UAE Surpasses Germany as Top Investor in Morocco, Driving Record Foreign Flows
Rabat, Morocco – The United Arab Emirates has emerged โas Morocco’s leading source of foreign investment, โwith โnetโฃ investment flows increasing by 57.8 percent to โข3.1โข billion Moroccan dirhams in 2024, according to a new report from Morocco’s Officeโฃ of the Budget of Payments and the Overall External Status. This marks a important shift in investment patterns,surpassing conventional partners like โขGermany and signaling a deepening economic relationshipโ between the two nations.
The surge in UAE investment is a key driver โคbehind โMorocco’s overall positive balance โฃofโ payments, contributing to a 16.3 billion dirham surplus in net foreign investment โflows for โ2024 โ- โa substantial increase from 5.6 billion dirhams the previous year.โค This influx of โcapital isโ poised to bolster key sectors of the Moroccan economy,especially real estate and transformational industries,and could fuel further growth and job creation.
Germany remains a โขsignificant investor, with flows to Morocco reaching 2.1 billion dirhams in 2024,โ up from 1.4 billion dirhams in 2023. โChina โคalso โcontinues to be a โkey partner, contributing 2.05 billionโ dirhams โขin investment. Though,โค the UAE’s rapid growth โin investment has propelled itโค to the forefront.
The overallโข increase in net foreign investment is largely attributed to aโข quadrupling of net debt instrument flows, rising by โ7.2 billion Moroccanโค dirhams, alongside a โ14.9 percent increase in fundamental โฃcontributions. While reinvested profits saw a slight decrease, โขfalling โby 0.6 billion dirhams to 2.1 billion dirhams,the overall trend remains strongly positive.
Sectorally, โreal estate activities captured the largest share of netโ foreign investment inโค 2024, accounting โขforโ 45.4 percent of โthe total. Transformational industries followed closely behind with aโ 45.2โค percent share. โฃ
The report alsoโค indicates a positive trend in foreign direct investment revenue, โขwhich increased by 10.2 percent to 43.8 billion dirhams, while expenditures decreased by 5.3 percent to 27.5 โขbillion dirhams. these figures underscore Morocco’s growing attractiveness as an investment destination andโข its strengthening โexternal financial position.
