Rabat – After holding the continental title for receiving Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in 2019 and 2020, Morocco lost its leading position to Egypt in 2021.
Despite the significant increase in greenfield FDIs – investments whereby a parent company creates a subsidiary in the host country– in Morocco in 2021, Egypt managed to secure the record for the most attractive FDI destination in Africa, according to a report from InvestmentMonitor.
Greenfield FDIs in Morocco saw annual growth of 27% throughout 2021, while FDIs in Egypt rose by a staggering 90% in the same period, the report indicates. And whereas Egypt welcomed 116 business ventures funded by foreign investments, the number was only 93 in Morocco, the report adds.
Morocco ranked as the fifth largest receiver of greenfield FDIs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, following the United Arab Emirate (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.
The overall number of businesses funded by foreign capital in the MENA region noted a strong rebound in 2021. After dipping to 720 projects in 2020, down from 928 in 2020, the number of greenfield FDI projects in the region reached a sweeping 1,914 at the end of last year, the report explains.
InvestmentMonitor’s report comes amid expectations of a sound post-COVID recovery in Morocco, with the country’s central bank reporting last month that the flow of FDI to the country is showing strong signs of post-pandemic recovery.
In its report, Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM), documented that the overall volume of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in Morocco reached $1.647 billion at the end of 2021.
The volume of FDIs in Morocco increased by a year-on-year average of 77%, surpassing even pre-pandemic growth levels, BAM concluded.
Read Also: Foreign Investments in Morocco Rebound to Above Pre-Pandemic Levels
