Moroccan Investment

Moroccan Economic Growth in 2009

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:57:18 +0000

The third quarter has seen continued strong growth of 5.6 percent, in main due to excellent agriculture revenues after substantial rainfall during the growing season and the recovery of industry in the wake of the global economic slowdown, the government said on Thursday.

The projected figures were expected to be in the region of 6.1%, with non-agricultural growth providing 2.6% rather than the projected 3.1%

The economy grew 5.4% in the second quarter with similar growth figures for the first quarter of 2009, and 5.7% growth in the third quarter of 2008.

Moroccan banks have weathered the crisis and have avoided major problems during the global economic downturn, however many industries have been affected such as in the phosphate, textile and car-part industries.

The Moroccan economy generates much of its GDP from farmland and agriculture, however the government is striving to diversify its economy and provide a more balanced revenue stream, and it is by the non-agricultural growth of the economy that tells the real story of how the government is succeeding.

It is clear that bumper crops and excellent weather has helped Morocco substantially through the crisis, although strict early action was taken to ensure that Morocco did not follow in the footsteps of many worldwide economies.

The record grain harvest boosted agricultural GDP by 26 percent in the third quarter, up from 16.1 percent in the same period a year earlier, compared to non-farm growth of 2.6%

The European Union is by far the largest source of FDI, with 63% attributed to France and Spain, however exports to the USA are up 24% year on year.

Be careful where you siesta in Morocco

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:34:29 +0000

Mohammed the goat farmer is happy. “Its been a good harvest this year, I have grown 16 goats on this one tree”. he goes on to say that “picking them is fraught with difficulty”.

Hashish -The Rif mountains in North Eastern Morocco

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:30:46 +0000

Far from wishing to encourage this illegal activity, there is no hiding the fact that Hashish, or Kif, is one of Morocco’s largest earners – unofficially of course. One of the main regions for growing this cash crop is in the Rif Mountains, in North East Morocco back from the Tangier-Tétouan coastline. Many backpackers travel to the region to take advantage of the availability and a visit to the mountains, and areas such as Chefchaouen will certainly bring you into contact with vendors, where it is often sold in markets alongside legitimate crops.

Chefchaouen, a town in the Rif close to Tétouan, is located in one of the major cannabis growing areas in the region, and interestingly, is also one of the safest towns. There is little crime, it is safe to walk the streets at night, and it is a charming place. However it would be wrong to think that Kif is the only attraction of the town – I mean, take a look! It’s beautiful man, like totally………. you know, beautiful man.

It is worth noting however, that whilst Cannabis is readily available in some areas in Morocco, and may seem like a fun diversion for a day, it is illegal to smoke or buy, and being caught in possession of cannabis carries a penalty of 10 years in prison. For anyone who is not familiar with Moroccan prisons, take a look at the film Midnight Express – whilst this film is set in Turkey, it should give a idea of what the next 10 years could well have in store.

Tanger-Med becomes the first Moroccan Port to receive ISO 9001 accreditation

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:28:32 +0000

Tanger-Med, the most modern port in Morocco has recently been accredited with ISO 9001 status, the first port in Morocco to receive such an accolade, and now is looking ahead to achieving full ISO 4001 status.
The certificate covers the reception of ships, maintenance and services and represents the final phase of an 18-month process by Tanger-Med to ensure that not only are the services up to an exacting standard, but also that it receives accreditation and recognition for its efforts and to demonstrate to the merchant shipping companies around the world that Tanger-Med is now a world class port facility.

Tanger-Med has its sights set on becoming a top 12 worldwide port, and also the largest port in the Mediterranean, having already jumped up from 78th position to 33rd in the world table. Tanger-Med is already the largest port in North Africa, and currently the second largest on the African continent behind Durban in South Africa. The stage is set, and the strategic position that Tanger-Med holds is unenviable, being at the crossroads of major shipping lines, and perfectly situated for the Mediterranean and North American routes, in addition to the European routes and to the Middle East, effectively catering to some 600 million people worldwide.

The infrastructure in terms of roads and rail network is already in place to ensure effective transportation of goods within the Kingdom of Morocco, and the port and surrounding Tanger-Tétouan area is set to benefit enormously in terms of revenue and jobs.
Tanger-Med has already started to pull trade from Spain’s Algeciras port across the straits of Gibraltar on European, North American, North African and Middle Eastern routes and is attempting to break Spain’s monopoly on container transportation to these key areas with sights firmly set on joining the ranks of Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen,Yingkou, Busan, Rotterdam, Dubai, Kaohsiung, Hamburg, Qingdao and Ningbo.

