Moroccan Businesses Face Uncertain Future Despite Initial COVID-19 Relief Measures

After six months, the Covid-19 impact is less. In total, 2,554 court-ordered liquidations were pronounced between January and June, compared to 4,111 over the same period last year, reports L’Économiste. In January, a 14% increase in bankruptcies was recorded. But a downward trend was observed in the following five months with a collapse of activity during the months of April, May and June. Result: less than 200 bankruptcy filings were recorded in the second quarter of the year.

According to Amine Diouri, Director of Communication & Value-Added Services and Head of the Inforisk Dun Trade Program, the drop in defaults is explained by the slowdown in the activity of commercial courts to counter the spread of coronavirus. "Under normal circumstances, we would have counted 1,700 more defaults," he says.

Thanks to financial transfusion, some companies have also been saved from certain closure. But the expiration of certain measures on June 30 last is causing panic among the leaders of VSEs and SMEs. The coming months could be suicidal for businesses. Moreover, professionals believe that the wave of bankruptcies has simply been postponed over time. This means that defaults could multiply with the resumption of activity in commercial courts.