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Morocco
Business opportunities
and marketing territorial
The range of sectors of interest to investors has expanded from the traditional
(energy, textiles, fishing, and agriculture) to those presenting greater added
value (such as infrastructure, transport, telecommunications, financial services
and others).
The
privatisation programme launched in 1993 succeeded in attracting a significant
level of FDI inflows to the Kingdom. From 1993 to 2003, some 66 entities were
transferred to the private sector, generating MAD 54.7 billion (EUR 5.4 billion)
in income from privatisation, of which 82.7 percent were foreign investments.
Privatisation is of three kinds: tendering (76 percent of the receipts), public
offers on the Casablanca Stock Exchange (6.5 percent), and direct attribution
(17.4 percent). Morocco is also contracting out certain public utilities to the
private sector. The public utilities covered by this new policy include
electricity distribution, drinking water supply, sewage treatment and solid
waste management, urban public transport, street lighting, and the management of
public gardens and parks.
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Transport
The country
has a network of more than 500 km of highways and 11,000 km of national
roads.
The government needs to invest 2.2 billion Euros to upgrade
road infrastructure in the framework of the second national programme to
build rural roads (PNRR-2). PNRR-2, which seeks to provide transport for
some three million people at a rate of 300,000 a year, targets the
construction and improvement of 15,500 km of roads between 2005 and 2015.
The first National Programme of Rural Roads (PNRR-1) was launched by the
Moroccan government in 1995, programming action that has become necessary to
meet the challenges facing the Moroccan road network, including
under-development, limited rural accessibility, weak maintenance, and severe
weather conditions.
In addition, the programme plans to upgrade some 1100 km of roads, repair
civil engineering structures, rebuild works, renew public works equipment,
carry out technical and feasibility studies for new projects, upgrade access
by road to Casablanca (increase capacity, add intersections, create
underpasses, build new exchanges…) |
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Tourism
With 5.8
million tourists in 2005 using the country’s accommodation capacity of
124,000 beds, tourism is the second source of foreign currency for the
Moroccan economy.
The “Vision 2010” development strategy has been launched, with the goal of
quadrupling tourist activity by the end of 2010 to 10 million tourists,
doubling hotel capacity to 115,000 rooms (250,000 beds), developing seaside
resorts (construction of six new world-class establishments with 160,000-bed
in proximity to the country’s airports), and diversifying tourism products.
A budget of EUR150 million is planned for hotel renovation. The approach
adopted for creation of this additional capacity is to develop integrated
tourist zones and meet new tourist demands by promoting private partnerships
through tenders.
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Construction
and public works
Prospects for
construction and civil engineering are encouraging, with implementation of
social housing programmes and building of basic infrastructure to mitigate
the problem of urbanisation and housing deficits. The Kingdom has decided to
create two new cities close to Marrakech (Tamansourt) and Rabat-Sale-Temara
(Tamesna). The Ministry of Housing will carry out urban studies to review
the status of real estate and arrange for off-site facilities, while private
promoters will be in charge of construction (in particular at Addoha, Chaabi
Liliskane and Chaima). |
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Energy and
mining
Morocco’s
overall energy consumption stands at 11.4 million Mtoe, having increased by
3.3 percent per year over the period 1999-2003. It is estimated that power
consumption will reach 17 million Mtoe by 2015. Morocco is strongly
dependent on oil and, to a lesser extent, on coal for the production of
electricity. Other sources of energy remain weak and the country depends on
imported energy products for more than 85 percent of its consumption.
The national gas project intends to build a gas pipeline to tie into the
Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME), crossing Morocco for 540 kilometres and
connecting to Algerian and Iberian networks. The first will go through
Ouezzane, Mohammedia and Casablanca to Jorf Lasfar and the other will cover
areas close to the GME. A tanker terminal for methane will be installed at
Mohammedia and underground storage is also envisaged. The cost of this
development programme is estimated at MAD 4 billion (EUR370 million). The
National Hydrocarbons and Minerals Office has stepped up its promotional
efforts to attract foreign investors. New agreements have been signed,
increasing to 26 the number of companies prospecting for hydrocarbons in
Morocco over an estimated area of 107,000 km2 offshore and 23,000 km2
onshore.
