Over US $1 Bn of direct foreign investments in Morocco, ANIMA

Direct investments in Morocco were estimated at 14.53 billion Dhs (US $1.61 billion) in the first 7 months of 2003, that is a rise of 52.6 percent compared to the average period of 1998-2002, said ANIMA network.

The Marseille-based network, which groups agencies specialized in the promotion of investments in countries part of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (MEDA), noted that Morocco has become a "land of preference for international capital."

ANIMA, which published a book titled "investing in the MEDA region, why, how?," said two dates will further stimulate investors, namely the opening of the textile sector in 2005 and the lifting in 2012 of customs barriers that limit exchanges between Rabat and the European Union.

On the future of Moroccan tourism, ANIMA said the quality of Moroccan products, variety of sites and the hospitality of Moroccans attract international tourism. Recalling the objective set by the kingdom to gain 10 million tourists by 2010, the network noted that the "lack of infrastructure, especially in seashores, is a weakness that should be redressed."

The book published by ANIMA points out that important structural reforms have been conducted in Morocco to improve competition and encourage the private sector's development.

"Business climate has improved, inflation was controlled, unemployment rate, public debt and illiteracy have started to fall off," it underlined.

ANIMA said among challenges facing Morocco is the fact that agriculture, which employs nearly half of the active population, remains "dependent on climate conditions."

The book underscores that MEDA region currently accounts for 240 million inhabitants that are expected to reach 320 in twenty years. It added that 50 percent of MEDA countries' foreign trade is operated with the European Union while this latter invests only 5 percent of its private capital worldwide in the region.