Rabat – Foreign investment money flows to Morocco have increased by 52% in 2021, to reach a total of $2.2 billion (MAD 22 billion), while the overall flow into North Africa fell by 5%.
The figures come from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which published a new report this month detailing how global investment flows have changed over the past year.
With renewables and energy efficiency-related projects accounting for most of the growth, UNCTAD’s report made special note of the Xlinks subsea cables project in Morocco.
The project entails constructing a 3,800km transmission line, with an estimated budget of $20 billion (MAD 200 billion), which will enable solar and wind energy generated in Morocco to be sent to the United Kingdom.
While hydroelectric power has historically been important for renewables investment, other sources like biomass and waste-to-energy projects are increasingly gaining steam.
The same could be said for investment outflows, which have increased by nearly $50 million (MAD 500 million) over the past year.
West Africa registered the second biggest increase in inflows on the continent, with one of the mentioned projects being the construction of a $436 million (MAD 4.3 billion) cement factory by Morocco’s Ciments d’Afrique (CIMAF) in Ghana.
Overall, foreign direct investment inflows in Morocco in 2021 are still not back to their levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, but have seen a marked recovery.
Since 2000, foreign direct investments in Morocco have reached nearly $73 billion (MAD 740 billion), while outflows have reached $7 billion (MAD 71 billion).
Meanwhile, the African continent as a whole had a remarkable 113% increase in its investment inflows, with the region of Southern Africa registering a staggering 895% increase.
In North Africa, countries like Egypt, Algeria, and Sudan saw decreases in their levels of investment, with Morocco seeing the largest improvement.
Read also: Morocco’s Southern Provinces: A promising Investment Hub
