Sam Kaplan, the New US Ambassador to Morocco to be Appointed Shortly

Democratic fundraiser, is likely to become the U.S. ambassador to Morocco, according to Democratic sources . Sam Kaplan, a top fundraiser for President Obama's 2008 campaign finance committee, is now being vetted and is expected to be named to the ambassadorial post soon.
In addition to president Obama, Sam Kaplan has donated to several democratic candidates , including congressman Keith Ellison, soon to be senator Al Franken, as well to the Democratic national committee.

Another prominent Minnesotan in Washington is Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress who has traveled in the region to promote peace, since being elected to Congress in 2006. Sam Kaplan would be one of a small number of Jewish ambassadors who have been sent to the region. Mr. Kaplan, 72, would follow in the footsteps of another famous Minnesotan, former Vice President Walter Mondale, who was President Bill Clinton's ambassador to Japan.
Mr. Kaplan's appointment would be subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. His name has been circulated recently because government officials have reportedly been interviewing friends and associates in Minnesota.
Mr. Kaplan was Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1936. He went to college at the University of Minnesota, B.B.A., graduated in, 1957. He attended law school at University of Minnesota, J.D., magna cum laude, 1960

Morocco interest rate likely to stay at 3.25 pct -cbank

MARRAKECH, Morocco, May 29 (Reuters) - Morocco is likely to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent at a meeting next month, Central Bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri said on Friday.

'We will meet in June to review Moroccan economic policy, but all the indicators say that we will keep it at 3.25,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a finance conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The central bank cut the benchmark rate from 3.5 to 3.25 percent in March, saying underlying inflation was falling and the outlook for the global economy was likely to worsen.

Economic growth in the north African kingdom slowed to 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from 5.4 percent in the third quarter and 6.5 percent in the second.

The slowing world economy is having a knock-on effect on exports, tourism, transfers of funds by Moroccans living abroad and foreign direct investment.

USA - Morocco Remittances Research Report

On March 2009, the 361 Degrees Institute conducted a survey on remittances from Moroccans residing in the USA to Morocco. The research contemplated barriers, trends, habits and opportunities that exist in regards to the money flow to Morocco from the United States. According to the World Bank, Moroccans Living Abroad sent remittances totaling 6.7 billion USD last year. In 2003, the last year for which data is available, Moroccans in the United States alone sent back a little over 200 million USD. This is a significant increase from 1990, when the reported 19,000 Moroccans living in the U.S. remitted 71 million dirham. These numbers represent the currency flowing through official channels such as bank accounts and money-transfer services, with the real total, including unreported gifts and money carried back or sent with others, likely much higher; Refass (1999: 102) has estimated that in the case of Morocco, between one quarter to one third of all remittances travel through these unofficial channels. Although academics have commonly predicted a decline in the amount of money flowing to Morocco, a still-unexplained remittance upsurge in 2001 has lead to historically high levels that have yet to drop, and remittances from the United States do not seem poised to decrease significantly in the near future. The impact of the global recession will be unpredictable, but the history of remittances to Morocco shows that generally, as Moroccan GDP decreases, remittances increase. This is significant for those living in Morocco during a dip in GDP, as the poverty-alleviation effects of remittances have been well established (see especially Page & Plaza 2005). In the results of this survey, four main methods emerged as the most widely used for transferring money: Western Union was reported to be the most popular company, with respondents’ personal banks and MoneyGram International being the next most widely used methods. Sending money with friends or family traveling back to Morocco was the fourth most frequent means of getting it back to Morocco, possibly reflecting respondents’ frustrations with the banking system, as noted many times in written comments returned with the surveys. In selecting one particular method over another, the speed of the fund transfer was the most important factor; with the amount fees involved being the second main issue. The security of the transaction and the ease with which the recipient could get the money were the other two most widely reported factors in choosing a method of sending. The biggest factors barring people from sending money more often to Morocco were, foremost, the currency exchange rates, followed by high fees and an inability to afford to send any additional money. Many also commented that the current banking system is too unreliable and sometimes slow, and that this lack of confidence in the banks encourages people to send back cash or use the black market. The frequency with which people send money to Morocco varies widely - 22% of respondents send money 2-3 times a year, an additional 16% between 4-5 times a year, and 19 percent 12 or more times a year. For most, it takes less than one day for money to travel from the USA to Morocco. Significantly, a full seven percent of respondents said that at times it can take a month or longer for money to get from the United States to its intended recipients in Morocco. It is this type of holdup that we hope to address with our research. Of those who sent money back, 80% reported that it was for a family member, whereas 20% reported that it was for themselves, generally either for savings (28%) or investment (28%) purposes, or for a loan (24%). Remittances are an extremely important source of income in Morocco, comprising an average of 9% of the country’s GDP every year since 2001. At the same time, the Moroccan American community is growing fast – up from almost 40,000 as reported in the 2000 census to anywhere from 150,000 to 300,000 today. Clearly, remittances from the United States to Morocco are becoming a more significant force every day, and will only increase in importance as more and more people settle here and begin to send money back to those still in Morocco. With this research, the 361 Degree Institute hopes to better understand the remaining concerns to be addressed in this increasingly significant issue and to work with the appropriate institutions to find innovative solutions.

