Morocco

4 Chapter Investment Environment

    • Economy

      ■ Economic Trends
      Morocco is one of the emerging economic regions of the Middle East and North Africa called MENA (Mina). Also, even when the wave of political change called "Arab Spring" struck the area, I survived this through outstanding political stability. With emerging economies glooming globally, such as succeeding in attracting automobile factories, bright topics are asked.
      The nominal GDP in 2014 is 9,746 billion dirham (102 billion US dollars), 62nd in the world. The per capita nominal GDP is about 3000 US dollars, which is relatively rich country in Africa. In terms of economic diplomacy, in particular, the relationship between France and the Spanish neighbor, across the Strait of Gibraltar, is strong, and economic relations between Muslim countries have also deepened recently.
      Morocco holds 75% of the world's reserves of phosphate ore, the second largest in the world (2014). Among the export items of the country, the greater the proportion of phosphorus occupies, the greater the impact on the economy.
       
      ■ GDP and Economic Growth Rate
      The real economic growth rate in Morocco is the last year of minus growth in 1997, we have maintained positive growth for 18 years. Especially in the past ten years it has shown stable growth in the range of 2.6 to 7.7%. Even at the time of the global financial crisis in 2008, even when sightseeing fell in 2011 'Arab Spring', there was not much shaking.
      More than 20% of the country is an agricultural country of cultivated land, and many agricultural products such as olive, orange and wheat are produced. Octopus, squid and others are also exported to Japan with its fishery industry also prosperous. In addition, mining centered on phosphorus ore and labor-intensive light industries such as textile and clothing industries are developed, and in the continent of Africa the industrial distribution is relatively wide. In recent years, attractiveness of automobiles, electronic parts industry and aircraft industry has been attracted, and the industrial structure conversion to high added value industry is attempted.
      As early as economic liberalization, attracting foreign investment, infrastructure development as economic policy, we began to make steady economic growth in the 21st century. It is a country that has achieved steady growth despite unstable factors such as weakness in the European economy with a deep connection and instability in the agriculture industry, which is a major industry, being sensitive to the weather.
      However, because we rely on imports for energy resources, we are plagued by the "twin deficit" of fiscal deficit and current account deficit. The size of the budget deficit is high at 44.9 billion dirham in 2014 and 4.8% against GDP, which is an urgent issue.


      出所：IMF「World Economic Outlook Database, April 2015」

       

      Source：IMF「World Economic Outlook Database, April 2015」

      ■ Trade

      The export value of Morocco in 2014 is about 23 billion US dollars, and the import value is about 45.8 billion, which is a large import over delivery. Except for 2009, which was affected by the global financial crisis, both imports and exports are consistently growing, and the trade deficit is a chronic condition.

      Regarding export, we are proud of the diversity of items such as agricultural and fishery products, clothing, electronic parts, resources, etc. We ship in large quantities to Europe, which is a large neighboring market. Industrialization policies that promote infrastructure development and attract foreign manufacturing manufacturers, such as Tangier's ports, have also achieved certain results. Exports of automobiles by the Renault group, which began local production in 2012, have also achieved achievements. Import depends heavily on energy in oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia. As international oil prices fell in the second half of 2014, the trade balance was improved due to the import revenue decrease.

      Morocco is actively promoting free trade, concluding FTAs ​​between EU in 2000 and US and Turkey in 2000 and signing FTA (Agadir Agreement) with Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan in 2007 did. We are announcing our policy of expanding FTAs, especially in Africa countries, and expectations are expected to increase exports by multilateral trade and high value added industries.

      [Imports and exports by country / region]
      Export destinations from Morocco are surveyed by the Moroccan exchange authority (2014), with exports to Europe exceeding 50% in the order of Spain, France, Brazil, Italy, India and the United States. Exports to Japan are $ 262 million (2013) and about 1% of the total exports, items are seafood (octopus, squid etc), electronic parts, phosphate ore and so on.
      Imports to Morocco, the top will be Spain as well as exports, followed by France, China, USA and Saudi Arabia. Imports from Europe account for over 40% of the total imports. Japan is $ 322 million (2013), less than 1% of the total imports, and items are passenger cars, industrial vehicles, machinery, etc.
       

       
       

       
      [Import / export by item]
      Looking at exports by item, the proportion of phosphate ore and phosphoric acid related decreases due to declines in resource prices in recent years, and the number of automobiles and automobile parts for which industrial promotion has been promoted has increased. As a result, from the state where the conventional resource dependence is high, the main fields of automobile / automobile parts (20%), phosphate ore, phosphate related (19%), agricultural and fishery products (18%), clothing items (17% It is changing to a balanced and balanced state.
      Looking at imports by item, energy-related matters such as petroleum products 9.3%, crude oil 7.3%, natural gas 5.0% etc. are dominant.
       
