a moroccan perspective - michael lund jeppesen
DESCRIPTION
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'.TRANSCRIPT
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