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Signs of recovery have lately emerged in Morocco’s industrial sector, which has been affected by a slowdown in trade in recent years – growth in value-added processing (excluding oil and refining) rose from 0.8% in 2013 to 1.8% in 2014. While subsectors like aeronautics and automotive have made big strides over the past decade, others like textiles and pharmaceuticals have lagged behind, spurring the government to introduce its Industrial Acceleration Plan 2014-20, which aims to raise the sector’s contribution to GDP from its current 14% to 23% by 2020 and create half a million new jobs. Mining in Morocco has traditionally centred on phosphates – of which the country has around 77% of global known reserves – but a new mining code adopted in February 2015 should also help draw activity into less-developed segments such as barite, fluorspar, cobalt, antimony, lead, nickel and silver. This chapter contains an interview with El Mostafa Sajid, President, Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries.

The second-largest in Africa and 53rd-largest in the world by total premiums, Morocco’s insurance market is dominated by the non-life segment, and in particular by compulsory automobile insurance. Plans to make other forms of insurance mandatory are in the works but have yet to be implemented. Market share is concentrated in the hands of a small number of mostly local firms, although foreign insurance companies are also active in the market and several French firms have gained a substantial portion of local business. Since the insurance sector is one of the kingdom’s largest sectors of institutional investors and is heavily invested in local equities, new solvency rules are being explored to mitigate the risks this poses. This chapter contains a roundtable with Zouheir Bensaid, CEO, RMA Watanya; Ali Harraj, CEO, Wafa Assurance; and Mehdi Tazi, CEO, Saham Assurance.

After several years of decline due to liquidity shortages, a high current account deficit and reduced export demand from Europe, Morocco’s bourse is growing again, with its market capitalisation rising significantly in 2014 and early 2015. Trading is concentrated in a small number of companies and investors – the 10-most-traded shares made up three-quarters of transactions in 2014, carried out mostly by institutional investors. Faced with a slim listings pipeline and low levels of secondary trading in recent years, market authorities are working on the launch of a range of reforms and new products designed to reinvigorate capital markets activity at a time when liquidity is returning to the wider economy. This chapter contains an interview with Karim Hajji, CEO, Casablanca Stock Exchange; and a viewpoint from Younes Benjelloun, Partner and CEO, CFG Group.

One of the most-developed in Africa, Morocco’s banking sector is home to some of the continent’s largest banks, several of which have become major regional players and continue to expand their African footprint. Penetration is rising rapidly as product offerings continue to evolve, most notably through a banking law passed in early 2015 that has set the stage for fully sharia-compliant banks. As recent improvements in macroeconomic fundamentals have helped resolve liquidity shortages, lending has picked up, growing by about 4% in the year to end-2014 – though, as in many emerging markets, loan books tilt heavily towards the short term. This chapter contains an interview with Abdellatif Jouahri, Governor, Bank Al Maghrib; and a dialogue with Othman Benjelloun, Chairman and CEO, BMCE Bank of Africa Group; and Mohamed Benchaâboun, CEO, Banque Centrale Populaire.

With steady GDP growth and consistently low inflation, Morocco’s economic performance has both diversified and strengthened in recent years on the back of growth in the secondary and tertiary sectors, as the government has been channelling capital into productive industries such as manufacturing, finance and telecoms. As an energy importer, the kingdom is benefitting from lower international oil prices, which along with recent subsidy reforms have helped reduce the budget and current account deficits. Most indicators suggest strong economic growth is on the cards for 2015, though a number of challenges still need to be tackled, including less-competitive productivity levels and a stubborn unemployment rate. This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Boussaïd, Minister of Economy and Finance; and Tas Anvaripour, CEO, Africa 50 Fund.