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FOM Newsletter February
2001
Morocco Week in Review
February 24, 2001
Wife
Sues for Divorce Over St Valentine's Rose.
Morocco records
annual 30,000 TB cases.
Moroccan
grass roots efforts to help the poor yield $ 13.22 million
Morocco's
government sign with jewelry firm convention for handicapped persons integration.
US-Moroccan
Scientific Cooperation Probed.
Kuwaiti
fund extends $65 million loan to Morocco
Morocco
cereal imports up 52 pct since June 2000.
Arab
Fund lends Morocco $63.2 mln for water project.
Banana Production
Peaks 120,000 Tonnes.
Un
rallye pour les voitures de collection en mars prochain
0.8%
GDP growth and 1.9% inflation in 2000.
Morocco
- Trade/Customs: Tariffs to drop faster than required by FTA.
Economic
Competitiveness Observatory publishes mixed evaluation of progress.
Méditel
prepares to offer GPRS service.
Textile
manufacturers denounce government inaction.
Cooking oil reform lowers prices, ups demand.
Morocco to organize
economic census.
France's
Vivendi Universal hands morocco $ 2.4 million cheque for takeover of 35% of
Maroc-Telecom capital.
Morocco reveals
immigration figures.
Saudis may
have bought 44% of Lone Star.
No Mad Cow Case
in Morocco, Minister.
Wife Sues for Divorce Over St Valentine's Rose.
DUBAI - A Moroccan has sued her emirati husband for failing to send even a single red rose to her on St Valentine's Day, a newspaper reported Sunday. "I reminded him several times that St Valentine's Day was approaching but he chose to ignore me," the woman, identified only by the initials W.K.N., told Gulf News. "When we got married last year he told me he was romantic, but he failed to live up to that claim." "Friends keep urging me to drop the case," W.K.N. admitted. "But I believe that a gesture on this occasion is the key to romance. "If a man fails to deliver on this day then it means he no longer loves his woman." She said she had confronted her husband and he replied that St Valentine's Day was not a Muslim or Arab tradition. "But I could not live with a man who does not respect and observe the key occasions in wedded life. He could just as easily ignore my birthday or our wedding anniversary," AFP reported.
http://www.middleeastwire.com/morocco/stories/20010218_meno.shtml
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Morocco records annual 30,000 TB cases.
Health, 2/22/2001
Morocco records annually between 27,000 and 30,000 tuberculosis cases, said Dr. Zoubida Bouayad, head of the lung diseases ward in the Casablanca hospital. In an interview with Moroccan "Al-Ahdath Al-Maghribya" daily, the doctor said the figure shows that 104 out of 100,000 persons are affected by TB, adding the average age of affected population stands at 33.2 years while it was 23 years in the past, showing a regression of the disease among children and young persons. She went on a 40 Million DH-worth tuberculosis control program was adopted in 1995 to diagnose 80% of TB cases and treat 90% of affected persons. However, she went on, the disease was not totally overcome because it is closely associated to poverty while awareness campaigns need to target poorest population and appropriate health facilities.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010222/2001022226.html
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Moroccan grass roots efforts to help the poor yield $ 13.22 million
Culture, 2/22/2001
The national solidarity campaign, staged from last Nov.1 through 15, has yielded a total of 138.88 million DH ($ 13.22 Million) in cash and other donations to support poorest layers of the Moroccan population. The campaign staged by the Mohammed V foundation for solidarity, for the first time associated Moroccan expatriates in France to the solidarity actions. The figures were disclosed by the foundation's governing council meeting held on Wednesday in Tangiers under the chairmanship of king Mohammed VI. The campaign collected funds from the sale of pins and stamps, cash donations by banks and clothes and food offered to improve living conditions of the poor. The governing council also surveyed conditions in which the fast-breaking meals were distributed during the month of Ramadan. A total of 2,300,000 recipients were recorded this year. The meeting looked into progress made in programs to which the foundation will be contributing $ 28.38 million (298 million DH). These progress include the construction of dorms for rural girls, dorms for male students, centers for handicapped persons, orphans and aged persons and projects for the promotion of rural women role in lasting development. The foundation will carry on distribution of fast-breaking meals to needy persons and carry on its support to social associations.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010222/2001022222.html
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Morocco's government sign with jewelry firm convention for handicapped persons integration.
