MEDI1TV Afrique : Zoom sur les Transferts de fonds MRE en 2024 vec Mostapha El Jai - 05/02/2025
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to Focus Economique.
00:12The indicators are open for foreign exchanges.
00:16Tourism, foreign direct investment, fund transfers and MREs.
00:21The Exchange Office has just published the situation for 2024.
00:25Foreign MRE fund transfers are going from record to record.
00:30They have reached 2,417.7 billion dirhams, 2% more than in 2023.
00:37Foreign MRE direct investment revenues have recorded an increase of 4%.
00:46As for travel revenues, they have reached 112.5 billion dirhams.
00:51We are going to decrypt these figures in this Focus Eco with Mustapha El-Jaye.
00:55You are an economist and university professor at the Hassan II University in Casablanca.
01:00Hello.
01:02Hello, I am very happy to be here.
01:05Thank you for accepting our invitation.
01:07So, I was saying, as a preamble, the indicators are positive.
01:11When we talk about foreign exchanges, we will first focus on MREs,
01:16the MRE fund transfers.
01:18We are talking about 117.7 billion dirhams, a new record.
01:23How is this going to impact or is it already impacting the national economy?
01:28As you have highlighted, these are figures that are from record to record.
01:34Just remember that less than 10 years ago, we were at 57 billion.
01:38So, the transfers of Moroccans around the world have more than doubled.
01:42This shows a little bit of the task that this diaspora has with its country of origin.
01:49It also shows the confidence it has in the Kingdom with all its ambitious projects.
01:56I would also like to add that 20% of the banking system resources, if you will,
02:02belong to these Moroccans around the world.
02:06These are figures that allow us to improve our payment balance
02:11like the other indicators you have mentioned.
02:14Maybe we will talk about this.
02:17There are a few nuances.
02:21There are some data, especially European data,
02:26where, with the rise of the far right,
02:29we see that there are…
02:31we put the sticks in the wheels,
02:33especially of Moroccan banks,
02:35which allow and favor these transfers a little bit.
02:40I think we will talk about this in your next question.
02:42We will talk about European measures.
02:44But before that, let's stay on these fund transfers,
02:48Moroccans living abroad.
02:50What is the state of our currencies, of our exchange reserves?
02:55As we said, all indicators are green.
02:58Good figures have been recorded,
03:00whether in terms of fund transfers or foreign direct investment receipts.
03:07Does this contribute to securing our currency stocks?
03:12Absolutely.
03:13We have currencies that represent more than six months of our shares,
03:18which makes our position a little bit more comfortable.
03:21We even see that the diram behaves very well with respect to the euro,
03:26a little less with respect to the dollar,
03:28because the euro is weakened with this war going on,
03:34and with macroeconomic data as well.
03:37As we can see, growth rates in Europe are very low,
03:41and in the United States, the economy is doing very well,
03:44especially with a new president
03:46who puts the economy a little bit ahead of politics.
03:52And we are also seeing that other indicators are doing very well,
03:59such as tourism, where Morocco has reached 7 million tourists for the first time,
04:04with ambitions to reach 20 million soon,
04:07with travel receipts at 114 billion,
04:11and also the IDE, which shows confidence in the investors in the kingdom,
04:16with its ambitious and structuring projects,
04:19which are therefore driven by His Majesty for Morocco by 2030.
04:25So I would say that our balance of payments is improving,
04:29fortunately, thanks to these fund transfers,
04:33which compensate a little for our structural and commercial difficulties.
04:37And how do fluctuations in exchange rates influence these fund transfers today?
04:43Well, listen, fund transfers have always increased, I would say,
04:51in value, in euros, even if now the euro, in terms of francs,
04:55is at relatively low levels.
04:57We are around 10.50, 10.60.
05:00It was previously up to 11.2.
05:03And these Moroccans, we have seen it, even in difficult times,
05:06even during the COVID period,
05:08these transfers have continued to increase,
05:11because first of all, these diasporas continue to help families.
05:15We must not forget that there are regions in Morocco,
05:18especially in the north and in the south, which do not live in the East,
05:22who live in large part, there are many families who live from these transfers.
05:26And we have even seen, as I said earlier, that these transfers have increased,
05:32because there are also high-ranking Moroccans in medicine,
05:37in scientific research, in university education,
05:41who have significant income and who believe in their country,
05:44who either transfer to help their families,
05:47or who transfer, especially in real estate.
05:50And I hope, there are also some cases, they are very rare,
05:54I hope they will be accentuated,
05:56these are young people who invest in industrial activities,
05:59in productive investments,
06:01and we must encourage them to take advantage of their know-how
06:05and encourage them to develop their country.
06:09And we have seen, we have experts from all over the world who are Moroccans
06:14and who are proud of their kingdom.
06:17And when we go by country, there is first of all France,
06:21which comes first in terms of transfers,
06:23then there is Spain,
06:25there is Italy, there is also the Middle East,
06:28Dubai, there is a large Moroccan diaspora,
06:30there are high camps set up,
06:32Saudi Arabia,
06:34so it is a little scattered,
06:36in the United States as well,
06:38but most of our transfers come from Europe.
06:40And that is why Moroccan banks,
06:42including Créteau,
06:44have been supporting this movement for several decades,
06:46three decades,
06:48to facilitate the opening of camps
06:51and the transfers of this diaspora to the kingdom.
06:56– A constant, in any case established today, which is positive,
06:59but is it likely to change?
