Morocco’s Private Sector Investment Plummets to 4% of GDP, Study Reveals

The investments of these companies have gone from 75 billion dirhams in 2014 (equivalent to nearly 8% of GDP) to 50 billion dirhams (4% of GDP) in 2019, the study says. Over 10 years, the total reaches only 621 billion dirhams. Estimates indicate that the share of private investment in Morocco is around 25% compared to 75% for the public sector. Compared to the share of private investment in countries like Turkey (85% versus 15% for the public), the situation is very poor in Morocco. Aware of this reality, the kingdom intends through its new development model to bring the share of private investment to 65% against 35% for the public.

Another problem: "A few companies now concentrate the majority of private investments in Morocco," observes Amine Diouri, director of studies and communication at Inforisk with Le360. He points out that this phenomenon is found in Moroccan taxation where 80% of tax revenues are contributed by 0.8% of companies.

Large companies invest an average of nearly 63 million dirhams: 3.3 million dirhams for SMEs and 200,000 dirhams for VSEs, the study specifies. "This observation leads us to ask the question of ’how’? Private investment is not just a matter of figures, but also a matter of choice of development model," the official points out.

The study also shows that the health crisis related to Covid-19 and its adverse effects on economic activity are a brake on private investment. 81% of the companies surveyed do not intend to invest in 2021, it is reported.