Culture, 2/22/2001
The Moroccan department of women condition, protection of family and children and integration of handicapped persons signed on Wednesday a convention with "Oro-mecanica," a jewelry industrial plant, a convention meant to promote the integration of disabled persons. This is the first government-private sector convention under which persons suffering from physical handicaps will undertake a professional training likely to help them find a job. Ministry in charge of women condition, protection of family and children and integration of handicapped persons, Nezha Chekrouni, called other economic operators to join in the strategy meant to mobilize all public and private sectors in endeavors to overcome the illiteracy and unemployment problems. Oro-Mecanica currently employs 250 persons, including 40 foreign technicians. (MAP)SH
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010222/2001022225.html
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US-Moroccan Scientific Cooperation Probed.
WASHINGTON- Means to upgrade the Moroccan-US cooperation in scientific research were probed during a visit paid to the USA by secretary of state for scientific research, Omar Fassi Fihri. Talks with Pierre Perrolle, head of international programs at the US National Sciences Foundation, and Osman Shinaishin, Africa and Mideast Director covered cooperation and exchange possibilities between Moroccan and American searchers. Fihri also agreed with the US National Academy of Sciences, which conducts annually some 300 studies scientific research for US decision-makers on the holding of scientific research workshops in the USA and Morocco. The official also met with a group of Moroccan searchers working for research institutes and labs in Washington.
http://www.map.co.ma/english/dispatches/national_news.htm
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Kuwaiti fund extends $65 million loan to Morocco.
Economics, 2/22/2001
The Kuwaiti fund for Arab economic development will extend Morocco a $ 65 million loan (20 million Kuwaiti Dinars or 680 million DH) destined to co-finance the construction of a dam in the region of Midelt, some 300 KM to the south east of Rabat. The Sidi Said Dam will contribute to the irrigation of 72,000 hectares in the Moulouya region, enable to supply drinking water to the region of Midelt, Missour and Outat El Haj, and to produce 25 megawatts of electric power. It will also help protect the Mohammed V and Mechraa Hammadi dams from floods. The project, to cost about $ 86 million (900 million DH), will be completed over five years. The loan will be reimbursed over 17 years with a five year grace period at an interest rate of 3.5 percent. This loan brings up the total loans extended to Morocco by the Kuwaiti fund to $ 774 million (238 million Kuwaiti Dinar or 8.3 billion DH). The loan agreement was initialed here Wednesday by Moroccan minister of economy, finance, tourism, and privatization, Fathallah Oualalou, and the fund's general manager, Badr El Mechari El Hamidi. During the signing ceremony, El Hamidi announced that a delegation from the fund will shortly visit Morocco to draft an agreement on the carrying out of the Casablanca-El-Jadida highway.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010222/2001022240.html
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Morocco cereal imports up 52 pct since June 2000.