       
       
      ■ Industry Trends
      Here, I will list the industries that are increasingly diversifying in Morocco, especially the industries in which the country emphasizes training. For the country that has been aiming for industrializing for many years, the automobile industry which Renault has advanced in recent years has gathered the expectations for the future. Advanced infrastructure, diligent national character, close European market shows Morocco's advantage.
       


       


       


       

    • Investment environment

      ■Current status of business environment 2015
      The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have jointly announced the present status of business environment 2015, and from this questionnaire you can see the assessment of the world to Morocco.
      Morocco has ranked 71th in the overall ranking of the investment environment and ranked 16 from the 87th in the 2014 edition. Items that gained a big appreciation were "construction permission proceedings" and "asset registration", and conversely the items whose evaluation had declined were "start of business" and "withdrawal of business".
       
       
       
      ■ Direct financing (stock) market · Exchange
      The Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) is a historical exchange founded in 1929. Although it has a small number of listed companies, it has a market capitalization of US $ 47 billion (January 2015), following the Johannesburg, it is a large exchange in Africa next to the stock exchanges in Nigeria (Lagos) and Cairo.
      There are stock indexes "CFG 25 index" by 25 representative stocks traded on the Casablanca Stock Exchange, but it is said that 25 companies account for over 80% of total assets.
      Although there was a time when the stock price soared to the boom prior to the global financial crisis, there was a trend of declining at the peak of 2011 due to the impact of emerging-country investment becoming dull. It stopped falling in September 2013 and showed some signs of demodulation, but it is slightly weak at 20 thousand DH in 2015.
      Because the economic connection with Europe is deep, the Moroccan Dirham is linked to the currency basket at a ratio of 8: 2 between the euro and the US dollar. Therefore, we will move relatively stable against the euro. For the dollar, the dirham depreciation has declined since the middle of 2014 due to the prospect of the reduction of monetary easing in the United States.
       
       
       
       
      ■ Foreign Direct Investment（FDI）

      After the throne of the current King Muhammad VI (1999 ~), aggressive structural reform has progressed, and FDI is on the rise while repeating increment / decrement. Investment from Europe increased further due to the entry into force of the FTA with the EU (2000), and even after successful moderate democratization in the "Arab Spring" (2010), it has steadily expanded other Arab countries, it continues to record high points like 3.5 billion dollars in 2014.

      By industry sector, we succeeded in attracting the automobile industry such as Renault, the aircraft industry such as Bombardier Inc. in Canada, attracting R & D of semiconductors, etc. and succeeded in attracting in the manufacturing industry of high added value. In addition, tourism and real estate-related investment is good, with real estate industry accounting for 29.5% and tourism entering 9.3% in 2014, it surpassed the manufacturing industry which was increasing in recent years and became top.

      By country, FDI from France is the top 10 consecutive years, in 2014 it is 32.4%. It is followed by UAE (12.3%) and Saudi Arabia (10.6%), and investment in resort development etc. from the Gulf countries is also thriving.
       
       
      Source：UNCTAD「World Investment Report 2015」
       
       
       
       
      ■ Infrastructure
      Morocco is vigorously implementing infrastructure development aiming at becoming a hub of transportation and logistics. In particular, the distance to the southern end of the mainland of Spain is only 14 kilometers, closest to the Gibraltar Strait. From this geographical point of view, Tangier, located on the Morocco side across the Strait, is attracting factories by specialized economic zones in order to expand the function as a shipping port that can be accessed both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
       
       
       

    • Regulation/Incentive

      ■ Investment Promotion Policy
      In 1993, the "Moroccanization Law" to distinguish foreign investors was abolished, a new "Charte de l'investissement" was established in 1995, and legislation to promote foreign investment was advanced It was. This allowed foreign investors to invest almost equally with domestic investors with some exceptions and the nationality provision to receive preferential treatment was also abolished.
      Emergence Pact ", an industry promotion strategy based on active foreign investment guidance, was presented in 2006, six strategic focus areas with high international competitiveness were decided, based on which the free zone (tax preferential treatment zone) Has been maintained. After that, a large number of global companies such as Renault (car), Bombardier (aerospace) etc. and related enterprises advanced, bringing great results.
       
       
       
      In addition, in the "National Program for Industrial Emerging (PNEI)" announced in 2009, comprehensive measures such as establishment of the Morocco Investment Promotion Agency (AMDI), support for human resource development, improvement of the business environment, etc. In order to strengthen the structure to more strongly realize investment promotion and industrial promotion.
      The Moroccan Government is committed to improving infrastructure, simplifying administrative procedures, reducing the burden of capital investment costs, tax incentives, actively promoting negotiations and conclusion of investment protection agreements and free trade agreements, promoting foreign investment I am clarifying it. Both the Investment Protection Agreement and the Free Trade Agreement with Japan are not concluded.
       
      ■ Regulation
      · It is not possible to participate in capital participation / development, mining etc of phosphate ore monopolized by state-owned Phosphorus Ore Corporation (OCP).
      · You can not purchase farmland.
      · Moroccan facilities · Domestic business operators will be given priority to bidding for public projects conducted by the Ministry of Transport.
       