The Tanger-Med project – Creating the largest port in North Africa

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:25:35 +0000

Positioned at the entrance to the Mediterranean and at the crossing point of two major shipping routes, the Tanger-Med project has its sights set on being the largest African Mediterranean port and to handle some of the third of the global container traffic that already passed through the Mediterranean. Phase 1 of the project went into operation in July 2007, with an initial capacity of 3.5 million containers units (TEU’s), with the Tanger-Med II development boosting capacity by a further 5 million TEU’s, raising capacity on completion to 8 Million TEU’s.

Super Port Morocco

Located on the straits of Gibraltar, 40 Km east of Tangiers the port takes advantage of the proximity to Europe, being only 14km from Spain and is part of a wider plan to boost the economy of the region, with the creation of a logistics hub aimed at attracting manufacturers to the region turning the greater Tangiers area into an logistics and export centre for moving goods to the USA, the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond to Asia.

Contracts have now been signed for the development of Tanger-Med II between Tanger-Med II (TMSA) and two consortium, adding a further two terminals to the port, with works expected to start in early 2010, and scheduled to run for 4-5 years.

Terminal 3 will provide a total berth of 1600 Metres, with 78 hectares of container facilities providing a capacity of 3 million TEU’s. Terminal 3 was awarded to Maersk (Denmark), APM Terminals (Netherlands) and AKWA (Morocco) with the majority of capacity reserved for Maersk.

Terminal 4 will add a further 2 million TEU capacity to the port, with a further 1200 Metres of dock front and an area of 54 hectares. This terminal has been awarded to PSA (Singapore), Marsa Marco and SNI (Morocco), and will include a common user area available to a wide range of shipping and freight companies from around the world.

Tanger-Med II

Tanger-Med II

The major players

AP Moller Maersk, the leading container ship owners with over 500 container ships in operation, and third largest port operator, will receive a 90% interest in terminal 3. APM Terminals, the world’s largest terminal operator, and Akwa group, the leader in gas and fuel distribution in Morocco will also have a stake in Terminal 3.

PSA, the world’s second largest port operator will have a 50% share in terminal 4, and will operate the facility alongside the investment holding company, SNI and Marsa Maroc the state run original operator of the port.

McArabia – coming to a city near you

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:16:39 +0000

Should anyone ever get bored with Morocco’s rich, diverse, and sumptuous cuisine and feel tired of the rich array of unique tastes flooding the senses, then McDonalds surely has to be the place to head to. Where better to give your taste buds some much needed R&R. However, that was before the McArabia Tagine, and not your standard Middle Eastern McArabia Tagine. Oh no. This one is special and unique to Morocco.

McDonalds in Morocco

Going Moroccan means getting rid of the garlic tahini, seasoning the meat with Moroccan tagine spices, and adding special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, and a sesame seed bun. Sorry, cumin flatbread.

A tweak to the sauce and seasonings has given the McArabia an authentic Moroccan flavour and makes it more palatable to locals, or so the marketing gurus say…even more in fitting with local cooking traditions, apparently.

Making said “burger” is straightforward. Take a quarter pounder. Stretch it into a more exciting oval shape, spike the meat with some taste providing ingredients – cumin, coriander and a secret ingredient or two (salt and pepper). Cook, and add a spicy tomato sauce, sprinkle with bell peppers, and wrap it in a cumin flatbread. The Maroc McArabia Tagine is formed.
Initial feedback suggests that they haven’t quite managed to capture the true cuisine of Morocco in 3-minute format. Exit poll opinions suggest a flavour between “not quite Moroccan” and “kind of Egyptian”.

9th International Film Festival of Marrakech – 5th to 12th December 2009

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:50:46 +0000

The 9th Festival International du Film de Marrakech is now only a few days from us, running from 5th to 12th December. This years festival brings the screening of 15 films from a wide array of companies offeringdirectors and film makers the world over to showcase their films.

