Morocco

Morocco enjoys the most developed bond market in North Africa and one of the most advanced in the entire continent. This relatively high level of development was first begun with a set of reforms that have been gradually implemented by the Moroccan government, thus allowing for the emergence of a strong Treasury bonds market.

Among many industry players, private equity (PE) has rapidly developed as an alternate source of funding for corporations throughout Africa, especially in the Maghreb region – and Morocco is no exception. Initially dominated by development finance institutions (DFIs), the sector is attracting an increasing number of private funds, both foreign and...

Largely spared from the wave of political unrest that swept parts of the rest of the Middle East and North Africa region in 2011, Morocco did see protests by the February 20 Movement, named after the date of its first major demonstration. However, these were small in comparison to those seen in neighbouring countries such as Tunisia and Egypt....

The growth of Morocco’s 19 banks slowed recently, with some indicators weakening. Overall, though, the sector continued to put in a resilient performance thanks to prudent regulation by the central bank, Bank Al Maghrib. The pressures brought about by exogenous slowdowns reduced liquidity, as domestic activity and trade volumes dipped, but a...