Substantial reforms yeild better results for Moroccan economy

During 1997, Morocco more than doubled the direct foreign investment in its economy to $1.5 billion over 1996.

This development was achieved as a result of the privatization of some companies like Al Samir, which specializes in refining oil in the northern region of Casablanca. Selling 20% of the shares of the Moroccan External Trade Bank, one of the biggest banking institutions in Morocco, also helped achieve those results. This development was also brought about by setting up new industrial units and projects.

The general department for foreign investment at the Moroccan Ministry of Finance said that the volume of investments in Morocco was between $1.3 and $1.5 billion during 1997.

The director of the foreign investment department at the Ministry of Finance, Hassan Al Barnosi, said that the positive economic results achieved by Morocco during the past years were the outcome of continuous work to reform the economic infrastructure.