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Viewing cable 06RABAT402, MOROCCO ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06RABAT402 2006-03-03 16:20 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Rabat
VZCZCXRO7277
RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHRB #0402/01 0621620
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031620Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY RABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2987
INFO RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 1339
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3778
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 8662
RUEHNK/AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT 3015
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 4033
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1425
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 5368
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2802
RUEATRS/DEPTTREAS WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC 0859
RUEAORC/USCBP WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RABAT 000402 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG, NEA/OFI AND INL/AAE 
DEPT ALSO FOR EB/TPP, EB/IFD AND DRL/IL 
STATE PASS USTR FOR DOUG BELL 
STATE PASS USAID FOR JENNIFER RAGLAND 
USDOC ITA/MAC/ANESA FOR DAVID ROTH 
USDOC FOR FSC/OIO AND CLDP 
USDOL FOR ILAB 
PARIS FOR ZEYA 
LONDON FOR TSOU 
ROME FOR ROSE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIS EAIR EINV ECPS MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS 
 
REF A: 05 Rabat 1693 
 
------------------------ 
Fishing for $400 million 
------------------------ 
 
1.  Fishing, which employs nearly one in ten Moroccans, 
brought in nearly $400 million in 2005, a 12 percent 
increase over the previous year.  The highest growth came 
from catches brought into the ports of Tan Tan in southern 
Morocco and Laayoune, in the Western Sahara. 
 
-------- 
Bull Run 
-------- 
 
2.  The Casablanca stock exchange is up over 30 percent 
since the start of the year, leaving analysts and investors 
wondering how sustainable the rally will prove to be.  Both 
major indexes, the Moroccan All Shares Index (MASI), a free- 
floating index that includes all 55 stocks on the exchange, 
and the Moroccan Most Active Shares Index (MADEX), which 
includes only the 20 most traded stocks, have jumped 30 
percent.  The exchange's market capitalization is now up to 
$36 billion, up from $27 billion at the end of 2005.  Many 
analysts point to a massive inflow of petrodollars from the 
Gulf as the cause. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Easier to Jet from Marrakech to Paris, London 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  Britain's EasyJet announced that starting in July it 
will offer direct daily service from London Gatwick to 
Marrakech, becoming the first major low-fare carrier to fly 
between the two cities.  Meanwhile, new Moroccan low-cost 
carrier Jet4You completed its first commercial flight on 
Feb. 27 from Paris to Marrakech.  The new airline will fly 
daily from Paris Orly to Marrakech, and twice weekly from 
Orly to Fez and Agadir. 
 
------------------------- 
U.S. Firm Bets on Tourism 
------------------------- 
 
4.  A consortium led by U.S. investment firm Colony Capital 
won a call for bids launched by the Ministry of Tourism to 
develop the beach resort at Taghazout, on Morocco's southern 
Atlantic coast near Agadir.  Colony Capital will invest an 
initial $220 million to develop the site, and then up to 
another $1.1 billion on amenities.  The resort will be one 
of the six stations contemplated under the GOM's "Plan Azur" 
tourism development program (Ref A), and will have a 
capacity for 21,000 guests.  Work will begin before the end 
of 2006. 
 
---------------------------- 
Maroc Telecom Record Profits 
---------------------------- 
 
5.  Legacy telecoms operator Maroc Telecom earned a record 
2005 profit of $635 million, 12 percent higher than in 2004. 
The company will invest $36 million this year in a new 
undersea fiber optic cable linking northern Morocco to the 
 
RABAT 00000402  002 OF 002 
 
 
south of France, in a bid to boost the infrastructure needed 
to make the country an attractive destination for call 
centers. 
 
------------------- 
Medical Brain Drain 
------------------- 
 
6.  The national medical doctors union reports that 20 
Moroccan physicians leave the country every month to work in 
countries like France and Canada, mostly seeking higher pay. 
There is one physician for every 3,000 people in Morocco, 
well below the WHO-recommended figure of one per 1,000 
population. 
 
------------- 
Morocco 2014? 
------------- 
 
7.  Three large soccer stadiums launched by the GOM during 
its failed bid to host the World Cup in 2010 are in an 
advanced state of construction.  The stadiums, which cost 
$100 million each and will each hold 45,000 people, are 
being built in Tangier, Marrakech and Agadir.  They are 
financed entirely by the state and will be finished near the 
end of 2007.