U.A.E. Pulls Out of Gulf Monetary Union Project

The United Arab Emirates, the second largest Arab economy, has pulled out of the planned monetary union of oil-rich Gulf states, dealing a blow to their goal of establishing a European-style single currency.
“It’s like France saying it wants to pull out of the euro,” Eckart Woertz, an economist with the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, said today in a telephone interview. “The single currency is dead.”
The U.A.E. has expressed reservations that Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was chosen as the location of the planned common central bank. Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab economy.
The Gulf Cooperation Council in 2001 agreed to form a EU- style monetary union. Oman pulled out in 2007. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain are still part of the project.
U.A.E. central bank Governor Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said the country will keep the dirham’s peg to the dollar. All GCC currencies are pegged to the dollar except the Kuwait dinar which is linked to a basket of currencies.
“The U.A.E. has decided not to be part of the Gulf monetary union agreement,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Abu Dhabi was cited as saying by the state-run news agency WAM. “The U.A.E will continue to maintain its expansionary monetary policy and will keep the exchange rate of the dirham pegged to the dollar,” al-Suwaidi told WAM.
Central Bank
The U.A.E. offered in 2004 to host the common central bank, as it does not have any body affiliated with GCC on its territory, al-Suwaidi said.
“Emotions and egos are prevailing over rational decision- making and the U.A.E. is voicing its dissatisfaction by going against the union,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at the Saudi British Bank in Riyadh. “An important participant is now out. But it doesn’t mean the union is coming to an end, just some convincing has to be done to get them, the U.A.E, to re- enter. I hope they re-enter and emotions will not prevail.”
The U.A.E. officially notified the secretariat of the GCC of its decision to pull out, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Nasser al-Kaud, the GCC’s deputy assistant secretary- general for economic affairs, declined to comment.

Nemotek certifies clean room in Morocco

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Nemotek Technologie Inc., a manufacturer of wafer-level cameras for portable applications, said that it has certified its Class 10 clean room facility in Morocco.

This type of facility is said to be the first in Africa. It is located in the Rabat Technopolis Park, a hub for technology development in Morocco. The facility will serve as the center for the design and manufacture of wafer-level cameras (WLC) for camera phones and other portable devices.

Last year, Nemotek took a license for chip-packaging technology unveiled by Tessera Technologies Inc.. The technology makes it possible to manufacture thousands of lenses simultaneously on a semiconductor wafer.
Nemotek licensed this technology, dubbed OptiML Wafer-Level Camera (WLC), as well as Tessera's Shellcase Wafer-Level Chip Scale Packaging (WLCSP). The company will develop a range of camera solutions from wafer-level packaging of image sensors and wafer-level lenses to fully-integrated camera modules.