RABAT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Moroccan cereal imports rose by 52 percent to 3.46 million tonnes from June 2000 to mid-January 2001 compared with the same period in the previous season, the state-run cereals office said on Tuesday. Cereal imports, including soft wheat, stood at 22.8 million quintals (2.28 million tonnes) from June 1999 to mid-January 2000. The office, in a report received on Tuesday, gave the following breakdown of cereals imports in the June-mid January 2001 period. It gave no estimate for their value. Soft wheat imports stood at 1.91 million tonnes against 1.28 million, durum wheat at 370,000 tonnes against 270,000 tonnes, barley at 580,000 tonnes against 310,000 tonnes and maize at 600,000 tonnes against 420,000. The port of Casablanca was the country's main recipient of cereals with 68 percent of the total, or the equivalent of 2.34 million tonnes, of which 1.1 million comprised soft wheat. France remained the main supplier of cereals to Morocco and accounted for 36 percent of total imports, followed by the United States and Canada. The report said Moroccan importers, including private operators, were expected to receive from January 16 to February 22 a total of 1,946 million quintals (0.19 million tonnes), most of it to be delivered at Casablanca. The independent think-tank Centre Marocain de Conjoncture said recently that Morocco would harvest at least 6.5 million tonnes of cereals and cut imports of wheat and other products in 2001/2002 following heavy rainfall during the winter. But Agriculture Minister Ismail Alaoui told state-run television channel 2M at the weekend that it was "too early to predict the 2000/2001 harvest results". First estimates for it would be issued in mid-April.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=982669742nL20469589&imgactive=1
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Arab Fund lends Morocco $63.2 mln for water project.
RABAT, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Kuwaiti-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) granted Morocco a $63.2 million soft loan on Wednesday to help build a dam in the eastern province of Midelt. The Finance Ministry said in a statement that the water reservoir, which will cover 72,000 hectares (177,900 acres), would cost 900 million dirhams ($83.60 million). The AFESD will contribute 680 million dirhams ($63.2 million) to the project. The loan was granted for a 17-year period with a five-year grace period at a 3.5 percent interest rate. In the past 25 years, the AFESD had granted Morocco $1.6 billion, mainly for its social and economic infrastructures. ($1= 10.765 Moroccan dirhams)
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=982782575nL21252121
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Banana Production Peaks 120,000 Tonnes.
(February 18, 2001), - At an annual yield of 120,000 tonnes, banana production in Morocco is already past domestic demand, the Moroccan Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters (APEFEL) disclosed Friday. Covering an area of around 3,900 ha, banana fields account for 45 per cent of the total surface area occupied by greenhouse agriculture, said APEFEL. The banana industry in Morocco was recently hit by a crisis due to "uncontrolled and massive" imports in 1999. Over a period of three months, these imports reached 13,000 tonnes, which was equivalent to the total amount of imports in the last season. A study carried out by APEFEL estimated direct financial losses caused by the 1999 imports at 6 million dollars.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=051u4450
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Un rallye pour les voitures de collection en mars prochain
Rabat, Maroc
La 8ème édition du rallye du Maroc, "Classic", réservée aux voitures de collection fabriquées entre 1930 et 1979, se dérouleradu 17 au 21 mars prochain. Au cours de ce rallye, les participants vont parcourir au volant de leur véhicule sur de 2000kms de routes asphaltées sur un itinéraire réparti en six étapes avec deux grands prix et pimenté de quatorze épreuves de classement. Cette manifestation, qui n'est pas une véritable course, mais une épreuve de régularité, devra permettre aux 55 équipages, dont six marocains, de découvrir les merveilleux paysages du royaume sur un parcours qui les mènera sur la côte atlantique. Le Classic débutera le 17 mars avec le Grand Prix de Casablanca, à 100kms, au sud de Rabat. La première étape reliera la capitale économique du Royaume à la ville d'Essaouira (sud), soit 401kms. La seconde étape mènera les concurrents à Agadir, station balnéaire du sud, en passant par Taroudant, au sud-est, soit 250 kms. La troisième étape ira jusqu'à Tafraoute, puis retour à Agadir (391kms). La 4ème étape traversera la route de l'Anti-Atlas, Foum- Zguid, Tazenakht, avec l'arrivée à Ouarzazate. La cinquième ira d'Ouarzazate, "la route des caravanes" Amerzgane et Amelkis jusqu'à Marrakech où est programmée la sixième et dernière étape sur un parcours de 125kms de Marrakech- Ouirgane-Marrakech, avant le Grand Prix de la ville qui clôturera cette huitième édition.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200102220446.html
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Moroccan Economy: 0.8% GDP growth and 1.9% inflation in 2000.
