First Independent Mena Newspaper
Chinese company Zhejiang Hailiang has announced plans to invest $288 million in a Moroccan facility to produce copper foil for lithium batteries to power electric vehicles. According to press reports, citing the Company’s filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the new Moroccan base will enable the Chinese producer of copper tubes and rods to meet […]
Morocco’s handicrafts exports grew to $1 billion in 2023, up 7% from a year earlier, tourism minister said. Speaking at a fair in Rabat, Fatima Zahra Ammour said her department was working to preserve 32 handicrafts. Morocco’s colourful and diversified handicrafts employ 20% of the total Moroccan workforce. Despite its strong social dimension, the sector […]
Investment opportunities in Morocco and the strength of the strategic partnership binding the Kingdom and the United States were highlighted during a roundtable discussion held in the city of Arlington, Texas (South), on the sidelines of the U.S.-Africa Business Summit which runs through May 9 in Dallas. Addressing the panel, Morocco’s ambassador to the United […]
Cocaine, cannabis resin and pharmaceutical opioids are the internationally trafficked drugs most seized in the Sahel, a region used by criminal networks and armed groups as a “natural stopover point” on trafficking routes from South America to Europe, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Drug trafficking in […]
Sweden’s Trelleborg group has pledged to invest €11 million in its plant to be set up in Morocco’s aerospace industrial zone, located in Casablanca suburbs, which are housing facilities of major industry players such as Boeing, Airbus, Sabca, Safran, Eaton, Matis, Nexans, Thales, Pilatus Hexcel… The Swedish group joins the expanding ecosystem with its engineered […]
Morocco increased eightfold the area cultivated with legal cannabis to 2078 hectares as the number of permits for investors grew to 161. Speaking to Asharq, head of the national agency for the regulation of the activities linked to cannabis, Mohamed Guerrouj, said these figures reflect the success of legalization among farmers and investors alike. “This […]
A new assessment by the Policy Center for The New South put the material damage of Sept 8 earthquake at 3 billion dirhams ($300 million), accounting for nearly 0.2% of Morocco’s GDP. The quake which hit vast swathes in the High Atlas mountains killed 3000 people and damaged 59,674 buildings, of which 32% were destroyed […]
A recent opinion poll found that China is now more popular in Africa than the United States. Yet, this popularity apparently goes hand in hand with a backlash the Chinese face in a growing number of African countries, with many accusing them of “malicious” behavior. According to a recent Gallup polling, 58% of respondents in […]
U.S.-based tech startup company Iozera has announced plans to set up a 386MW Data Center and artificial intelligence hub in the northern Moroccan city of Tetouan. The $500 million project will operate with renewable energies thanks to Morocco’s leadership in the sector. Iozera says it is designed to democratize access to advanced AI computing resources, […]
The sub-Saharan African region that holds about 30% of the world’s proven critical mineral reserves can be transformed if it can take the opportunity to develop critical minerals markets and processing industries to maximize the potential of the coming boom, the IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook says. The global transition to clean energy is set […]