Europe have intensified, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company said in a press release published on its website. The discussions are focused on how to accelerate the financial investment decision for the pipeline project in line with the series of memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries […] January 31, 2024
Tourism Morocco hails record tourist numbers for 2023 Morocco welcomed a record-breaking 14.5 million tourists in 2023, despite a devastating earthquake that rocked the country. The number of inbound tourists was up 34 percent on 2022 and an increase of 12 percent on pre-pandemic 2019 levels. December alone had 1.3 million tourist arrivals, despite a tough economic climate and turbulent geopolitical times. The […] January 29, 2024
Trade Saudi-Morocco fund to drive investments – and closer ties Saudi Arabia and Morocco are setting up a joint investment fund as part of a deal to strengthen co-operation between their private sectors. The Saudi-Moroccan Economic Forum, held in Riyadh on Sunday, also included an agreement on direct shipping line projects. In addition, Saudi companies will get more support in accessing North African and European […] January 23, 2024
Industry Morocco joins Mena industrial partnership Morocco has become the fifth country to join a partnership that aims to strengthen industrial integration in the Middle East and North Africa. At a meeting held in Manama, Morocco’s entry into the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth was announced, joining the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain. During the meeting $2.2 billion worth of […] January 15, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi and Morocco vie for lead in Mena EV race Two clear frontrunners in the global electric vehicle race have emerged in the Middle East and North Africa region. Both Saudi Arabia and Morocco have accelerated efforts to develop their EV capabilities in 2023, with a series of multi-million-dollar investments and partnership deals. The two kingdoms see the EV industry as central to achieving economic […] December 22, 2023
Economy Egypt to receive half EBRD regional funding in 2024 Egypt will receive the lion’s share of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s regional funding in 2024, having accounted for about 55 percent of its funds this year, the regional head of the EBRD has told AGBI. “Egypt is by far our largest country of operation in the region and will account for more […] December 21, 2023
Aviation Ryanair to begin domestic flights in Morocco in 2024 Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair will open domestic flights across Morocco from next summer as part of its $1.4 billion investment in the North African country. Ryanair will be the third airline to operate flights in Morocco, following national carrier Royal Air Moroc and the UAE’s Air Arabia. The extra commitment to Ryanair’s summer programme means […] December 13, 2023
Trade UAE and Morocco train sights on further trade with rail deal Leaders from the UAE and Morocco have signed a declaration aimed at boosting bilateral trade, including a commitment to invest in high-speed trains in the North African country. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and King Mohammed VI met during a state visit to Abu Dhabi last week. No specifics were disclosed about the […] December 12, 2023
Renewable Energy Morocco reveals strategy to speed up energy transition Morocco is accelerating plans to add 9 gigawatts to its electricity generation capacity – enough power for nearly 8 million homes – with 7GW coming from renewables. But the country will need to discover or import more gas as it bets on creating a new hydrogen economy, according to Leila Benali, its minister of energy […] December 11, 2023
Agriculture UAE companies to develop irrigation project in Morocco Dubai-based Metito Utilities and Tahliya Group, a UAE-based infrastructure company in Africa, have signed an agreement to develop an irrigation project using desalinated water in Morocco. The desalination projects will be powered by renewable energy, the companies said in a statement released during the Cop28 climate summit taking place in Dubai. No financial details on […] December 6, 2023
Saudi schools ‘doing better at maths but still lagging behind’ Saudi Arabia’s schools have improved in the past few years, but are still below the international average and a long way behind the best performers, according to the OECD. Teenagers from 81 countries were tested for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which published its 2022 report on Tuesday. The tests measured the […] December 5, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Sustainability Opec Fund piles up financing for wheat, wind and water The Opec Fund for International Development is on track to meet its pledges to increase grants and loans to climate-related projects, its Middle East and North Africa head has told AGBI. Musab Alomar, the fund’s director of public sector operations for Mena, said climate financing made up 33 percent of all Opec Fund approvals in […] November 30, 2023
Renewable Energy TotalEnergies invests $25m in Xlinks TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday that it has invested £20 million ($25.4 million) to acquire a minority stake in Xlinks, the company overseeing the £22 billion Morocco-UK renewables project. The French oil and gas major joins fellow investors Octopus Energy and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), the UAE’s largest power producer, which gave a substantial […] November 29, 2023
Renewable Energy Moroccan-French venture to build $2bn green hydrogen plant Morocco-headquartered Falcon Capital Dakhla and France’s HDF Energy have signed a deal to build a $2 billion green hydrogen production plant in the Moroccan coastal region of Dakhla. The White Dunes project seeks to produce 10 gigawatts (GW) in wind energy, 7 GW in photovoltaic energy and 8 GW in electrolysis. “We have devoted nearly […] November 19, 2023
Analysis Industry Future is rosy for Mena phosphate producers With Morocco and Saudi Arabia now holding the bulk of the world’s high-quality, accessible phosphate rock reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is a major centre for the phosphate mining industry’s future growth, analysts say. Morocco alone holds around 70 percent of the world’s total reserves of phosphate rock, the raw material […] November 17, 2023