The Moroccan Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.8% in 2000, compared to a contraction of 0.7% in 1999. A 16.7% drop in agricultural GDP caused by drought was offset by a 3.5% rise in non-agricultural production. High-growth sectors were construction (+7.5%), transport and communications (+5.2%), and food and accommodation, while growth in the mining sector was nil (+0.0%). Gross fixed capital investment rose 4.4%, following a stagnation in equipment purchases (0.0%) that was offset by higher investment in construction (+5%) and public works (+20%). The government is predicting 8% growth for 2001, based on a cereals harvest of 65 million quintals, subsequent agricultural growth of 40.5%, and non-agricultural growth of 4.1%. The average price level for the year 2000 was 1.9% higher than that of 1999, and the inflation rate for December 2000 was -1.1% compared to November. Food products were down 2.7%, while non-food products were up 0.3%. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Morocco - Trade/Customs: Tariffs to drop faster than required by FTA.
Morocco is preparing to adopt a new tariff schedule that would reduce trade barriers faster than required by the Kingdom's free-trade agreement with the European Union. The seven existing tariff rates, which range from 2.5% to 50%, would be replaced by four rates: 2.5% for capital goods, 10% for raw materials, 25% for products manufactured locally, and 40% for products not manufactured locally. The new schedule is controversial, because it would hit some local businesses with tariff reductions on competing imports of up to 8%, but the government says most reductions apply to imported inputs and should improve local profit margins.
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Economic Competitiveness Observatory publishes mixed evaluation of progress.
The Moroccan Economic Competitiveness Observatory (OCIEM) has published a mixed evaluation of the year 2000, ranking Morocco in the "upper-intermediate" category for financial dynamism and physical and institutional infrastructure, but "lower-intermediate" for foreign trade, human resources, and technological development, and "poor" for macro-economic and domestic market dynamism (due to declining private consumption). The annual study compares Morocco to a sample of emerging economies and European Union member-States. Improvements were observed in financial dynamism, human resources, and infrastructure, but the ratings for macro-economic and domestic market dynamism were down on 1999. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Méditel prepares to offer GPRS service.
Mobile telephone operator Méditel is preparing to offer global packet radio service (GPRS), a data transmission technology that allows mobile phone users to consult the Internet at greatly increased speeds relative to the standard GSM/WAP protocol. Among the services that become viable on mobile phones at the higher speeds are Internet chat, e-commerce, file transfer, and the transmission of photographs. Méditel hopes to launch the new service in approximately three months. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Textile manufacturers denounce government inaction.
The Textile and Clothing Manufacturers Association (AMITH) has denounced the government for its failure to respond to the sectoral crisis by implementing the Association's proposed joint strategic plan. AMITH President Mohamed Lahlou says that government inertia may result in the destruction of nearly 80% of the sector, along with its hard-earned accumulation of technical skills and a large number of jobs. Redundancies are estimated at 30,000 for last year alone, following the closure of nearly 100 firms. Paradoxically, Moroccan textile companies report that orders are pouring in, but say that accepting them results in financial losses due to high energy and labor costs and a weak Euro that has inflated Moroccan export prices in the primary Euro-zone markets. Mr. Lahlou says several major Taiwanese manufacturers are interested in using Morocco as a base for their exports to Europe, but local production costs are 25% higher than they expected because of the Dirham/Euro exchange rate. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Cooking oil reform lowers prices, ups demand.
Three months after the liberalization of the cooking oil sector, the price of a liter of oil has dropped from Dh 8.4 to Dh 6.8 and demand for the cheaper varieties has leapt 10% over the last six months. The demise of the single fixed price (Dh 8.4) and the system of tariffs and subsidies that maintained it has also led to the emergence of a wider range of products. The cooking oil sector was liberalized on November 1, 2000 by the abolition of tariff equivalents that had artificially inflated imported grain and unrefined oil prices. The equivalents were replaced by a 2.5% customs duty, and a longstanding government subsidy on finished products that had cost Dh2 billion in the 1999/2000 financial year was abolished. The tariff equivalents had had the effect of removing any incentive for raw material importers to negotiate better prices on the international market, while in Morocco the lack of price competition had led to low producer investment and outdated equipment. Local grain producers at risk from the liberalization are being protected by a State subsidy to refiners covering the difference between a fixed local grain price and the lower imported grain price. Farmers will also receive Dh160 million in direct aid. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Morocco to organize economic census.
