CASABLANCA HYATT REGENCY Place des Nations-Unies T: (0522) 431 234 F: (0522) 431 334 www.casablanca.regency.hyatt.com sales.casablanca@hyatt.com Rooms: 255 rooms and suites, including 222 deluxe king and twin rooms, 11 junior suites, 19 executive and three royal suites. Business & Conference Facilities: Eight function rooms accommodating up to 800 people. Forum Ballroom can be divided…
Language While classical Arabic and Amazigh are Morocco’s official languages, the most commonly spoken is the local dialect, Darija. French is also spoken in business, government circles, schools and universities. It is frequent to hear people mixing Arabic and French when speaking. Different berber dialects are spoken in the Atlas mountains (Rif, Middle Atlas, Anti-Atlas, High Atlas). In…
Morocco’s economy is well diversified, particularly relative to many countries in the MENA region. Tourism is a substantial contributor, generating nearly $6bn (€5.4bn) in annual revenues, as is the agricultural sector, which can be susceptible to variations in rainfall. Manufacturing industries include textiles, automotive and aeronautics, while recent years have seen the expansion of the ICT
In recent years Morocco has been working to reduce its energy dependency through renewable energy projects and the rollout of an ambitious oil and gas exploration programme. Its energy consumption has increased by 5-6% a year for the past 25 years, and demand is expected to quintuple by 2050. Though it possesses few oil and gas reserves, Morocco boasts strong potential in renewable energies, and is…
Capitalising on its strategic location and promising economic environment, the Moroccan transport sector has made significant strides in recent years. A range of major upgrades and expansions to roads, ports, railways and airports have continued to press forward, despite challenges such as the eurozone debt crisis, regional political instability and a tightening of the state budget. Looking ahead,…
With a vision to create jobs and spur growth across the economy, the Moroccan government has focused considerable attention on developing the industrial sector in recent years. Under the framework of several government strategies, key manufacturing segments – including automotive and aeronautic components and agro-industry – have seen injections of capital and the rollout of specialised infrastructure,…
Already the largest and most developed in North Africa, the Moroccan insurance market is currently undergoing a range of reforms aimed at cementing its stability and further boosting premiums growth. While the life segment appears to be growing faster than non-life given its lower penetration rate, auto insurance can expect to see significant expansion as car ownership levels continue to rise. Plans…
The Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) was off to a good start in 2016, and in June saw its largest initial public offering (IPO) in eight years. However, the bourse’s all-share index remains below the levels seen before the global financial crisis, as do IPO and trading activity more generally, and it seems likely to be some time before these return to pre-crisis levels. Nevertheless, the coming months…
The banks of Morocco rank among the largest on the continent, with a regional footprint matched only by South Africa’s biggest lenders. Recent years have seen these institutions deepen programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises and expand cashless transactions. The industry is not without challenges, however: having dealt with the issue of depressed liquidity levels several years ago, the…
Although Morocco is set to see weaker GDP growth in 2016, due in large part to a poor agricultural harvest following low rainfall, a series of financial reforms and initiatives, and strong foreign investment, have positioned the country well for future gains. The kingdom has had success in its recent efforts to build up export-oriented manufacturing projects, which should take over from more traditional…
