Viewpoint:Fouad Lahgazi The Finance Law of 2018 has laid out a number of new procedures that are set to further digitalise and simplify existing provisions, and bring the kingdom’s tax regime up to speed with international regulations. Taxpayers and entities operating in sectors that have yet to be defined by regulations are obliged to adopt a billing software system that meets the technical…
Diplomatic challenges persisted across the globe in 2017, leaving Morocco at the intersection of competing interests. Through it all, the kingdom maintained mostly solid relationships with its international counterparts, even as other alliances shifted. Morocco’s multi-faceted identity is reflected in its active membership in a range of international organisations, including the UN, the Arab…
As North Africa’s most politically and economically stable country, and increasingly engaged with its West African neighbours and across the continent, Morocco continues to expand its regional leadership role. While challenges persist, notably the unresolved issue of the status of the Moroccan/Western Sahara, throughout 2017 the kingdom took several key steps to advance its standing in the…
Stronger agricultural growth, combined with increased export revenue, saw Morocco’s economy expand at a faster pace in 2017, with promising prospects for 2018. Local and international GDP growth estimates for 2017 were similarly optimistic: Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al Maghrib (BAM), put expansion at 4.1%, while the IMF estimates released in December 2017 put growth at 4.4%, well above…
Measured by banking penetration, financial inclusion levels have been rising swiftly in Morocco in recent years. Estimates suggest that at the start of 2017 there were 74 bank accounts in the kingdom for every 100 Moroccans, up from 71 in June 2016, 68 in December 2015 and 50 in 2010. FINANCIAL INCLUSION: The rapid acceleration in penetration is partly the result of a strategy launched a decade…
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a capital markets instrument used to finance commercial real estate. It is estimated that the average turnover of commercial real estate in Morocco is 3% per annum versus 4% per week for mutual funds. In the kingdom, commercial real estate assets sitting on company balance sheets represent about 15% of GDP, according to industry experts. REITs serve…
As moves to increase production in the country are executed, private and public operators are being supported by the development of special economic zones (SEZs) that offer tax breaks and a handful of other advantages to ease the import and export of merchandise. In 2016 the government, in a business charter that amended the previous 1995 legislation, committed to establishing new economic…
Accounting for some 70% of agricultural exports, the EU is Morocco’s leading destination for agricultural goods. According to the Independent Institution for Exports Control and Coordination (Etablissement Autonome de Contrôle et de Coordination des Exportations, EACCE), in 2015 the EU imported 1.25m tonnes of Moroccan agricultural goods worth Dh15.9bn (€1.5bn), up from 1.17m tonnes in…
With the establishment of ambitious development goals for industries such as aeronautics, automotive and agro-industrial manufacturing, all which have become key contributors to the GDP, the demand for skilled workers has become a key issue. In line with this is the need for the kingdom to reduce unemployment. According to the High Commission for Planning, in the third quarter of 2017 unemployment…
Prior to hosting the COP22 UN Conference on Climate Change, Morocco announced the Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture to Climate Change (AAA), which seeks to channel international funding into the sector. Launched in April 2016, it promotes projects to improve soil management, agricultural water control, capacity building, climate risk management and funding solutions targeting…
