Agriculture/Tourism
Implementation
of Free-Trade With U.S. Forces Reform on Moroccan Agriculture
Sector
Three
years after becoming prime minister, Driss Jetou has just
started looking at reforming the agricultural sector. Pressure
to reform is mounting as the country is bracing for open trade
with the United States starting January 2006. Despite a sense
of urgency, the Moroccans will have up to 15 years to improve
the performance of their farmlands and the competitiveness
of the their farmers. [read
here]
Economy/Trade
Chinese
Companies Continue to Strengthen their Positions in North
Africa
Business
between North Africa and China has never been better and yet
there is plenty to be done. The commercial relation between
the two is such that the Algerian airline carrier Air Algerie
is negotiating direct service between Algiers and Beijing.
With so many Chinese companies and workers active in the region,
a direct flight makes sense.
[read
here]
.
Energy/Mining
Morocco: Still Looking for Oil
Despite
a lack of success, Morocco continues to look for oil and gas.
More recently it has merged its energy and mining bureaus
known as ONAREP and BRPM into a single institution called
Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (national hydrocarbons
and mining office or ONYM). The core activities handled by
the former organizations extended in 2004 and 2005 but were
managed within one single entity in an effort to standardize
practices and establish common rules. [read
here]
Finance/Banking
BMCE
Bank Gets Regulator OK for Stock Buyback
The
Moroccan bank BMCE Bank received regulatory approval for a
share repurchase program. The bank intends to re-acquire 9.45%
of its capital from now to May 25th 2007. [read
here]
Politics/Diplomacy
Partial Elections
in Algeria: Berber Parties FFS and RCD Regain Momentum in
the Kabylie Region
As
expected, the two pro-Berber parties of the RCD (Rally for
Culture and Democracy) and FFS (Socialist Forces Front), whose
bases have always been among the Berber Imazighen minorities
in Algeria, won the bulk of local and regional assembly seats,
according to the preliminary results of the Thursday, November
24, 2005 partial elections. These partial elections were decided
after the 2002 elections were contested as the Kabylie region
faced civil disobedience and unrest. The decision to dissolve
the 2002 assemblies and run fresh elections was made following
lengthy negotiations between President Bouteflika, his Prime
Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and the Kabylie's popular leaders,
the Arouch. [read
here]
[read
the details here]
Corporate
Affairs
Algeria's State-Owned Maritime Shipping
Firm CNAN Seeks Way out of Trouble
CNAN, the Algerian maritime firm that had complete monopoly
in the past decades is currently facing an uncertain future.
Not only is it dealing with internal fights between different
groups claiming to be the legitimate union representatives
and its owners, the state, but the company is also poorly
managed and continues to lose money. [read
here]
