Commercial court fine deepens Maroc Telecom’s debt

Maroc Telecom reported a soaring debt to 23 billion dirhams, up 32.1% as a result of the compensation it was asked to pay to its competitor Inwi for violating fair competition rules.

In July, a commercial court in Casablanca upheld a first instance verdict that found Maroc Telecom guilty of violating free competition rules and abusing its dominant position in the market.

The court ordered Maroc telecom to pay a compensation worth 6.4 billion dollars to Inwi.

In this context, the company’s net profit shrunk 2.3% increase in net profit to 4.49 billion dirhams in the first nine months this year, while the company’s revenue rose 0.7% to 27.4 billion dirhams.

In 2020, Maroc Telecom was found guilty of practicing anti-competitive practices since 2013, the regulator ARNT said, imposing a fine of 3.3 billion dirhams on the operator.

Maroc Telecom was fined for refusing to share unbundling on its network with other competitors in order to maintain monopoly of fixed broadband.