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Moroccan King Lights Up Ivory Coast as Trade Pushes South | Bloomberg Business
Morocco’s push into sub-Saharan Africa spurs development:
[…] Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco’s biggest lender, has 312 branches in West Africa. It helps finance many of the kingdom’s regional projects, including the 100 billion CFA Francs ($171 million) cleaning of Abidjan’s lagoon, the largest of about four dozen accords signed during Mohammed VI’s visit.
Maroc Telecom bought Emirates Telecommunications Corp.’s West Africa operations this year for $650 million and plans to invest 1.6 billion dirhams more in the region over the next five years. Royal Air Maroc flies from Casablanca to about half of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The fact that Morocco has its banks operating throughout sub-Saharan Africa is a real opportunity,” said Omar Belmamoun, director-general of Casablanca-based Platinum Power, which has operations in Morocco, Ivory Coast and Cameroon. “When you have your own bank also operating in Ivory Coast or Senegal and offering to fund your projects, that makes things simple.”..[full story]