Morocco: Towards a new competitive investment charter fostering participation of private funds; giving incentives to economy driving sectors

Morocco is elaborating a new investment charter meant to foster the participation of private funds in a bid to reverse the current trend as private investment represents only about one third of total investment.

In this connection, King Mohammed VI chaired, on Wednesday at the Royal Residence of Bouznika, a working session devoted to this new investment charter, said the Royal office in a statement, recalling that during the opening of the fall session of the Parliament, the Sovereign had called in a speech for the adoption, the soonest possible, of a new competitive investment charter.

The project, which is in line with the spirit and ambition of the New Development Model, aims to reverse the current trend where private investment represents only about one third of total investment, with public investment representing two thirds, the statement said, adding that the goal is to increase the share of private investment to two-thirds of total investments by 2035.

The major objectives of the new text are embodied in the creation of employment, the promotion of an equitable development of the territories, and the prioritization of the driving sectors of the economy.

To this end, the draft of the new charter establishes some supporting mechanisms, such as common principles on premiums, in support of investments that fall in line with the royal orientations, the objectives of the New Development Model, and the priorities set by the government.

It also establishes additional territorial bonus to encourage investments that can contribute to the economic development of less favored regions in the country; and additional sectoral bonus to give incentives to growth driving sectors.

The draft text likewise provides for exclusive support measures for strategic projects such as the defense or pharmaceutical industries, a specific support mechanism for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises, in addition to a mechanism for the development of Moroccan investments abroad.

During the working session, King Mohammed VI urged the government to speed work on this path and to prepare the implementation details of the new investment charter.

The Sovereign also emphasized the role that the national private sector should play in this project, inviting the government to actively involve private operators, including the CGEM and the GPBM, in the implementation process of the charter.

The King insisted that the renovation of the legal and incentive schemes remains dependent on their proper implementation and regular monitoring of their execution on the ground, in order to give a new impetus to private investment and to enshrine the Kingdom as a privileged land of investment at the regional and international level, said the Royal Office.