Business News North Africa November 2023
Business
EGYPT – Egypt suspends customs duties on 7 basic commodities to counter inflation
Egypt has suspended customs duties and import taxes on seven basic commodities in order to reduce their prices by 15% to 25%. The concerned products are sugar, oil, lentils, dairy products and cheese, pasta, poultry meat, and eggs. The suspension will be maintained for six months in order to counter the rising inflation rate in the country.
Oct. 16, 2023
EGYPT – China’s Jinjiang Hengsheng to build a textile factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone
Chinese textile manufacturer Jinjiang Hengsheng has signed an agreement to establish a dyeing, processing, and textile manufacturing project within the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The company will invest USD 70.0 mn in the project, which will span an area of 200,000 square meters.
Oct. 16, 2023
EGYPT – Chinese fiber-optic manufacturer Hengtong invests USD 18 mn to expand its Egyptian factory
Chinese fiber-optic cable manufacturer Hengtong has signed an agreement to expand its factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The expansion will require an investment budget of USD 18.0 mn and cover an area of 21,000 square meters. After the expansion, Hengtong will have a production capacity of 2 million kilometers of fiber-optic cables per year. The factory was initially launched in March 2023 with an investment of USD 6.0 mn.
Oct. 18, 2023
EGYPT – Qatari dairy producer Baladna to invest USD 1.5 bn in Egypt
Qatari dairy producer Baladna and the Suez Canal Authority have signed a joint cooperation memorandum with USD 1.5 bn in investments directed at developing the Egyptian dairy production and processing industry. The project includes a cattle farm with an initial capacity of 20,000 dairy cows with the aim of producing 300 million liters of milk annually. It also includes the cultivation of 1.13 billion square meters in the New Valley Governorate, southwestern Egypt, to provide feed for local use in the project and for export.
Oct. 25, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal
Morocco is set to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, alongside Spain and Portugal, FIFA has announced. Following the announcement, Moroccan authorities signed agreements to launch several infrastructure projects, notably the construction of the Grand Casablanca Stadium, expected to be the world’s second-largest stadium with a capacity of 113,000 spectators.
Oct. 4, 2023
MOROCCO – Construction material manufacturer Grupo Puma opens a factory in Morocco
Spanish construction material manufacturer Grupo Puma has launched a new factory in Had Soualem, near Casablanca, for producing cement mortar. The company invested MAD 30.0 mn (EUR 2.76 mn) in the project, which spans an area of 4,700 square meters.
Oct. 23, 2023
TUNISIA – Swiss packaging manufacturer Aluflexpack to acquire a 68% stake in Tunisia’s Helioflex
Swiss packaging manufacturer Aluflexpack is set to acquire a 68% stake in pharmaceutical packaging company Helioflex, owned by Tunisian industrial holding OneTech. The acquisition process is set to be completed during the first quarter of 2024. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Oct. 4, 2023
TUNISIA – Bulgarian manufacturer Akumplast JSC builds a factory in Tunisia
Bulgarian manufacturer Akumplast JSC has launched the construction of a factory in Zriba, northeastern Tunisia. The project will specialize in the production of car battery cases. The production unit is set to become operational at the start of 2024.
Oct. 9, 2023
ALGERIA – Italy’s Edison sells its stake in an Algerian gas project to Repsol and Wintershall
Italian energy company Edison has sold its 11.25% stake in the Reggane North gas project, in southwestern Algeria, to Spain’s Repsol (6.75%) and Germany’s Wintershall (4.50%). The deal is valued at around USD 100 mn. Following the transaction, the overall stakes of the Reggane North gas project became shared between Algeria’s Sonatrach (40.00%), Wintershall (30.75%), and Repsol (29.25%).
Oct. 14, 2023
ALGERIA – Energy Recovery to reduce energy consumption of Algerian water desalination plants
American industrial operator Energy Recovery has earned several contracts, valued at over USD 28 mn, to provide its PX Pressure Exchanger technology to several water desalination plants in Algeria. The technology allows the reduction of energy consumption for water desalination. The deal will help the Algerian plants reduce their carbon emission by around 560,000 tonnes per year.
Oct. 18, 2023
Politics
EGYPT – Four candidates register for the 2024 presidential elections in Egypt
Egypt’s National Election Authority has announced an initial list of four candidates who are set to run in the 2024 presidential elections after nominations closed. The candidates include incumbent President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Farid Zahran (Egyptian Social Democratic Party), Abdel Sanad Yamam (Al-Wafd Party), and Hazem Omar (Republican People’s Party).
