First Independent Mena Newspaper
The World Bank announced on Tuesday a $500 million funding to help Morocco speed up its digital transformation and enhance its economic and social inclusion. The WB financial support will serve to improve financial inclusion and access to more competitive digital infrastructure and services for businesses and individuals. It also aims to spur private sector […]
The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (Baft) has launched earlier this June a regional Africa council, bringing together senior banking leaders from institutions across the continent to provide guidance for the association’s members locally. The council will look to address common challenges faced by banks in Africa, including capital treatment for trade finance, transition […]
Morocco has moved to the second phase of its confinement easing allowing cafes, restaurants and recreational businesses to open at half capacity, the interior, health and trade ministries said. Passenger traffic will resume between Moroccan cities except Marrakech, Tangier, Asilah, Larache and Kenitra where lockdown is stricter. Domestic flights and railways will start operating as […]
Moroccan economy has so far shown resilience and agility in responding to the coronavirus pandemic making it one of the least impacted in the MENA region by the pandemic, MENA and Central Asia director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour said. “Morocco is one of the countries that knew how to efficiently manage […]
Attijariwafa bank has added a new trophy to its rich record of accomplishments at national and continental levels, after the prestigious international journal Global Trade Review named the banking institution as Leader in Trade in Morocco in 2020. This trophy rewards leading banks in terms of financing foreign trade in their country. The Casablanca-based Attijariwafa […]
The mining industry in Zambia, the country’s main provider of foreign exchange, brought in $60 to $65 million from February to April, compared to the $90 million expected. Zambia is the second largest copper-producing country on the continent. Severe global restrictions on movement have hit mining supply chains and hindered the export and sale of […]
The World Bank has approved a $48-million loan to Morocco to enable the country mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic which has so far infected 8,985 people in the North African Kingdom, killed 212, while 7,960 others recovered. The loan, which is part of an ongoing Program for Results project, approved in 2015, aims […]
Head of Moroccan employers association (CGEM) Chakib Alj said the key interest rate and reserve requirement cut to 1.5% and 0% respectively are conducive for an economic recovery from the repercussions of the coronavirus. These cuts give banks more flexibility in financing enterprises during this crisis notably SMEs, he told local media. The government has […]
Morocco’s central bank cut the key interest rate from 2% to 1.5% to shore up the economy and reduced the reserve requirement for banks to 0% to release more liquidity. The Bank revised downwards its forecasts for 2020 to -5.2%, the lowest rate since 1996, compared with 2.5% in 2019, as the coronavirus impact and […]
King Mohammed VI has ordered the shipment of medical aid to help 15 African countries in their efforts to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, the foreign ministry said. The medical aid is made of nearly 8 million facemasks, 900,000 face shields, 600,000 hygiene caps, 60,000 protective clothing and 30,000 liters of sanitizers in addition to […]