Morocco Emerges as Attractive Investment Despite Region's Political Instability

"The leadership changes and popular uprisings that have spread in North Africa will take their toll on the stability and growth of Morocco," says Pyramid Innovation Analyst, Majd Hosn. A country that has enjoyed over two decades of stability since Mohammad VI became king will need to revisit their policies. A recent shift from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy in March 2011 is a sign of initiatives to introduce change. "A sluggish agricultural sector and a slight drop in the telecom sector revenue led to a 2.7% drop in real GDP growth in 2010, down from the promising 2009 rise of 4.7%. The Economist Intelligence Unit has projected that the Moroccan economy will grow by 4.1% by year-end 2011 as the country regains some of its political stability amidst a more peaceful regional environment," he notes.

Strong position when compared to other regional

Morocco is expected to maintain a strong position when compared to other regional, Middle East and African, telecom markets. "Pyramid Innovation forecasts total revenue to increase by a 4.1% CAGR over the then five years, from a projected $4.47bn in 2010 to $5.47bn in 2015," indicates Hosn. "The mobile segment, comprised of voice and data, made up 71.6% of total revenue in 2010, a figure Pyramid Technology expects to increase slightly over the forecast period, reaching 76.3% by 2015, thanks to tremendous growth in mobile broadband uptake and increased competition amongst the three mobile providers," he adds.

"Through all the North African uprisings and instability, Morocco has emerged as the most politically stable and in a word attractive market in North Africa for investments," Hosn states. As the major players seem to have found their strategic partnerships, the smaller companies remain a deep so then of possibilities and opportunities. The coming years will see strong growth in the three major players and with it will come evermore dependence from the smaller specialized service providers. "Whether it be VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) providers, broadband Internet repackaging, or pay-TV installers, the smaller companies will be called to duty and along these lines present a viable investment option for investors looking to capture a share of the projected $1.44bn data segment by 2015, or other promising indicators," he indicates.