Business News North Africa March 2025
Business
EGYPT – Minimum wage in Egypt’s private sector increases to EGP 7,000 in March
Egypt’s National Council for Wages has announced a 17% increase in the minimum wage for private sector workers, starting March 1st. The new minimum wage is set at EGP 7,000 (EUR 133). The increase is the sixth of its kind in the last three years. The minimum wage was raised from EGP 2,400 (EUR 46.0) in January 2022 up to EGP 6,000 (EUR 114) back in April 2024.
Feb. 10, 2025
EGYPT – China’s Hisense and UAE’s FBB Tech to build a television factory in Egypt
Chinese household appliances manufacturer Hisense and Emirati company FBB Tech have launched the construction of a television factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The first phase of the project has an investment budget of USD 38.0 mn, while the global budget is estimated at USD 100 mn. Covering an area of 110,000 square meters, the factory is set to produce 2.5 million units per year, destined for exportation to over 100 countries.
Feb. 17, 2025
EGYPT – Turkish company Eroğlu to build a garment factory in Egypt
Turkish clothing company Eroğlu has signed an agreement with the Suez Canal Economic Zone to establish a garment manufacturing unit. The project has an investment budget of USD 120 mn. The factory will span over an area of 100,000 square meters and create 5,000 jobs. It will have a production capacity of 30 million garments per year.
Feb. 25, 2025
MOROCCO – French company Colas earns 3 contracts to build a high-speed railway in Morocco
French public works company Colas has earned three contracts, worth MAD 4.4 bn (EUR 423 mn), to build a high-speed railway between Kenitra and Marrakech, in Morocco. The project has a total length of nearly 500 kilometers, set to be delivered by the end of 2027.
Feb. 5, 2025
MOROCCO – Two Chinese companies to launch a joint automotive parts factory in Morocco
Chinese companies Lingyun Industrial and Guangdong Haomei New Materials have launched a joint venture to build an automotive parts factory in Tangier, northern Morocco. The factory will produce battery cases for electric vehicles, as well as aluminum laminate body structures for several car brands. The project has an investment budget of MAD 137 mn (EUR 13.2 mn).
Feb. 17, 2025
MOROCCO – South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem earns a 1.5-billion-euro contract to supply trains to Morocco
South Korean railway company Hyundai Rotem has earned a contract to supply Morocco’s National Railway Office with 110 interurban trains for around MAD 16.0 bn (EUR 1.54 bn). According to the contract, the trains have to be produced locally. The Korean company will therefore launch a factory in Benguerir, near Marrakech.
Feb. 26, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisie Telecom joins Medusa Submarine Cable System
Tunisian telecom operator Tunisie Telecom has signed an agreement to join Medusa Submarine Cable System, the largest fiber optic network in the Mediterranean. According to the agreement, a fiber optic link will be created between Bizerte, in northern Tunisia, and Marseille, in southern France, with a capacity of 20 terabit-per-second. The cable will be operational by the beginning of 2026.
Feb. 8, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisia launches 5G internet
Tunisia has become the first country in North Africa to launch 5G internet services to the public. The technology was launched by the three telecom operators in the country: Tunisie Telecom, Ooredoo, and Orange Tunisie.
Feb. 14, 2025
ALGERIA – China’s Hisense and Algeria’s Condor to build an air conditioner factory in Algeria
Chinese household appliances manufacturer Hisense and Algerian distributor Condor have signed an agreement to build “Africa’s largest industrial complex” in Bordj Bou Arreridj, eastern Algeria. The project will produce two million Hisense air conditioners per year, with 80% destined for exportation and 20% destined for the local market. Details about the project are yet to be disclosed.
Feb. 19, 2025
ALGERIA – China’s Sinopec to invest USD 850 mn to exploit a gas field in northwestern Algeria
Chinese oil company Sinopec has signed an 850-million-dollar agreement with Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach in order to develop and exploit hydrocarbon fields in the Hassi Berkane Nord region, northwestern Algeria.
Feb. 25, 2025
Politics
EGYPT – Egypt and Spain elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership level
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have signed an agreement to elevate bilateral relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership level. The agreement was signed during a State visit of President El-Sisi to Madrid.
