Business News North Africa April 2025
Business
EGYPT – Two Chinese textile companies to launch ready-to-wear clothing factories in Egypt
Chinese textile companies Hangzhou Di Seta and Jiangsu Guotai have launched the construction of two distinct factories in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Egypt. The first ready-to-wear clothing project, by Hangzhou Di Seta, has an investment budget of USD 40.0 mn. It will span over 83,000 square meters and generate 1,200 direct jobs. Meanwhile, the second project, by Jiangsu Guoati, has a budget of USD 10.0 mn. It is set to cover an area of 21,000 square meters and create 2,000 jobs.
Mar. 16, 2025
EGYPT – China’s Kibing Group to build a USD 700 mn glass factory in Egypt
Chinese glass manufacturer Kibing Group has announced a USD 700 mn investment to establish a solar panel glass factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Egypt. The project is set to have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of solar panel glass and 1.1 million tonnes of high-purity silica. The Chinese company is in the process of obtaining authorization before launching the construction of the factory.
Mar. 19, 2025
MOROCCO – China’s Holley Group to create an industrial zone in central Morocco
Chinese investment firm Holley Group has created a joint venture with the regional council of Beni Mellal-Khenifra in Morocco to create an industrial zone in the region located in the center of the country. The Chinese company holds 80% of the joint venture’s shares, while the Moroccan side holds 20%. The project has a global budget of MAD 1.5 bn (EUR 145 mn) and is expected to help create 15,000 to 20,000 jobs. The zone, spanning over an area of 300 hectares, will host manufacturing companies operating in the sectors of automotive parts, electromechanics, textiles, household appliances, and electronics.
Mar. 5, 2025
MOROCCO – Germany’s Fränkische Industrial Pipes to launch a factory in northeastern Morocco
German company Fränkische Industrial Pipes has signed an agreement with the Moroccan Ministry of Investment to establish an industrial unit in the Oriental region, northeastern Morocco. The project concerns the production of cable protection systems to be used in the automotive industry. It has a budget of MAD 100 mn (EUR 9.66 mn) and is expected to generate 150 jobs by 2028.
Mar. 18, 2025
MOROCCO – Chinese company Sunrise Textile to open two factories in Morocco
Chinese company Sunrise Textile has signed an investment agreement with the Moroccan government to implement two industrial units in Morocco. The factories will be located in Skhirate, near Casablanca, and in Fes, northeastern Morocco. The Chinese company will allocate a budget of MAD 2.3 bn (EUR 222 mn) for the project, which is expected to generate 7,000 direct jobs.
Mar. 20, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisia suspends ride-hailing apps in the country
Tunisian authorities have suspended the activities of ride-hailing apps Bolt, InDrive, and Heetch in the country. These companies are also set to be pursued in justice for several accusations, including money laundering and tax evasion.
Mar. 24, 2025
TUNISIA – Norwegian energy company Scatec signs a 25-year power purchase agreement with Tunisia
Norwegian renewable energy company Scatec has signed a 25-year-long power purchase agreement with Tunisia’s national electricity provider STEG. The agreement concerns the electricity produced by a new 120-megawatt solar plant in Sidi Bouzid, central Tunisia.
Mar. 25, 2025
ALGERIA – Azerbaijan’s AzMeCo to build a billion-dollar methanol production facility in Algeria
Azerbaijani methanol producer AzMeCo and Algerian industrial conglomerate Souakri Group have signed an agreement to launch a methanol production complex in Algeria, with an initial production capacity of one million tonnes per year. The budget announced for the project is USD 1.0 bn. The project will also include several factories for the production of derived compounds, including ammonia, urea, and formaldehyde.
Mar. 20, 2025
ALGERIA – Chinese car manufacturer GWM to open an assembly unit in northern Algeria
Chinese automotive manufacturer Great Wall Motors (GWM) is set to launch a vehicle assembly unit in Ain Defla, northern Algeria. The factory will be operated through a joint venture with local conglomerate Cevital. It is set to produce several models of self-charging hybrid vehicles (HEVs).
Mar. 22, 2025
Politics
MOROCCO – Morocco switches back to GMT+1
Morocco has switched back its official time zone to GMT+1 on Sunday, April 6th. The Moroccan government had temporarily adopted the GMT zone throughout March due to the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Apr. 6, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed replaces the Prime Minister
Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed has nominated the Minister of Equipment, Sarra Zaafrani, as the new Prime Minister. She replaced Kamel Madouri, who held the position of Prime Minister for seven months, between August 2024 and March 2025. Consequently, President Saïed named Salah Zouari, a career-long executive at the Ministry of Equipment as the new Minister of Equipment.
