HIBAPRESS – Shafiq Anouri
A Spanish press report confirmed that Morocco has consolidated its position as a "financial gateway" to Africa, after the international credit rating agency "Standard & Poor's" (S&P) granted the Kingdom a "BBB-" rating with a stable outlook, making it the only African country to have an investment grade in the European bond market.
This new rating, which returns Morocco to the position it lost in 2021, due to "Corona" and the drought, will, according to the Spanish newspaper "eldebate" report, reduce the Kingdom's financing costs and enhance its investment attractiveness five years before hosting the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. The same newspaper said that the new rating puts it in a similar position to countries like Hungary and Oman, and ahead of the rest of the African countries that are still in the non-investment zone with major rating agencies, adding that this improvement is due to the strength of macroeconomic policies and government reforms, especially in the areas of public finance, production diversification, and the reform of social security and tax systems, in addition to attracting broad international support that included the International Monetary Fund, which allocated Morocco a flexible credit line worth 4.5 billion dollars. The report added that Morocco's preparations to organize the 2030 World Cup constitute one of the engines of this economic momentum, as "eldebate" quoted from "CIH" bank estimates, based on Bloomberg, that the Kingdom will mobilize about $35 billion in infrastructure projects from stadiums, airports, ports and railways, along with the national airline, in addition to the program to rebuild the areas affected by the Marrakech earthquake in 2023. The newspaper pointed out that this investment effort is funded on better terms, explaining that Morocco issued sovereign bonds worth two billion euros last March, which were in demand that exceeded the supply by three times, and a noticeable decline in their returns in the secondary market, which was a prior indicator of the rating upgrade. The Spanish report also quoted "S&P" as saying that it expects the Moroccan economy to record an average growth of 4 percent annually between 2025 and 2028, supported by the automotive, aviation, phosphate, tourism, and information technology sectors, with inflation falling to less than 1 percent and targeting a reduction in the fiscal deficit to 3 percent of the gross domestic product by 2026. In contrast, the report pointed out the persistence of some structural vulnerabilities, as agriculture still represents about 10 percent of the GDP and a quarter of the workforce, with a great reliance on rainfall, which makes drought waves a major reason for the rise in unemployment in rural areas. In this context, the report pointed out that Morocco's import of more than 90 percent of its energy needs makes it vulnerable to fluctuations in international markets, while the per capita income remains relatively low at about $4,700 in 2025, and the unemployment rate is around 13 percent, with higher rates among youth and women. The newspaper "eldebate" considered in its report that the improvement in the credit rating puts Morocco in an advanced position compared to its regional competitors, as neither Egypt, Nigeria, nor South Africa has an investment grade in its euro issuances, which enhances the Kingdom's position as a financial gateway to the African continent. In contrast, the report stressed that the biggest challenge lies in translating this international recognition into comprehensive growth and sustainable job opportunities, in light of the escalating global trade tensions and the continued close link with the Spanish economy, Morocco's largest trading partner and the importer of a quarter of its exports.