Nemotek's clean room will reside in a 10,000-square-meter facility. Its clean room was validated and certified by Luseo, an independent certification company based in France.

''To become the first wafer fabrication company to maintain a Class 10 clean room facility in Africa is a major accomplishment for us as well as the industry,'' said Jacky Perdrigeat, CEO of Nemotek Technologie, in a statement.

Morocco sheds jobs but hangs on in financial storm

Clamor fills the factory as workers bent over their industrial sewing machines stitch together women's garments at galloping speed. Yet the vast workshop is only half full, its blank benches a testimony to how the global financial meltdown swings back at the developing world.

Morocco's diverse, open economy has served as a model to poorer nations in Africa and the Arab world, but it has also left the country exposed to global downturn as trade with the rich world shrinks. And many are now watching whether the ripple effects of international finance could turn nasty in a developing nation like this north African kingdom with strong political and migration ties to Europe.

Moroccan authorities fear some 20,000 jobs are being cut in the textile industry, about 10 percent of the national total. Others have vanished in the tourism industry, the backbone of the coastal country's economy. Carmaker Nissan froze plans for a car plant promising thousands more positions. Remittances are down, too, as Moroccans working in Europe face layoffs.

"We're worried more cuts will follow," said Naima Arour, shouting to make herself heard over the hammering of her sewing machine. "Without work, we starve here," she said, barely lifting her eyes from the collars she was hastily fixing to women's blouses.

The government is keeping a close watch on at-risk sectors and intervening to keep joblessness down and maintain stability. Unauthorized groups critical of Morocco's tolerant, Western-friendly liberal economy, including those on the Islamist fringes, recruit massively in the country's slums, where idle youth are a fertile target for extremists.

There are no unemployment benefits in Morocco. And the firing of one employee usually directly affects a whole family, rippling fast through the economy in working-class towns like Sale, where much of the country's textile industry lies.

Abdelhai Bessa, Arour's employer, says a sense of pride and habits of social and Muslim solidarity usually prevent Moroccan managers from firing staff until absolutely necessary. But he's already laid off more than 600 of the 2,000 people he employed.

"We're very dependent on international trends," said Bessa, a former unionized railway engineer who started his textile business from scratch in the 1990s and reached US$15 million in revenue last year, surfing on a decade of outsourcing to market Morocco's cheap labor to Europe.

His firm works primarily for upscale retailers in Britain, where consumers have been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis. Orders have dropped 85 percent for menswear and fancy children's dresses. One of his main customers went broke in December.

The Moroccan government, which unlike many Arab states has no oil revenues, heavily relies on foreign trade to sustain its projected 5.8 percent GDP growth in 2009, from a gross domestic product of US$90.5 billion last year. It says it carefully monitors which sectors are taking blows.

"When warning lights turn orange, we intervene," Ahmed Reda Chami, Morocco's industry and commerce minister, told The Associated Press.

Authorities have spent 1 billion dirham (nearly US$100 million) on a support package, whose measures include canceling some payroll taxes and offering government guarantees to companies seeking bank loans.

"If lights were to turn red, we could do much more," said Chami, who with seven other Cabinet ministers and several top business leaders is part of a "Strategic Watch Committee" set up by the government to follow the unfolding effects of world recession.

The government is racing to start unemployment benefits. While official unemployment is at a low 2.8 percent in the country of 34 million, it is estimated at 20 percent in urban areas.

Massive rainfall this year in this often arid north African country has led to a boom in agriculture, helping to compensate shrinking industry and tourism revenues, the minister said.

Small farmers and urban poor have seen much less wealth come their way in recent years than those in the tourist and service sectors. Many have grown wary of their country's modernization and opening to the West, and the authorized opposition Islamists are now the second-biggest force in parliament.

