Financial Services

The Algerian banking industry remains dominated by six state-owned banks, which account for the majority of market share; however, private institutions, all of which are foreign-backed, are growing rapidly. In contrast to Morocco and Tunisia, the sector is characterised by very high levels of liquidity, which makes for a stable financial system but...

Personal insurance is much less developed in Algeria than property and casualty lines, a reversal of the situation in most Western countries – where life tends to dominate – but par for the course in emerging markets. Personal insurance premiums also fell in annual terms for the entirety of 2012, as a new law banned firms from selling both life and...

While still at an early phase of development, with few listed securities, Algeria’s capital markets are set to see a host of new listings. The exchange’s second initial public offering (IPO) of a private company took place in June 2013 (the first was in 2011), with several other firms expected to follow suit. The government is also working on a plan...

The main challenge for the Algerian economy over the next decade is to achieve greater economic diversification. High and broad-based productive investment is required now more than ever, particularly in sectors such as the manufacturing industries and tradeable services other than trade and transport. As in many other countries, in Algeria...