Feb. 19, 2025
MOROCCO – King Mohammed VI cancels the sacrifice ritual of this year’s Eid Al-Adha
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has canceled the sacrifice ritual of this year’s Eid Al-Adha, expected in the first week of June this year. The decision is due to a significant drop in the number of available livestock in the country, attributed to the ongoing drought.
Feb. 26, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisian President replaces the Minister of Finance
Tunisian President Kais Saied has replaced the Minister of Finance, Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia, who held this position since October 2021. He nominated Mechket Slama Khaldi to replace her. The reason behind the sacking was not disclosed.
Feb. 5, 2025
ALGERIA – Algerian Parliament’s upper chamber suspends its relations with its French counterpart
Algeria’s Council of the Nation, the upper chamber of the parliament, has announced the complete suspension of its relations with the French Senate, including the cooperation protocol signed in September 2015. The decision comes after French authorities imposed several mobility restrictions on Algerian officials as a reaction to Algeria’s refusal of the repatriation of its irregular migrants to France, among other sources of tension. The Algerian government announced it would respond with reciprocity to all measures taken by France.
Feb. 26, 2025
Economy
EGYPT – Egypt records a 23.9% annual inflation rate in January 2025
Egypt’s annual inflation rate has decreased from 24.1% in December 2024 to 23.9% in January 2025. The figure is mainly attributed to a 29.9% annual increase in the prices of “regulated items,” along with a 20.9% increase for fruits and vegetables.
Feb. 10, 2025
EGYPT – Egypt’s unemployment rate declines to 6.4% in Q4-2024
Egypt’s unemployment rate has declined to 6.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 6.7% in the previous quarter. The country’s labor force, however, grew from 32.2 million individuals to 33.1 million, including 14.5 million in urban areas and 18.6 million in rural areas.
Feb. 16, 2025
MOROCCO – Morocco records a 13.3% unemployment rate in Q4-2024
Morocco recorded a 13.3% unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 13.6% in the previous quarter and up from 13.0% in the same period of 2023. The figure varies between 16.9% in urban areas and 6.8% in rural areas. The most affected social categories by unemployment remain youth aged 15 to 24 (36.7%), higher education graduates (19.6%), and women (19.4%).
Feb. 3, 2025
MOROCCO – Morocco’s annual inflation rate increases to 2.0% in January 2025
Morocco’s annual inflation rate has increased to 2.0% in January 2025, up from 0.9% in December 2024. The figure is attributed to a 3.3% annual increase in the prices of food products and a 1.1% increase for non-food products. For non-food products, price variations range from -2.7% for transportation to +3.6% for housing, water, electricity, and gas.
Feb. 21, 2025
TUNISIA – Tunisian economy records a 0.9% growth in Q4-2024
Tunisian economy has recorded a 0.9% quarterly growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, up from 0.8% in the previous quarter and 0.2% in the same period of 2023. The figure is attributed to a 3.5% growth in agricultural activity, a 3.0% growth in construction, and a 0.7% growth in the services sector. Meanwhile, the industrial sector witnessed a 0.6% decrease in activity.
Feb. 15, 2025
TUNISIA – Annual inflation rate in Tunisia decreases to 6.0% in January 2025
The annual inflation rate in Tunisia decreased from 6.2% in December 2024 to 6.0% in January 2025. Food products remain the most affected by inflation (7.1%), notably sheep meat (22.7%), fresh vegetables (18.0%), dried fruits (15.1%), fresh fish (13.7%), and poultry (11.2%). Meanwhile, the prices of manufactured goods increased by 5.7% over the year and those of services by 5.3%.
Feb. 6, 2025
ALGERIA – Algeria announces a 12.7% unemployment rate at the end of October 2024
Algeria’s National Statistics Office has announced a 12.7% unemployment rate at the end of October 2024. The figure ranges from 9.0% for men and 25.4% for women. Meanwhile, youth aged 16 to 24 are the most affected, with an unemployment rate of 29.3%.
Feb. 28, 2025
Key Economic Indicators
