Morocco second top investor in Sub-Saharan Africa: French Institute
Rabat : While Morocco ranked the second in Foreign Direct Investments after South Africa in Sub-Saharan Africa, to date, the kingdom appears to be taking the forefront position in African FDI, according to a report published today by Montaigne Institute, an independent French think tank.
“Morocco clearly shows its ambitions in becoming a Pan-African, economic and political leader,” said the report, pointing that King Mohammed VI is spearheading the kingdom’s African policy.
The think tank sees that with Morocco’s return to the African Union, kingdom “has its own agenda in conquering markets in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has led to a competition with French companies, particularly in construction,” said the report.
In February 2016, the Moroccan Office chérifien de phosphates (OCP) inaugurated an industrial plant in Ethiopia dedicated to exporting fertilizers to Sub-Saharan markets, the report reminded, before reintegrating the African Union (AU) during the organization’s summit Addis Ababa.
The document also indicates that the kingdom’s potential joining of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will provide Morocco with advantages to export its products to the region and accelerate its rise as a continental power.
Recognizing Morocco’s position as a key investor in Africa, French companies have chosen to make Morocco their gateway to sub-Saharan countries, while others have chosen to ally themselves with Moroccan companies to conquer continental markets.
In 2016, Morocco’s trade with Sub-Saharan Africa has recorded an average annual growth of 9.1 percent over the period of 2008-2016 and has generated a surplus trade balance of MAD 11.9 billion, according to the Foreign Exchange Office, Morocco World News reported.
Trade between the two sides has grown at an average annual rate of 9.1 percent since 2008, reaching nearly MAD 20 billion in 2016. The share of these exchanges is three percent of the total in 2016, against 2 percent 2008.
—SM/IINA