Oct. 16, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco appoints a new ambassador to France after 10 months
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has named a new ambassador to France, 10 months after the previous ambassador was recalled. The newly-appointed ambassador, Samira Sitail, was a journalist who worked at the second Moroccan public television channel for over 30 years. The nomination indicates the appeasement of political and diplomatic tensions between Morocco and France.
Oct. 20, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco launches a financial aid program for low-income households
The Moroccan government has launched a social program providing low-income households with direct financial aid. The program includes a fixed amount of MAD 500 (EUR 46) per month, in addition to between MAD 200 and MAD 400 (EUR 18 – EUR 37) per child. The program also provides an allowance of MAD 2,000 (EUR 184) after giving birth for the first time and MAD 1,000 (EUR 92) for the second.
Oct. 24, 2023
TUNISIA – Tunisia resumes the visa exemption for Chinese tourists
Tunisian authorities have decided to resume the visa exemption for Chinese tourists. The decision to exempt Chinese citizens from visas was first implemented in 2017, but it has been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oct. 10, 2023
TUNISIA – New nationalist political party sees the light of day in Tunisia
A new political party “Massar 25 July” was created in Tunisia, named after the date when Tunisians voted for a new constitution. The party follows a nationalist and pan-Arab ideology. Its major demands include the criminalization of normalization with Israel, independence from foreign financing sources, and canceling the agreements that were signed during the colonial era. The party intends to participate in the upcoming local and regional elections, set to take place in December.
Oct. 19, 2023
Economy
EGYPT – Annual inflation rate in Egypt reaches a new record of 38.0% in September 2023
Egypt’s annual inflation rate reached a new record of 38.0% in September 2023, up from 37.8% in August. This marks the fourth consecutive month in which the inflation rate has risen to record-breaking numbers. The food and beverages sector is the most affected by the increase in prices, with a 73.6% hike between September 2022 and 2023.
Oct. 10, 2023
EGYPT – Egypt records a 3.8% GDP growth in the 2022-2023 fiscal year
The Egyptian economy has recorded a 3.8% growth in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. The figure is lower than the 6.2% GDP growth recorded in the previous fiscal year. The Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development considers the recorded growth rate positive, in light of the ongoing global economic and geopolitical challenges. It expects growth in the next fiscal year 2023-2024 to reach 4.2%.
Nov. 2, 2023
MOROCCO – Moroccan economy records a 2.3% annual growth in Q2-2023
The Moroccan economy has recorded a 2.3% annual growth in the second quarter of 2023, compared to 2.9% in the previous quarter and 2.2% in the second quarter of 2022. The growth is attributed to growths of 6.0% in the primary sector and 4.4% in the tertiary sector. Meanwhile, the secondary sector recorded a 2.8% regression.
Oct. 2, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco’s annual inflation rate stands at 4.9% in September 2023
Morocco’s annual inflation rate has slightly declined from 5.0% in August 2023 to 4.9% in September. The prices of food products have increased by 9.9% between September 2022 and 2023, while those of non-food products increased by 1.3%. For non-food products, the rate varies between -0.5% for transportation and entertainment and +5.4% for restaurants and hotels.
Oct. 22, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco’s unemployment rate increases to 13.5% in Q3-2023
Morocco’s unemployment rate has increased from 12.4% in the second quarter of 2023 to 13.5% in the third quarter. The unemployment rate is at its highest among youth aged between 15 and 24 (38.2%), women (19.8%), and university graduates (19.8%). It stands at 17.0% in urban areas and 7.0% in rural areas.
Nov. 3, 2023
TUNISIA – Annual inflation rate in Tunisia declines to 9.0% in September 2023
Tunisia’s annual inflation rate decreased to 9.0% in September 2023, down from 9.3% in the previous month. Food products are the most affected by inflation (13.9%), notably coffee (35.0%), eggs (33.7%), sheep meat (31.7%), and cooking oils (26.0%). Meanwhile, the prices of manufactured products increased by 7.9% over the year and those of services by 6.3%.
Oct. 5, 2023
ALGERIA – Annual inflation rate in Algeria stands at 9.5% in September 2023
The annual inflation rate in Algeria stood at 9.5% in September 2023. The prices of education, culture and entertainment services are the most affected by inflation (14.1%), followed by food products (13.7%), health services and medical products (8.2%), household items (6.7%), and clothing items (6.5%).
Oct. 30, 2023
Key Economic Indicators
