Rabat – A recent report by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) intelligence forecasts that Morocco will carry a “strong investment momentum into 2023,” with an 82.46 investment momentum score.
Titled “FDI Standouts Watchlist 2023,” the report placed Morocco in third place among the world’s top destinations for foreign investment this year, proving the country’s “solid macroeconomic cycle.”
The North African country’s renewable energy potential has put it on investors’ radars across the world. “Several foreign investors are looking to combine Morocco’s solar and wind potential to produce green hydrogen,” noted the report.
The study gave the example of the French energy-focused group Total Eren, which is launching a $10.6 billion (MAD 100 billion) green hydrogen project in the Moroccan southern region of Guelmim-Oued Noun.
The source noted that Morocco maintains its position as the third-largest recipient of manufacturing FDI in the MENA region, after Saudi Arabia and Egypt respectively.
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In addition, the report emphasized that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to enjoy the “strongest investment momentum” in the year 2023, with a total of six countries from the region featuring among the top 10.
Qatar, which has enjoyed the spotlight during the 2022 World Cup, led the global ranking as the top destination for FDI in 2023. The study attributed the Gulf country’s ranking to the ongoing energy crisis led by the Russia-Ukraine war, which has reinforced Qatar’s position as one of the world’s leading exporters of liquified natural gas.
However, Qatar’s leading position goes beyond its oil and gas potential, as the country’s business and finance sectors attracted most of its FDI projects in 2022.
First-place holder Qatar was followed by India, Morocco, Oman, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Singapore, Greece, and the UAE respectively.
Despite the challenges that the global economy is currently facing, countries from the MENA region managed to create “regional breakaways from this narrative,” thanks to “rising commodity prices in some areas, and a strong reform cycle in others.”