Morocco possesses 75 percent of the world's known mineable phosphate
reserves. The “Office Chérifien des Phosphates” (OCP) is in charge of
operating these phosphate mines, then processing, producing and marketing
by-products (phosphoric acid, fertilisers…), of which it is the number one
world exporter. Phosphate exports account for 17 percent of Moroccan exports
and constitute an important source of foreign currency for the country.
The demand for electricity
is increasing by 5 to 8 percent per year and Global Rural Electrification
Programme (PERG) targets a rate of household connection at virtually 100
percent by the end of the decade.
The National Electricity Board (ONE) has launched an
ambitious investment programme (MAD 11.32 billion invested between 1999 and
2003) to carry out a large number of initiatives such as the Tahaddart power
station (MAD 2.4 billion), doubling of transit capacity to and from Spain
(MAD 1.34 billion), strengthening of the network with a new sub station (MAD
1.13 billion) and construction by Alstom Power of a STEP (transfer of energy
per pumping station) facility at Afourer (MAD 1.7 billion).
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Water
The availability of water in Morocco is very
uneven from one area to another,
ranging from the relatively favoured north-western part of
the country under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean to the very arid
regions of southern and eastern Morocco.
Morocco’s climatic and
hydrological systems are also subject to cyclical variations, generally
several years of drought followed by wetter conditions.
Water resources are thus a major concern for
Morocco. Nearly 90 percent of resources are already mobilised and they are
being seriously degraded by domestic, industrial, and agricultural
pollution.
Only 5 percent of urban effluents are treated. The
promulgation of ”water” law 10-95 in 1995 constitutes the starting point of
a new national water policy. It addresses fundamental issues ranging from
water resource planning and management, institutional reform, the transition
from supply to demand management, the development of a reservoir management
strategy, application of "user-pays" and “polluter-pays” practices and
promotion of dialogue between users and operators in the sector. |
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Agriculture and agrifood
Agriculture plays a major economic and social
role in Morocco, largely contributing to efforts under way for several
decades in the Kingdom to boost economic performance.
Morocco depends heavily on its agricultural sector, which generates 15 to 20
percent of GDP (depending on the harvest) and employs some 40 percent of the
labour force. More than 90 percent of the country’s crops receive no
irrigation and production is very uneven. Although agriculture is so
important for Morocco, only 19 percent of land area is cultivated, producing
barley, corn, citrus and other fruits, wine, vegetables and cattle. Morocco
is a net exporter of fish as well as fruit and vegetables, but it imports
many cereals, oleaginous seeds, and sugar. |
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Retailing and modern distribution
The market for modern organised retailing is
being structured.
Over the last few years, a number of modern self-service
retail outlets (including convenience stores) have opened in major cities,
and this trend is likely to continue.
The retail food sector has
progressed significantly over the past ten years, as modern, spacious
supermarkets opened in major cities, increasingly changing the shopping
habits of the majority of urban consumers throughout Morocco.
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Textiles-clothing
Textiles and clothing is a major sector for
the country’s economy. It is the foremost industrial employer, providing
200,000 jobs to 40 percent of the labour force.
The multifibre agreements that governed world trade in textiles and clothing
for thirty years were phased out on 1 January 2005. According to a Ministry
of Finance and Privatisation study entitled “what is at stake for Morocco in
dismantling of the MFA”, the loss of preferential conditions enjoyed by
Morocco on the European markets will exacerbate competition from Asia, but
Morocco retains a number of assets: undeniable cost competitiveness for
certain products; proximity (an advantage for small series, with quick
turn-around time in response to tailored requests); and a reasonable degree
of competitiveness comparing to Chinese similar exported products. |
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High technology industries
The high technology sector is booming in
Morocco as a result of government incentives and the decision by large
international groups to set up maintenance and microelectronic component
assembly operations in Morocco.
This strategy is based on the availability of high-level
facilities and technicians in Morocco. Sectors like electronics, in
particular the production of electronic components, have high potential for
exports. Mono and multi-layer printed circuits, passive and active
components, converters, and telecommunications equipment are real investment
opportunities, in particular in subcontracting for export. Other sectors,
such as automotive industries, precision mechanics, the aeronautics
industry, as well as industrial research and development are growing
steadily thanks to relocation trends. The State is supporting investment in
these sectors through the Hassan II Fund. |
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