Rabat – The Rabat Commercial Court ruled on Monday that Maroc Telcom should pay Wana Corporate, known commercially as Inwi, a staggering MAD 6.3 billion ($636 million) in compensation in an antitrust case.
Inwi had initially claimed MAD 6.85 billion ($684 million) in compensation.
The long-standing legal dispute between Maroc Telecom and Wana Corporate, known commercially as Inwi, started in 2020 when Inwi filed its first lawsuit against the Moroccan telecommunication giant accusing them of “anti-competition” practices.
The case revolves around accusations against Maroc Telecom, alleging its involvement in abusing its dominant market position in unbundling. Unbundling refers to Local Loop Unbundling (LLU). The local loop refers to the last segment of the telecommunications network that connects the customer’s premises to the nearest telephone exchange.
In telecommunication infrastructure, unbundling allows for different companies to use the same physical cables or wires that connect homes or businesses to the telephone network. The measure opens the door for competition, as multiple providers can offer their services using the existing infrastructure.
Inwi had initially filed a complaint against Maroc Telecom at the Moroccan telecommunications regulatory body ANRT in December 2016 alleging that Maroc Telcom is committing anti-competitive practices in “the implementation of local-loop unbundling.”
ANRT launched an investigation into the allegations in 2017, and found that Maroc Telcom had participated, since 2013, in “cumulative conduct that had the effect of preventing and delaying competitors’ access to local-loop unbundling and the landline market.”
“The ruling is anticipated to have a profound impact on Maroc Telecom’s profit margins and distribution strategy for the year 2024 unless the company has made provisions, either in the fourth quarter of 2023 or post-closure,” argues BMCI Capital Global Research, a market research company.
In a document published on Monday, the market research company further explained that Maroc Telecom has faced financial setbacks in recent years due to several extraordinary cash outflows. In 2019, the company paid a MAD 3.3 billion ($329 million) fine imposed by the ANRT – the Moroccan regulatory body for telecommunication.
The company has equally paid a MAD 1.0 billion ($99.8 million) contribution to the COVID-19 fund in 2020 (net), another MAD 2.45 billion ($244.7 million) penalty from ANRT in 2022, and a MAD 700 million ($69.9 million) contribution to the Special Fund for managing the effects of an earthquake.
Prior to this verdict, the research firm had projected profit capacities for the Moroccan subsidiary of the Emirati Group Etisalat at MAD 5.5 billion ($549.3 million) in 2023 and MAD 5.8 billion ($579 million) in 2024.
In the first half of 2023, Maroc Telecom’s profits stood at MAD 2.9 billion ($289.6 million), marking a 2.3% annual increase.
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