The government knows it can't let its policies backfire and insists the social effects of the slowdown are limited for now. "But we're not an isolated island, so of course we're cautious," said Chami.

Tourism managers say they've begun to feel a slump in popular destinations like the sunny southern town of Marrakech, and the Central Bank is worried remittances are falling from Europe, where many Moroccans go for work.

One of the biggest signs of downturn came from Nissan. The Japanese car marker and its French partner Renault had planned to invest 600 million euros ($794 million) to build a huge car factory in Tangiers. The project, which was slated to create 6,000 jobs and deliver 200,000 cars yearly starting in 2010, is part of a Moroccan flagship program to develop "Tanger Med," a new deep-water port aiming to become one of the Mediterranean's biggest.

But Nissan announced recently it was freezing its part of the investment because of worldwide difficulties in the car industry. Thierry Moulonguet, the executive vice president and CFO of Renault-Nissan, said that despite "drastic revisions" of its investment plans, Renault has decided to go forward with the Tanger Med factory on its own. Production will likely be downgraded and postponed until 2011, he said.

"The current difficulties absolutely don't challenge the attractiveness of the country," he said.

Renault's new, low-cost Logan cars were due to be built in Tangiers and sold to developing nations. Now they're also becoming a hit in wealthier countries amid crisis-hit consumers. Renault estimates the combined cost of wages and labor taxes in Morocco are about 40 percent less than in China, or about nine times cheaper than in France.

Authorities want to think the same thing. The tourism ministry has launched an advertising campaign in France that boasts "Moroccotherapy," the idea that gloomy Europeans can get a quick fix of sunny cultural diversity by taking a discounted two-hour flight to Moroccan resorts.

Bessa, the textile manager, is convinced that Morocco, with its tight-knit society and history of state intervention, is better resisting the onslaught than others. He says European retail customers are warning him they'll need his factory more when activity picks up, because so many Chinese firms — which had grabbed most of the ultra-low cost textile outsourcing — are going down the drain.

"It's going very difficult in Morocco," Bessa said. But when the global recession eventually ends, "those of us who weathered the storm will be in a very strong position."

Etisalat to bid for Morocco's Meditel

Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) will bid for a stake in Morocco's Meditel as it looks to expand in the Middle East and Africa, its chairman said on Friday.

Etisalat will also continue to pursue the telecom licence in Iran it was stripped of last week, Mohammed Hassan Omran told news agency Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan.

"We are looking for opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, especially at this time there are some good assets," Omran said. "Assets are becoming cheap ... we see them becoming more cheap in coming months."

"We are expecting (to get) Morocco ... We are participating in the bid for Morocco ... Meditel and we are working hard for Syria and Lebanon," Omran said, without giving further details.

Portugal Telecom has appointed Morgan Stanley to sell its 32 percent stake in Meditel, Morocco's second-largest telecoms company, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.

The telecom operator is facing stiffer competition in its home market of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where some analysts are predicting there will be more job cuts and a decline in the population, which will weigh on the earnings of Etisalat and rival Du.

BIG MARKETS

When asked if Etisalat was likely to be able to match the 4 percent rise in profit it achieved in the first quarter, Omran said: "We are working hard to maintain that and even get it better."

He said the UAE market was becoming more difficult because expatriates were leaving, but Etisalat expected growth in Saudi Arabia, where its affiliate Etihad Etisalat was doing "better than expected".

Etisalat Egypt, the third mobile phone operator to enter the Egyptian market, was also performing "better than competitors", Omran said.

Saudi Arabia is the most-populous Gulf Arab country and Egypt has the largest population in the Arab world.

The chairman said the company was not giving up on its lost bid for Iran's third mobile telephone license.

Iran took the license away from Etisalat and its consortium partners in May, saying it "had not fulfilled its obligations".

The company said in January when it won the license that it planned to invest up to $5 billion over five years in its Iranian operation.

