A Moroccan Perspective - Michael Lund Jeppesen

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Read the insights from Danish ambassador for Morocco, Michael Lund Jeppesen, of how Africa should be approached as an interesting new market for Danish companies. Presentation held at the seminar 'New Emerging Markets in Africa'.

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A MOROCCAN

PERSPECTIVE A Bridge between Europe and West Africa

Ancient trade routes

Strong Growth

8,9%

5%

6,7%

2%

3,3%

1,9%

Source: african bank of development

4,3

MOROCCO AS A GATEWAY TO AFRICA

• Investments and business development, particularly in banking, telecom and energy sectors.

• 3 of the 15 largest African banks are Moroccan.

• The telecommunications company Maroc Telecom is the market leader in French-speaking Africa with over 30 million subscribers.

• Energy: Showing promise as a renewable energy developer in North and West Africa (especially solar power)

• Trade and investment agreement with the West African Economic and Monetary Union is underway.

Free Trade network

Source invest.gov.ma

Moroccan companies Real estate Banking Insurance Telecom ICT & Media Mining Pharmaceutica

l Air transport

Tunisia

Mauritania

Senegal

Guinea

Mali

Ivory Coast

Burkina Faso

Benin

Cameroun

Gabon Congo

Madagascar

Tanzania

Kenya

Central African

Republic

Niger

Ghana

Burundi

Djibouti

RDC Uganda

Algeria

Libya

Nigeria

Ethiopia

Angola

Equatorial Guinea

Liberia

Source Moroccan ministry of Industry

Banking Sector

• 3 of 15 biggest african banks are Moroccan

• Converging and complying to international norms

• Accountability and traceability are improving

• Often deal with foreign partners

Origin of investor capital raises

52% 50% 47% 42%

34% 35% 37% 41%

14% 15% 16% 17%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2010 2011 2012 2013

Other

EU

Moroccan

Source AMIC report 2013

Infrastructure

• Large projects completed and ongoing

▫ Tangier Med port worth 23,5 billion DKK

▫ Highways built, newest worth 3,2 billion DKK

▫ Nador port in construction worth 5,9 billion DKK

▫ High Velocity train worth 13,4 billion DKK

• 15 International Airports

• Maritime Connectivity Index surged from 84 in 2006 to 19 in 2014

Challenges

• Dominating languages are French and Arabic. More and more English is spoken among the younger generations.

• The culture calls for patience and personal relations to develop trust when doing business.

• A challenging regulatory environment, including capital controls, complex hiring and firing processes, and an unwieldy property registry.

• French domination in business, but at the same time a wish to become less dependent on France.

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Increasingly attractive for doing business Morocco jumped 29 places in 3 years in the World Bank’s

Doing Business report (ranked 87 out of 189 in 2014)

Investment Incentives

• Exonerations and tax exemptions according to investment type, size and sector

• Free profit and Capital repatriation for non-residents

• Moroccan state can cover up to 65,000 MAD in labor training

• Land purchase and investment assistance funds

Conclusion

• Morocco is growing, and open to business from foreigners

• Challenging but rewarding frontier market

• Presence in Morocco can be an advantage for Danish companies in West Africa. New insights and knowledge can give a competitive edge

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