Americas Finance Headlines International Morocco

US Grants Morocco $670,000 to cushion coronavirus blow

The United States government has granted Morocco $670,000 (6.6 millionDH) to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), announced the US embassy in Rabat.   The funds are provided by the Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infections Diseases at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the embassy in a statement.   […]

Finance Headlines Morocco

Fitch Ratings: Morocco has Buffers against Pressure on its Finances due to Covid-19

Pressure exerted on Morocco’s current account deficit (CAD) and external finances have increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic global shock, Fitch Ratings says. However, the North African country has buffers to manage increased pressures, including recently displayed willingness to adjust the flexibility of the exchange rate regime, adds the international rating agency. Disruptions to […]

Finance Headlines Maghreb Morocco

Covid-19: Morocco to start paying compensations to the unemployed

Moroccan pension fund CNSS will start distributing a monthly compensation to the people who lost their jobs due to the consequences of coronavirus. Since Morocco imposed a quarantine and banned all travel, many employees of the tourism sector, services and non-essential sectors lost their jobs or were unpaid. The economic monitoring committee said the people […]

Finance Headlines Morocco

Morocco freezes public sector hiring due to Covid-19

Head of the Moroccan government Saad Eddine El Otmani asked all public sector administrations to put off hiring new employees until the end of the coronavirus crisis. In a sign of austerity measures, El Otmani also ordered in a letter delaying all promotions planned in the current budget. The Prime minister said that the job […]

Africa Finance Headlines International

African Finance Ministers Call for Coordinated COVID-19 Response

African Finance Ministers have called for a coordinated COVID-19 response to mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic on economies and society, noting that Africa needs an immediate emergency economic stimulus of $100 billion. The ministers, who met on 19 March in a virtual conference to exchange ideas on the efforts of their respective governments […]

Asia Europe Finance Headlines International

COVID-19-Iran: EU to channel €20 million in humanitarian aid

The European Union will send €20 million in humanitarian aid to Iran which is subject to US sanctions and struggling with the Coronavirus pandemic. The announcement came from the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a video news conference on Monday. “We’ve not been able to provide a lot of humanitarian help but there […]

Finance Headlines Tunisia

Tunisia: IMF to disburse $400m to support fight against Coronavirus

The International Monetary Fund will shortly disburse $400 million to support Tunisia in its fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nizar Yaich on a private radio station. This sum of money will be disbursed in the coming two to three weeks, he added. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said […]

Egypt Finance Headlines

Egypt: World Bank supports housing for low-income households with $500m

The World Bank has granted Egypt a $500 million additional financing destined to support ongoing efforts to improve the affordability of formal housing for low-income households, the Washington-based institution said in a statement. The financing also seeks to strengthen Egypt’s Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund capacity to design policies and coordinate social housing programs. […]

Columns Finance Headlines Morocco Opinions

Coronavirus outbreak and the return to strong welfare states

The advent of the coronavirus and its tragic fallout on human lives, social order and the economy have undermined the neoliberal order as a return to the welfare state sounds best suited to deal with such repercussions.     The state has taken health, security, education and the ordinary functioning of the market into its […]

Finance Headlines Maghreb Morocco

Morocco to offer financial help to the unemployed and suffering businesses due to Covid-19

A Moroccan committee adopted a series of measures, including stipends for the unemployed and loan and tax deferrals for enterprises in difficult financial conditions due to the coronavirus outbreak. Employees who lost their jobs will receive 2000 dirhams monthly and continue to benefit from family allowances and mandatory health coverage as well as a three-month […]