First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Board of Directors of the World Bank approved Saturday a $180 million loan to Morocco to finance investment projects in resilient and sustainable agriculture in the Kingdom. The loan, allocated to the Resilient and Sustainable Water Management in Agriculture (RESWAG) project, aims to strengthen the governance of water resources in the agricultural sector, improve […]
Morocco’s Casablanca Finance City topped the continental ranking in the financial centres index, holding the 54th spot globally out of 119, according to a recent report released this March by Long Finance & Financial Centre Futures. Casablanca continues to be the leading African financial centre, while Cape Town and Johannesburg continue to improve their ranking […]
Morocco and five automotive part manufacturers signed 8 investment agreements worth 1.7 billion dirhams ($1.8 billion) to set up plants in different industrial locations to boost the wiring components, key to meeting the growing orders from electric vehicle makers. Speaking during the signing ceremony, Moroccan Industry Minister Ryad Mezzour said the new investments reinforce Morocco’s […]
Morocco’s phosphates and fertilizers producer OCP posted an all-time-high profit of 1.6 billion dirhams in 2021, up 272% as the company benefits from the surge in prices of phosphates and derivatives and the high demand on fertilizers. OCP’s total earnings nearly doubled to 84.3 billion dirhams the same year, a boon to public finances hit […]
Bank Al-Maghrib, Morocco’s central bank, has decided to hold interest rates steady, contrary to the forecasts of many analysts who were expecting a hike of rates following the coronavirus pandemic, rainfall shortage and the Russia-Ukraine war. During its first meeting for the year 2022, the Board of Directors of the Bank decided to keep unchanged […]
Morocco and Israel signed a partnership agreement that will help attract investments by Israeli civilian and defense aerospace giant IAI’s. The deal was signed in Rabat by industry minister Ryad Mezzour and head of IAI’s Amir Peretz. “This is a strategic partnership…that paves the way for a win-win aerospace industrial cooperation,” said Mezzour, adding that […]
The Moroccan government started distributing subsidies to professionals in the transport sector to help mitigate the impact of the surge in energy prices on the purchasing power of citizens, marking a U-turn in its subsidies policy. This aid will benefit 180,000 professionals in different transport sectors including taxis, trucks, buses, inter-city travel and tourist transport. […]
Morocco’s central bank revised downwards this year’s growth forecast to 0.7% amid rising inflationary pressures due to fallout of the war in Ukraine and as Morocco faces an unprecedented growth. The Bank said Morocco’s cereals harvest will drop to 25 million quintals from 103 million quintals last year, amid a 57% rainfall deficit which meant […]
Japanese Sumitomo Electric Industries has decided to move its production of automotive wire harnesses to Morocco and Romania due to the Russian-Ukraine war and heightened risks in this European zone. The decision was reported Monday by Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei, saying the move will enable the manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cables to […]
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Tunisia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘CCC’ from ‘B-‘, reported Tunisian News Agency TAP. The agency said that the downgrade to ‘CCC’ reflects heightened fiscal and external liquidity risks in the context of further delays in agreeing on a new program with the IMF after the political changes of […]