"In Iran, we made the best bid. Our partner could not continue and that ended up disqualifying the consortium," Omran said. "We are evaluating the possibilities. It is the big market and it has a lot of potential. But it is complex. The game is not over for us in Iran."

Reports: Morocco closes banks to prevent holdups

Local media say Moroccan authorities are closing 267 bank branches across the country because they are not secure enough to prevent holdups.

Le Matin and several other Moroccan newspapers quote Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa as saying he ordered the closures because Islamist terrorist cells are suspected of attacking banks to fund their activities.

He says there have been eight holdups so far this year and 32 in 2007.

The branch closures represent a significant number of bank branches in the North African kingdom.

The branches can reopen once they have hired enough security agents and installed alarms and closed-circuit TV systems.

Moroccan government seeks to promote scientific research

In the latest move to promote national development, the Moroccan government pledged last week to provide new support for scientific research in the kingdom. Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi announced the initiative during the thirteenth board meeting of the National Centre for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST) in Rabat on May 5th.

According to a statement issued by the prime minister's office, the government has increased the volume of its loans to the National Fund for Scientific Research and Technological Development over the past two years to 25 million dirhams. A further 50 million dirhams was contributed in 2007 for research by telecommunications operators.

This followed previous contributions of 52 million dirhams in 2005 and 32 million dirhams in 2006.

El Fassi said that promoting scientific research is now essential for sustainable development in priority sectors, "such as the environment, water management, energy, food processing, medicinal and aromatic plants, fish stocks, mining products, and agricultural produce."

"The new approach will lend support to the massive projects that Morocco has embarked on in several different sectors, such as the National Industrial Development Plan, the Plan Azur for the promotion of tourism and the National Energy Strategy," said the head of the CNRST's science and technology department, Abdelaziz Benjouad.

The government's new strategy is aimed at strengthening science infrastructures, the financial management of research activities, and basic and ongoing training. The objective is to keep up with the pace of technological development and to foster a culture of entrepreneurship within the academic community.

The prime minister stressed that the idea is to make universities independent in order to boost scientific research and help them pilot their own policies at both the regional and local levels.

"Under the Emergency Education and Training Plan, 183 million dirhams would be spent on scientific research running costs," Minister of Education and Higher Education Ahmed Akhchichine said at the meeting.

"Investments totalling 69 million dirhams would be made in 2009 – an increase of 5 million dirhams over 2008."

The minister explained that there are a number of hurdles to overcome. One important task is to provide incentives to students by means of a scholarship programme for scientific research. The private sector must play a role in financing the sector, he asserted. The government is hoping that investors will provide co-financing equating to more than 25% for sectors regarded as priorities for Moroccan development. Akhchichine stated that the current co-financing proportion is just 12%.

Offering incentives to companies is another necessary step. It is hoped that the system will be modelled on an existing scheme involving telecoms operators, which are bankrolling ICT projects at research institutions and universities.

"In France, scientific research constitutes a sizeable source of income for schools," explained engineer Ahmed Boudani. "Research contracts are entered into directly with companies interested in development, whereas in Morocco, scientific research is regarded as a drain on the budgets of schools and universities. If we had well-organised research bodies, the private sector would take an interest."

Morocco unveils Export Plus programme to boost foreign trade

European markets continue to face the global financial crisis and the Moroccan export sector - heavily dependent on customers in Europe - is feeling the fallout.

To maximise exports into the region, encourage greater co-operation with foreign partners and counter the anticipated downturn in 2009, Morocco last week launched new strategic plan.

The foreign trade ministry released details of the National Plan for the Development and Promotion of Exports at a press conference on Wednesday (May 6th) at the National Library in Rabat.

The goal of the new programme, dubbed "Maroc Export Plus", is to triple the volume of Moroccan exports over the next decade and recruit more than 2,000 companies into the process, said Foreign Trade Minister Abdellatif Maazouz.

