Blog

The Moroccan Economy in Brief: Wednesday, November 20, 2019

BCP: A net profit attributable to the group of MAD 2.18 billion at the end of September:
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, Banque Centrale Populaire Group (BCP) posted net income (Group share) of MAD 2.18 billion, up 4.4% compared with a year earlier. Net banking income (NBI) posted a good dynamic with an increase of 6.2% to MAD 13.057 billion over the first nine months of 2019, the Group said in a press release published on the Casablanca Stock Exchange website, specifying that in a context of tightening intermediation margins (an interest margin stabilized at MAD 8.2 billion), NBI growth was supported by the strong momentum in fee-based margin, which was mainly due to the contribution of CIB (corporate and investment banking).


Arribat Center opens its doors:
Arribat Center finally opened its doors to the public on November 20, after years of construction work. Located in the heart of Rabat, in the Agdal district, the centre developed by Foncière Chellah (a subsidiary of CDG Développement, CDG group) has 150 points of sale dedicated to shopping, leisure and catering, on approximately five hectares of land and a built covered area of 216,000 square metres. This new mall required a total investment of MAD 2.4 billion and includes several spaces: a shopping centre, office spaces, a hotel, a conference centre, a film multiplex (Megarama), an urban park and a car park.


Profits up 14.3% at the end of September:
Good vintage for Crédit du Maroc at the end of September. The group has a consolidated net banking income (NBI) of MAD 1.78 billion. This represents an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period last year. This performance is attributed to the interest margin, which increased by 2.8% to MAD 1.37 billion. The commission margin also increased by 2.6% to MAD 317.1 million, driven by the good performance of the electronic payment and bancassurance activities. Moreover, premiums collected in non-life insurance increased by 8%.


Heetch raises $4 million from Africinvest:
Heetch secures the funds for its international expansion strategy. The French startup, also present in Morocco, has just raised $4 million from the Africinvest fund. This amount is in addition to the $38 million raised last May to finance its deployment on the African continent. Heetch's objective is to expand its presence to six new countries on the continent, including Tunisia and Senegal.


Rabat reiterates its commitment to support the African diaspora:
Morocco's Ambassador to Finland Mohamed Achgalou stressed in Helsinki on Monday the Kingdom's sincere commitment to supporting the interests of the African diaspora, in line with the wise vision of HM King Mohammed VI, in his capacity as leader of the African Union on the issue of migration. Speaking at the Think Africa Week (November 18-23), the Moroccan diplomat recalled that in the African Agenda for Migration, His Majesty the King discussed ways to strengthen the role of the African diaspora and its contribution to the continent's development.