Mar. 20, 2025
ALGERIA – Algerian presidential party wins the Council of the Nations’ partial elections
Algeria’s presidential party, the National Front of Liberation (FLN) has won the partial elections conducted on March 9 to elect one-third of the members of the Council of the Nation, the Algerian parliament’s upper chamber. The party won 19 seats out of the 58 concerned by the elections. The National Democratic Rally (RND) arrived second with 14 seats, followed by El Moustakbal Front (FM) with 10 seats, El Bina Movement and the Society Movement for Peace (MSP) with three seats each, the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS) with two seats, and Tadjamou Amel el Jazair (TAJ) with one seat. Meanwhile, independent candidates obtained six seats.
Mar. 11, 2025
ALGERIA – Algeria expels Morocco’s vice consul general in Oran
Algerian authorities have expelled the vice consul general of Morocco in Oran, northwestern Algeria. Algeria accused the Moroccan diplomat of “suspicious behavior that is incompatible with the nature of his functions.” The Algerian government had suspended its diplomatic relations with Morocco since August 2021.
Mar. 27, 2025
Economy
EGYPT – Egypt’s annual inflation rate drops to 12.8% in February 2025
Egypt’s annual inflation rate has significantly dropped from 23.9% in January 2025 to 12.8% in February. This drop is mainly attributed to the calculation method used by the Egyptian statistics agency, which used as a reference the previous two years. The factors that led to high inflation levels, notably the disruptions caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, no longer influence current data.
Mar. 10, 2025
EGYPT – Egypt records a 4.3% growth rate in the second quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year
The Egyptian economy has recorded a 4.3% growth rate during the second quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year (October to December 2024), up from the 2.3% growth witnessed in the same period of the previous year. Some of the sectors that witnessed the highest growth were tourism (18.0%), non-oil manufacturing (17.7%), and information and communications technology (10.4%). Meanwhile, Suez Canal revenues have dropped by 70.0% due to the geopolitical tensions in the region.
Mar. 26, 2025
MOROCCO – Morocco’s central bank reduces the key interest rate to 2.25%
Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, has reduced the country’s key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%. The reduction is the third of its kind since June 2024. The decision is attributed to a decline in the inflation rate over 2024 and the positive growth rate expected for non-agricultural activities.
Mar. 18, 2025
MOROCCO – Annual inflation rate in Morocco increases to 2.6% in February 2025
Morocco’s annual inflation rate has increased from 2.0% in January 2025 to 2.6% in February. The figure is attributed to a 4.6% annual increase in the prices of food products and a 1.2% increase for non-food products. For the latter category, the variation of prices ranges from -1.7% for transportation to +3.7% for restaurants and hotels.
Mar. 21, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisia’s annual inflation rate decreases to 5.7% in February 2025
The annual inflation rate in Tunisia decreased to 5.7% in February 2025, down from 6.0% in January. The figure is attributed to a 7.0% annual increase in the prices of food products, a 5.2% increase for manufactured goods, and a 5.1% increase for services.
Mar. 5, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisia reduces the key interest rate to 7.5%
Tunisia’s Central Bank has reduced the country’s key interest rate by 50 basis points, from 8.0% to 7.5%. The decision aims to support the Tunisian economy while maintaining the stability of prices. The reduction of the key interest rate is the first of its kind since March 2020.
Mar. 26, 2025
ALGERIA – Algeria updates its 2024 national unemployment rate to only 9.7%
Algeria’s statistics office has updated the 2024 national unemployment rate of 12.7%, announced in October 2024, to only 9.7%. According to the office, the new figure is attributed to further investigations into the workforce, conducted in November 2024.
Mar. 9, 2025
ALGERIA – Algeria records a 4.7% annual inflation rate in January 2025
Algeria has recorded an annual inflation rate of 4.7% in January 2025. Some of the product categories most affected by inflation are “non-categorized products” (13.9%), household items (4.5%), and food products (4.3%). Meanwhile, the least affected categories are education, culture, and entertainment (-0.6%), as well as transport and communications (1.9%), and housing (2.0%).
Mar. 16, 2025
Key Economic Indicators