The trade stimulus initiative - drawn up in partnership with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton - will support other development programmes such as Plan Maroc Vert, Plan Azur, Emergence, Vision 2015 for the Development of Crafts and the Moroccan Energy Strategy to target large importers, neighbouring markets and specialty markets.

Speaking to Parliament last week, Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said that the growth forecast for the global economy fell from 3% to -1.3% in April, while the volume of world trade plummeted from 3.5% to -8%.

"This contraction has had repercussions in certain areas of the national economy," he said, "in particular with regard to tourism (where revenues fell by 21%), remittances from overseas Moroccans (down by 14.3%), [and] exports (down by 30%)... while imports fell by 16.8%."

Meanwhile, the balance of trade fell by 31% in March. Jobs were lost in textiles, electronics, mechanics and the automobile industry.

Both business figures and Moroccan MPs believe that government measures to deal with the global crisis have been too modest.
Abdelhak Lahlou, who manages a Moroccan-Spanish electronics firm based in Casablanca that serves European customers, said the situation is difficult due to the country's exposure to the global economy.

"The whole problem has come from abroad, which is where most of our orders come from," he told Magharebia.

Moroccan opposition parties, meanwhile, cite redundancies within many companies and the decline in remittances from overseas residents as contributory causes to the financial problem.

Mohammed Benayyad, Secretary-General of the National Foreign Trade Council, however, argues that the crisis is structural and not merely linked to the current economic climate. For this reason, he believes that both short-term and systemic changes should be made.

Arabian Travel Market sees strong first day attendance

In addition, overall visitor numbers for the show, which includes press and buyers club members, is up 3.4% on last year (as of 2pm Wednesday May 6th 2009).

And according to Reed Travel Exhibitions, the rise in visitors underlines the industry's desire to target and utilise key trade events that foster greater business interaction and instigate discussion - critical factors in the sector's recovery.

'It's no secret that the industry is actively targeting the number one event in its sector to help generate essential business partnerships and leads. As marketing budgets continue to shrink, companies and government bodies alike know that if they commit to event, both in terms of finance and time, it needs to deliver...and deliver well. The rise in first day figures for Arabian Travel Market 2009, especially given that we are in the midst of some of the harshest trading conditions we have ever faced, speaks volumes about the show and, most importantly, the determination of the industry as a whole,'



said Mark Walsh, Group Exhibition Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.

'However, as we've said before, our focus is on quality not quantity, and that is what we are actively pursuing. We are encouraged by initial figures and I hope we maintain this momentum going forward, and we see a strong increase in repeat visitors over the show's four days.'

Arabian Travel Market 2009, taking place at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre till May 8th, opened its doors this week with more than 2,100 exhibitors and stand-sharers, from 69 countries, including 70 new-to-market representatives. This year also saw sign-up from more than 60 national tourist bodies representing six continents, with the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Romania and Nigeria making their debuts.

Strong showings from Middle East and North African countries, representing more than 850 exhibitors, also saw Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Syria bring larger tourism contingents than last year.

As part of the show's enhanced knowledge delivery role, Reed Travel Exhibitions has introduced Consumer & Careers Day on Friday 8th May. The programme, which is held under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Education, is designed to introduce exhibitors to members of the general public with a keen interest to work within the industry or developing an existing career. The initiative allows visitors to conduct face-to-face meetings with potential employers and attend specific career workshops and seminars hosted by established industry representatives.

Experts will also be on hand to discuss their roles and answer career questions via the Careers Day Panel - a dedicated seminar session, taking place from 15.30 - 17.30, which includes a Pilot, Air Hostess, General Manager, Travel Editor, Travel Agent and a Hotel Area General Manager.

'Careers Day opens up a new avenue for the show and we hope that it will drive members of the public, with an interest in the industry, to come down and see what's available to them. It really is a unique experience for those wanting to pursue a career in travel and tourism,' added Walsh.

Arabian Travel Market is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and under the auspices of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai.

investing in Morocco presentation