       
      Investment incentive system
      The investment incentive scheme in Morocco is somewhat complicated as a combination of condition setting by industrial field and region, but it can receive support from AMDI and one stop shop window in each state.
      You can take advantage of the following three systems with different investment conditions and preferential treatment (it is also possible to use multiple systems), and in the free zone you can receive each preferential treatment.
       
       
      [Investment promotion fund (IFP: The Investment Promotion Fund)]
      Projects that fall under any of the requirements (1) to (5) below can receive IFP funding.
       
      [Hassan II Fund]
      It is a fund funded for investment projects in six technology-intensive high value added industries that can train industrial clusters.
       
       
      [Tax incentive measures]
      Customs duties and value added tax (VAT) will be exempted for importation of equipment and equipment etc. in initial investment.
       
       
      [Free zone (tax preferential treatment zone)]
      In addition to the above-mentioned various subsidies and incentives, receive the following tax incentives etc. in the free zone (tax preferential treatment zone) 
       
       

    • Industrial park ,Free zone

      Industrial parks such as automobiles, aircraft, agricultural and fishery products processing, which are strategic priority areas, and industrial promotion districts such as offshore are established nationwide. Tangier export free zone in the northern part, Tangier Automotive City, Tanger, Mediterranean port logistic free zone etc, Northern Kenitra and around Rabat Atlantic Free Zone and Technopolis, around Casablanca Nuasa Aviation Industry There are free zones and several offshore hubs. There are also free zones for processing agricultural products such as Dahra and Rayun.
       
      [Tangier Free Zone (TFZ)]

      It is the first export free zone of Morocco that opened in 1999 and is located about 12 km southwest from the city of Tangier, the northernmost tip of Morocco, it adjacent to Tangier International Airport and about 60 km to Tangier Mediterranean port and also a highway is connected and takes about 40 minutes.

      Many automobile-related companies such as Volkswagen (Germany) and other global automobile manufacturers and automobile parts manufacturers such as Delphi (USA) are many production bases. Furthermore, it is said that more than 600 companies, including aircraft, electric and electronics, food processing, textiles, logistics etc., have advanced to more than 60,000 DH, more than 40,000 employment creation. It is one of the most successful free zones in Morocco, bringing great economic effect.

      In addition to wire harness manufacturers such as Fujikura, Yazaki Sosyo, and Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Japanese manufacturers such as Denso, Takata and other parts makers are making progress as Renault-Nissan Alliance enters Morocco.
       
      [Tanger, Automotive City (TAC)]
      It is a new industrial free zone established in 2013 as "Industrial Integration Platform (P2I)" specializing in the promotion of automobile industry clusters. It is 14 km to Tangier city and 22 km to Tangier Mediterranean Port and is located adjacent to the Renault-Nissan Alliance's Tangier factory (280 ha). 345 ha has already been completed and tenancy has begun.
       
      [Atlantic Free Zone (AFZ)]
      It is a free zone established in 2012 in the city of Kenitra, the core city of the northern Atlantic coastal area. Kenitra is a key point of transportation connected by highway and railway with major industrial cities such as Tanger and Casablanca, 40 km from the capital Rabat. Hirushuman (Australia), Coficab (Tunisia), Fujikura (Sun), etc. are already in operation, attracting attention mainly in the automobile parts industry. It is 350 hectares large and it is planned to have areas for electronics and logistics.
       
      [Nuasa Aviation Industry Free Zone (MIDPARC)]
      It opened as a free zone specialized in the aerospace industry in 2013. Located 30 kilometers south of Casablanca, it is located in Morocco's largest airport next to Muhammad V International Airport, which is becoming a hub in Europe, the US, Africa and the Middle East.
      Bombardier (Canada), the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, opened a factory for aircraft related parts, with a total investment of US $ 200 million in five years, some production started in 2013. There are also aircraft manufacturers such as United Technologies (US) and Saffron (France), aircraft such as Aerolia of Airbus Group (France), Eaton (heavy machinery manufacturer), Sagem (French) of Safran's electronic equipment manufacturer Manufacturers of parts are expanding a lot.
       
      【Industrial park / Free zone in Morocco】
       
      ① Atlantic Free Zone
      ② Technopolis
      ③ Casania Shore
      ④ Nuorsa Aerospace City
      ⑤ Tangier Free Zone
      ⑥ Tanger, Automotive City
      ⑦ Tetuan Shore
      ⑧ Oujda · Shore
      ⑨ Clean Tech
      ⑩ Fes Shore
      ⑪ Agropolis
      ⑫ Marrakesh Shore
       
      A. Tangier
      B. Tetuan
      C. Berkane
      D. Oujda
      E. Kenitra
      F. Fes
      G. Meknes
      H. Rabat
      I. Casablanca
      J. Marrakesh
      K. Agadir
      L. Rayoun
      M. Daphras
       
      a.offshoring
      b. Aerospace / universe
      c.Regeneration energy
      d. general
      e. car
      e.Agriculture