The festival takes place in the cental square (Place Djemaa el-Fna) in historic Marrakech. Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and David Lynch have all been previous attendees with this years Jury presided over by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for his film T’am e guilass

This years screenings competing for the coveted Etoile d’Or prize are:

“Heliopolis” by Ahmad Abdallah (Egypt)
“Leo’s Room” by Enrique Buchichio (Uruguay)
“Love & Rage” by Morten Giese (Denmark)
“My Daughter” by Charlotte Lim (Malaysia)
“Northless” by Rigoberto Perezcano (Mexico)
“Nothing Personal” by Urszula Antoniak (Netherlands)
“Qu’un Seul tienne et les autres suivront” by Lea Fehner (France)
“True Noon” by Nosir Saidov (Tadjikistan)
“Io Sono L’amore” by Luca Guadagnino (Italy)
“Les Barons” by Nabil Ben Yadir (Belgium)
“The Man Who Sold the World” by Swel and Imad Noury (Morocco)
“Woman Without Piano” by Javier Rebollo (Spain)
“Symbol” by Matsumoto Hitoshi (Japan)
“Tokyo Taxi” de Kim Tai-sik (South Korea)
“The Good Heart” by Dagur Kari (USA)

Moroccan Cinema

The festival is organised by the Marrakesh International Film Festival Foundation, contactable on +21 (0) 24 43 24 93/94

The Silver Screen celebrated in Tangier at the 7th Mediterranean Short film Festival

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:46:57 +0000

The 7th Mediterranean Short Film Festival is taking place in Tangier, running until 17th October 2009.

Tangier is hosting the event for the 7th consecutive year, bringing together Moroccan and International filmmakers to share techniques and experiences, and is an especially important arena for young filmmakers and directors providing an excellent inexpensive medium to try to gain a foothold in the industry

The films are competing for one of the 3 coveted awards – Grand Prix of Tangier, Jury Prize and Best Screenplay.

This year’s Moroccan entries are: “Laughing in Tears” by Mohamed Labdaoui, “Poupiya” by Mohamed Labdaou, “Hello Pizza” by Mourad El Khaoudi, “Last Chapter” by Jihane El Bahhar and “The Assignment” by Radouane and Khalid Fadel.

Morocco – The best North African Country for investment

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:44:30 +0000

Strong Macroeconomic indicators, a focus by the government on transparency and investment in the country, a stable economy and strong banking system attract worldwide international real estate investors.

Over the past few years, Morocco has attracted attention from the Middle East investors, with many Gulf State investors siezing the opportunity to invest in Morocco. “The country’s legal framework and environment are very business-friendly” claims the Executive Vice President of real estate agency, Jones Lang LaSalle.

The country has enjoyed excellent growth of 4-5% over the past 8 years, with the key sectors being tourism, telecoms, and textiles.

Whilst Tunisia and Egypt have also enjoyed strong investment over the same period, the recent economic downturn has affected both countries with investors holding back, compared to Morocco which has remained largely unaffected.

The Managing Director of real estate giant CB Richard Ellis, Karim Beqqali, backed up the recent statements stating that the country’s banking system remains healthy in spite of the financial crisis. This means there has been no impact on foreign or local developers.

Moroccan plan to develop the Fisheries Industry

moroccoinvest — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Following on from the successful planning of the tourism Industry (Plan Azur), Agriculture (Green Plan) and the Emergency plan to protect industries in view of the global financial climate, now the Moroccan government is planning for the fisheries industry.

The new plan was announced last week in Agadir in southern Morocco, in the presence of King Mohammed VI, by the minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Aziz Akhennouch.

The plan’s main function is to raise the GDP of the fisheries sector to MAD 21 billion by the year 2020, increase jobs during the same period from 61,650 to 115,000 and to increase the export value to USD 3.1 billion.

To facilitate this plan, sixteen new structural projects have been scheduled to modernise the fishing fleet and to develop aquaculture projects, including a halieutics zone costing MAD 6 billion, with a view to reaching a total production of 1.6 million tonnes by 2020.

Two new conventions were signed to carry out a new fishing project called Haliopolis. The project will set up a new regional competitive centre using new generational integrated industrial parks, offering a wide range of services to be built on a 150 hectare site offering fully equipped land lots and office space. The project is expected to create 20,000 direct jobs.

The Haliopolis project will be able to process 500,000 tonnes of sea products, including 150,000 in relocated projects and a further 350,000 tonnes in new industrial facilities.