Business News North Africa January 2025
Business
EGYPT – Chinese suitcase manufacturer Henneway to launch a factory in Egypt
Chinese suitcase manufacturer Henneway has begun the construction of a production unit in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project has a budget of USD 50.0 mn. Covering an area of 120,000 square meters, the factory is expected to generate 3,000 jobs.
Dec. 8, 2024
EGYPT – China’s Elite Solar to build a solar panel factory in Egypt
Chinese company Elite Solar has launched the construction of a solar panel factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project will cover a total area of 78,000 square meters, with an investment of more than USD 150 mn. The project will produce photovoltaic cells with a capacity of 2 gigawatts.
Dec. 16, 2024
EGYPT – Chinese company Xinfeng Steel to invest USD 1.65 bn in Egyptian industrial complex
China’s Xinfeng Steel has announced its plan to develop a USD 1.65 bn industrial complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The project, set to cover an area of 3.75 million square meters, will be completed in two phases over five years. The first phase will include four factories for the production of automotive brake disk components, home appliances components, standard fasteners, and hot-rolled steel coils. The second phase will include five additional factories for the production of other metallic components.
Dec. 16, 2024
MOROCCO – UK’s Atlas Marine launches a new maritime route between Morocco and West Africa
British container shipping company Atlas Marine has launched a new maritime route between Agadir, in southern Morocco, and Dakar, in Senegal. The new route will reduce merchandise transportation time from 10 days by land, to only two days and a half by sea. It aims to facilitate cargo transportation to several markets in West Africa, including Burkina Faso, Gambia, Chad, and Mali.
Dec. 10, 2024
MOROCCO – Royal Air Maroc announces the resumption of direct flights between Morocco and China
Morocco’s national air carrier Royal Air Maroc has announced the resumption of direct flights between Casablanca and the Chinese capital Beijing, starting January 20. The Casablanca-Beijing direct air route was first launched in January 2020, before it got suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Royal Air Maroc will operate three weekly flights, using a 302-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Dec. 19, 2024
MOROCCO – Swissport launches a subsidiary in Morocco
Airport service provider Swissport has launched a Moroccan subsidiary, Aspire Swissport Morocco, to provide its services in nine Moroccan airports: Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir, Rabat, Fes, Tangier, Nador, Oujda, and Laayoune. The Swiss company launched the subsidiary after winning a call for bids launched by Morocco’s National Airports Office.
Jan. 3, 2025
TUNISIA – French company Voltalia to build a solar power station in Tunisia
French renewable energy producer Voltalia has earned a contract to build a 139-megawatt solar power station in Gabes, southeastern Tunisia. The power station is expected to generate sufficient energy to power 620,000 homes. Construction works are set to begin in late 2025 and the project will become operational by 2027.
Dec. 31, 2024
ALGERIA – Spanish ready-to-wear clothing company Inditex suspends its commercial activity in Algeria
Spanish textile company Inditex has “temporarily” suspended its activity in Algeria due to “operational issues.” The suspension concerns around 20 stores in the North African country, under the brands of Zara, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and Bershka.
Dec. 5, 2024
ALGERIA – Low-cost airline AJet enters the Algerian market with three new flights from Turkey
Turkish low-cost airline AJet has launched three new air routes between Turkey and Algeria. The new regular flights will link Algiers with Istanbul, Oran with Ankara, and Constantine with Antalya.
Dec. 25, 2024
Politics
EGYPT – Egypt and Saudi Arabia sign an agreement to boost bilateral trade
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement to encourage bilateral trade. The agreement will allow companies from both countries to benefit from reduced customs duties, with the aim of increasing their products’ competitiveness.
Dec. 8, 2024
EGYPT – Egypt and Uzbekistan sign six cooperation agreements
Egypt and Uzbekistan have signed six cooperation agreements to enhance their partnership in several fields. The agreements aim to boost cooperation in environmental protection, academic collaboration, cultural heritage, regional partnerships, and scientific exchange.
