Morocco Internal Debt Exceeds $60 Billion

A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange in Casablanca, Morocco, June 29, 2017. (Reuters)
A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange in Casablanca, Morocco, June 29, 2017. (Reuters)
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Morocco Internal Debt Exceeds $60 Billion

A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange in Casablanca, Morocco, June 29, 2017. (Reuters)
A currency dealer counts Moroccan dirhams in a photo illustration at a currency exchange in Casablanca, Morocco, June 29, 2017. (Reuters)

Morocco’s government internal debt reached MAD571.1 billion (USD60.1 billion) at the end of November, witnessing an increase by 4.1 percent since the beginning of the year.

The internal debt now makes up 50.1 percent of the GDP.

According to the Public Treasury's report, this hike resulted from the government’s obtaining of new loans worth MAD107 billion (USD11.3 billion) and paying debts of MAD84.5 billion (USD8.4 billion) during this period.

This resulted in a balance of MAD22.5 billion (USD2.4 billion).

Based on the due date, Morocco’s internal debt represents 88.4 percent of debts payable in more than five years compared to 85 percent of debts that fall under the same category, last year.

Further, debts payable in 15 years rose to around 40 percent by the end of November compared to 35.9 percent in the beginning of the year.

During this period, the government proceeded with managing the internal debt through replacing short- and medium-term loans with medium- and long-term ones.

In this context, the government withdrew loans worth MAD34 billion (USD6.53 billion) through issuing bonds of terms ranging between 5-30 years to pay their equivalent of loans payable in less than five years.



Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
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Aramco, Gulf Cryo Cooperate in Testing Lower-carbon Hydrogen

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco
The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. Photo: Aramco

Saudi Aramco has signed an agreement with Gulf Cryo, a regional leader of end-to-end industrial gases and decarbonization solutions in the MENAT region, to conduct testing of lower-carbon hydrogen and carbon capture & utilization technologies under Saudi Arabian climate conditions enabling future commercial deployment.

The agreement underscores Aramco’s desire to develop a lower carbon emission future through investing in research and technology development, to support business growth and meet global energy demand while reducing scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions to net-zero by 2050 from its wholly own operated assets.

The initiative will facilitate testing Aramco’s newly-developed technologies at pilot and pre-commercial scale. The testing and assessment will be conducted at Gulf Cryo's newly established Applications and Technologies Center (ATC) at King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a press statement said Thursday.

Aramco’s senior vice president of Technology Oversight and Coordination (TOC), Ali A. Al-Meshari, said: “This collaboration is important in advancing our early stage technologies to the next phase of development, which will help create local ecosystem for accelerating technology deployment leveraging in-kingdom talent and infrastructure.”

As for Gulf Cryo Vice Chairman, Eng. Abdel Salam Al Mazro, he said that “the project will leverage the capabilities of our Center to deliver groundbreaking lower-carbon hydrogen and decarbonization solutions, tailored to the unique needs of Aramco.”

In addition to driving technological advancements in decarbonization, this collaboration supports Saudi Arabia’s strategy to enhance localization and build local capabilities. The facility is planned to be ready for commissioning by the end of 2025, the statement added.