The government is to conduct an economic census aimed at establishing a comprehensive directory of businesses and economic institutions, a demographic monitoring system for economic agents, reinforced statistical analysis within the professional associations, an integrated economic information system, and a polling database for sectoral surveys. The census, which excludes the agriculture sector and itinerant traders, has been allocated a budget of Dh 72 million for 2001 and will involve 800 specially-trained civil servants and 200 cars over a 15-month period.
Securities) http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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Business, 2/21/2001
France's Vivendi Universal on Tuesday handed Moroccan authorities a $ 2.4 million cheque (23.345 billion DH) representing the takeover of 35% of Maroc-Telecom capital. The cheque was delivered to prime minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, by Philipe Gemond, CEO of the group in the presence of the king's advisors, Andre Azoulay and Mohamed kabbaj, minister of economy, finance, tourism and investments, Fathallah Oualalou and minister of new informtion technologies, Nassr Hajji. Last December, Vivendi won a bid to buy 35% of the Moroccan phone operator, which enjoys monopoly over the country's land phones. The GSM market in Morocco is shared between Maroc-Telecom and Meditel, a Portuguese-Spanish-Moroccan Consortium which bought the license in 1998 for $ 1.1 billion. The Moroccan premier said Vivendi's participation in Maroc-Telecom capital is only a step in Morocco-Vivendi relations, poised to know deeper developments. He said the deal, which confirms the success of the country's social and economic policy, will make of Morocco Vivendi's platform for regional development, particularly in north Africa, the Middle East and the African continent. Vivendi CEO said the group intends to develop in Morocco other sectors, like the new information technologies, the multimedia and Arab music production.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010221/2001022123.html
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Morocco reveals immigration figures.
A newspaper in Morocco says the authorities detained some nine-thousand people last year who were trying to emigrate to Spain illegally. The newspaper al-Ittihad al-Ishtirak, which is run by the prime minister Abderrahmane El Youssoufi, said most were Moroccan, but thirteen-hundred came from other countries in Africa and Asia. Correspondents say it's the first time Morocco has disclosed such figures. Spain says it arrested fifteen-thousand illegal immigrants last year,mostly from North Africa. Many others escape detention, while others die attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The latest to be caught were nearly two-hundred people found in separate groups on the southern coast of Spain in the past twenty-four hours. From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1179000/1179109.stm
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Saudis may have bought 44% of Lone Star.
A group of Saudi investors is rumored to have bought 44% of Lone Star Energy, the company that discovered oil and gas at Talsinnt, from Lone Star's Texas-based parent company, Skidmore Energy. The investors, led by the Dela Group and the Saudi ambassador to Washington D.C., Bandar Ibn Sultan, are thought to have paid $48 million for the 44% stake. The deal would leave Skidmore with 44% of Lone Star and the Moroccan partners with 12%, although attempts are being made to organize a capital increase aimed at funding the exploration program. Most potential investors have made their interest conditional on proven reserves. (Source: Upline Securities)
http://www.north-africa.com/one.htm
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No Mad Cow Case in Morocco, Minister.
RABAT - Morocco on Friday discarded any mad cow disease case in Morocco. "No mad cow disease case has been identified in Morocco," the Moroccan health minister told a scientific meeting, held in Rabat on the disease. Thami Khyari insisted that his department set up a commission to follow up the situation and to intensify control to avert any risk.
http://www.map.co.ma/english/dispatches/national_news.htm