Dec. 25, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco and Zambia sign a partnership agreement
Morocco and Zambia have signed an extensive partnership agreement covering the fields of air transportation, protection of investments, finances, insurance, education, training, tourism, agriculture, technology, industry, mining, and renewable energies.
Dec. 13, 2024
TUNISIA – Tunisia and Palestine sign five industrial cooperation agreements
Tunisia and Palestine have signed five cooperation agreements pertaining to the industrial sector. The agreements mainly concern mutual recognition of accreditation, certificates of compliance, and quality labels. They also aim to promote regular exchange between the Tunisian and Palestinian offices of industrial property.
Dec. 19, 2024
ALGERIA – Algeria demands a revision of its Association Agreement with the European Union
Algeria has demanded a revision in 2025 of its Association Agreement with the European Union. The agreement was signed in 2002 and went into effect in 2005. According to Algerian authorities, the agreement is harmful to the Algerian economy and favors the European economy. Algeria argued that the agreement doesn’t help solve administrative obstacles that face Algerian companies aiming to export their products to Europe. It also contributes to a large trade deficit in favor of the European Union, Algerian authorities claimed.
Dec. 30, 2024
Economy
EGYPT – Egypt’s annual inflation rate decreases to 25.5% in November 2024
Egypt’s annual inflation rate has decreased from 26.5% in October 2024 to 25.5% in November. Fruits and vegetables remain the most affected product category, with an annual price increase of 30.0%.
Dec. 10, 2024
EGYPT – Egyptian economy records a 3.5% growth in Q1 of the 2024-2025 fiscal year
The Egyptian economy has recorded a 3.5% growth in the first quarter of the 2024-2025 fiscal year, between July and September 2024. The figure represents an improvement compared to the 2.7% growth recorded in the same period of the previous year. Some of the sectors that witnessed the highest growth rates were transportation and storage (15.6%), telecommunications (12.2%), tourism (8.2%), and non-petroleum manufacturing (7.1%). On the other hand, revenues from the Suez Canal contracted by 68.4% and the extraction sector regressed by 8.9%.
Dec. 31, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco’s central bank reduces the key interest rate to 2.5%
Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, has decreased the key interest rate by 25 basis points, from 2.75% to 2.50%. The decision aims to stabilize the country’s inflation rate.
Dec. 17, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco’s annual inflation rate slightly increases to 0.8% in November 2024
Morocco’s annual inflation rate has slightly increased from 0.7% in October 2024 to 0.8% in November. The figure is attributed to a 0.8% annual increase in the prices of food products and a 0.7% increase for non-food products. Price variations for non-food products range from a 3.8% decline for transportation services to a 3.6% increase for housing, water, electricity, and gas, as well as for restaurants and hotels.
Dec. 20, 2024
MOROCCO – Moroccan economy grows by 4.3% in Q3-2024
The Moroccan economy has recorded a 4.3% growth in the third quarter of 2024, after 2.5% in both the first and second quarters. The figure is attributed to increased activity in the industrial sector (7.6%), notably for extractive industries (15.9%), manufacturing (7.5%), and construction and public works (6.9%). The sector of services also witnessed a 3.6% increase in activity. On the other hand, agriculture regressed by 5.2%.
Dec. 31, 2024
TUNISIA – Tunisia’s annual inflation rate slightly declines to 6.6% in November 2024
Tunisia’s annual inflation rate has slightly decreased to 6.6% in November 2024, after remaining at 6.7% for three consecutive months. Food products are the most affected by inflation, with their prices increasing by 9.3% over the year, notably sheep meat (21.4%), dry fruits (15.2%), poultry (14.1%), fish (13.9%), vegetables (13.1%), and beef meat (11.0%). Meanwhile, the prices of manufactured goods increased by 6.0% and services by 5.6%.
Dec. 29, 2024
ALGERIA – Annual inflation rate in Algeria drops to 4.2% in November 2024
Algeria’s annual inflation rate has dropped from 5.5% in October 2024 to 4.2% in November. The figure is mainly attributed to an increase in the prices of household items (4.5%), food products (3.6%), clothing items (3.5%), and health and hygiene products (3.0%).
Jan. 1, 2025
Key Economic Indicators