07:01You said it earlier, we talked about these measures
07:04planned by the European Union,
07:06restrictive measures
07:08concerning the transfers of Moroccan funds
07:11residing abroad.
07:13What are the contours of these measures
07:15and how or what consequences
07:17can this have on Morocco?
07:21– So, with the rise, I would say,
07:23with the progression of these rather important transfers
07:27and with the rise also of the far right in Europe,
07:31we see that there is a European directive
07:34which is dictated by an organization
07:38called the PISMA,
07:40the General Direction of Financial Stability
07:43and Capital Markets and Banking Services,
07:46which puts a circular or a directive
07:50for a little bit...
07:52In fact, it concerns all the banks
07:54that are in the European Union
07:56and in particular, it started with Brexit.
07:58First, it concerns the British banks,
08:00but it also concerns the Moroccan banks.
08:02We must not forget that we have
08:04seven branches of Moroccan banks in Europe
08:07and a dozen representation offices
08:10and that for several decades,
08:12Moroccan banks have invested a lot,
08:14if you will, in a network
08:16to support this diaspora,
08:18to encourage it to favor these transfers.
08:22And this directive, in fact,
08:25it wants to protect a little bit
08:27the European financial market
08:29from potential risks
08:31linked to banks that are outside the European Union.
08:34It will impose,
08:36since it will no longer allow
08:38non-European banks
08:40like Moroccan banks
08:42to offer banking services,
08:44including account openings,
08:46transfers,
08:48in favor of citizens
08:50who live in Europe,
08:52that is, Moroccans who live in Europe.
08:55And it has emphasized,
08:57if you will,
08:59on three main axes.
09:02First, to improve the solvency of these banks.
09:05So we must create branches
09:07and invest in clean funds,
09:09which will increase the cost of transfers,
09:11more transparency
09:13and compliance
09:15and improve equity ratios.
09:17So, if you will,
09:19these requirements
09:22will reduce
09:24the cost of installation
09:26and the cost of transfer,
09:28which will allow other structures,
09:30what are called transfer companies,
09:32which are not necessarily banks,
09:34to benefit from this evil
09:36and which will escape
09:38Moroccan banks who have invested a lot
09:40in terms of real estate,
09:42in terms of information systems,
09:44in terms of human resources.
09:46So it will be Moroccan banks
09:48who will be most impacted by this measure today?
09:51Absolutely, exactly.
09:53Moreover, there is now
09:55a great offensive
09:57of Moroccan diplomacy,
09:59of Banque du Maroc, of the Ministry of Finance.
10:01Precisely, what is Morocco's response?
10:03So Morocco is trying
10:05to negotiate central bank by central bank,
10:07because each central bank
10:09must have a different interpretation
10:11of this European directive.
10:13There are already advanced negotiations
10:15with France,
10:17where we receive the largest of these transfers,
10:19with Spain,
10:21and there are also alternatives.
10:23So we must encourage digitalization,
10:25digitize all operations.
10:27We must also have alliances
10:29and strategic partnerships
10:31with local banks
10:33to mutualize resources and costs
10:35and also try,
10:37if you will,
10:39to reduce these deadlines
10:41so that Moroccan banks
10:43are well prepared.
10:45So here we have
10:47an important threat
10:49and, of course,
10:51Morocco takes this threat
10:53seriously.
10:55So there are diplomatic targets
10:57to try a little bit
10:59to manage this situation
11:01and continue to have this flow
11:03which, as we said in the preamble,
11:05relieves our payment balance.
11:07It is one third,
11:09almost one third of our commercial deficits
11:11that are covered
11:13by this transfer
11:15of our Moroccans from the world
11:17and which testifies
11:19to their attachment to their country,
11:21to their kingdom.
11:23In any case, the outlines of this measure
11:25are not yet clearly defined.
11:27Then there are still these negotiations
11:29that are currently underway,
11:31as you just said,
11:33with the European Central Bank.
11:35So we will see the evolution of the situation
11:37in the days to come.
11:39We can say that these fund transfers,
11:41so MREs, still contribute
11:43to the situation in Morocco.
11:45Absolutely.
11:47So they comfort our payment balance.
11:49They cover more than one third
11:51of our commercial deficits.
11:53And I am convinced
11:55that if this diaspora
11:57notices
11:59an increase in business
12:01in Morocco,
12:03it will invest more.
12:05These funds must be oriented
12:07beyond family aid
12:09and beyond the real estate sector,
12:11they must accompany
12:13the dynamic of Morocco,
12:15the international trade in Morocco.
12:17They must accompany
12:19this dynamic of investment
12:21with the advantages
12:23that the investment chart offers.
12:25All the structural projects
12:27that come from here,
12:29the exchanges that await us
12:31at the end of 2025
12:33and especially in 2030,
12:35so that we can also
12:37take advantage of the know-how
12:39of the world.
12:41I don't know if you know them,
12:43but we have a dozen names
12:45that are world-renowned in their field,
12:47in batteries,
12:49in everything
12:51that is pharmaceutical industry,
12:53in everything that is
12:55even aeronautics, etc.
12:57Thank you, Mr. Mustapha Jey.
12:59I remind you that you are an economist
13:01and professor at the University of Casablanca.
13:03It was a pleasure to have you with us.
13:05Thank you for all these details.
13:07Thank you, Madam, for the invitation
13:09and the pleasure of sharing.
13:11This is the economic focus for today.
13:13We will meet again tomorrow
13:15with a new guest and a new topic.
13:17Have a good day. Thank you for your loyalty.