Morocco currently ranks as the top African investor in France, as the European country continues to be the most attractive country in Europe for foreign direct investment, according to a report published by EY on May 11.
In 2022, France received a total of 60 investments from Africa, mainly from North Africa.
The EY report shows that Moroccan investments created 682 jobs, and were behind 12 ventures in France at the end of 2022. Despite the recent hiccup in Morocco-France relations, jobs created by Moroccan investors in France rose by 60% compared to the previous year.
While the flow of investments from Morocco to France seems to be on the rise, investments the other way around have been sliding in recent years.
After being Morocco’s largest foreign investor for more than a decade, France dropped to second place in the first six months of 2022, as the United States overtook it and became the largest foreign investor in the North African country’s economy.
According to data from the country’s foreign trade watchdog, the Exchange Office (OE), Morocco welcomed MAD 6.3 billion ($578 million) in investments from the US in the first half of 2022, against MAD 5.6 billion ($513.7 million) from France.
Over the past decade, US foreign direct investments in Morocco saw a steady increase, going from MAD 1.5 billion ($214 million based on the then exchange rate) at the end of 2007 to MAD 6.3 billion ($578 million) in only the first half of 2022, OE data shows.
Historically, France has been Morocco’s default business partner, with the EU currently being the largest trade partner of the North African country. However, in recent years, Morocco has actively worked to diversify its base of international partners.
