Morocco Expects Quarterly Growth of 3.3%

Morocco Expects Quarterly Growth of 3.3%
TT

Morocco Expects Quarterly Growth of 3.3%

Morocco Expects Quarterly Growth of 3.3%

Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) expects economic growth to amount to 3.3 percent in Q1 2020, exceeding the 2.5 percent growth during the same period in 2019.

It attributed this growth to anticipated growth in the agricultural activities sector by 6.8 percent and the non-agricultural activities by about 2.8 percent, during this years’ first quarter.

It also expected a less restrictive international context for the national economy in the first quarter of 2020.

“With the fears of a global recession and the easing of trade tensions between China and the United States, world trade will pick up some momentum.”

“Under these conditions, the global demand addressed to Morocco would benefit from a slight revival of dynamism in imports from the eurozone and would show an increase of 1.3 percent, in annual variation,” according to the economic outlook.

It also pointed to an expected development in the national economy during the first quarter of 2020 “in light of an international circumstance characterized by a slight improvement compared to the previous quarter.”

It comes in line with the decrease in fears of a global economic crisis and the decrease in trade tension between China and the United States.

The HCP noted that global trade exchanges will witness a slight recovery, while the global economy will continue to grow at a below-average rate.

It said the global economy will remain subject to inflationary pressures associated with the hike in oil prices in international markets, as the inflation rate will be close to two percent at the global level.

Meanwhile, the global demand for Moroccan exports is expected to increase by 3.1 percent in 2020, the HCP said.

The report revealed that consumption loans increased by 4.7 percent in the last quarter of 2019, proving that the expenditure of Moroccan households is on the rise, along with purchase power.

Consumption expenditure for Moroccan households reached 2.5 percent, compared to two percent in the previous quarter, while public expenses increased by 3.7 percent.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
TT

China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.