Privatization in Morocco: The politics of development

Middle East Journal

Volumn 51, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 240-255

  Khosrowshahi, Cameron ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0003326408     PISSN: 00263141     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. International Finance Corporation (IFC), Privatization: Principles and Practice (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 1995), p. 1.
2. L'Economiste (Casablanca), 7 April 1996, p. 57.
3. Morocco, Ministry of Privatization and State Enterprises, "Guide to Morocco's Privatization Programme," 25 January 1996, p. 7. Exchange rates are taken from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Country Report: Morocco (London: EIU, 1996).
4. Morocco, Ministry of Privatization and State Enterprises, "Guide to Morocco's Privatization Programme," 25 January 1996, p. 7. Exchange rates are taken from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Country Report: Morocco (London: EIU, 1996).
5. Alfred Saulnier, "Morocco: Setting for and Lessons from Privatization," paper presented at the Salzburg seminar on "Restructuring Economies for Growth," Salzburg, Austria, 25-31 January 1992, p. 10.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., p. 6.
8. The World Bank, Kingdom of Morocco: Preparing for the 21st Century (Washington, DC: The World Bank, 1994), Table A.1, p. 94.
9. Morocco, Ministry of Privatization and State Enterprises, "Guide to Morocco's Privatization Programme," Appendix 5, p. 27.
10. "Investir et préserver le plein emploi" (Investing and Maintaining Full Employment), Le Temps du Maroc (Casablanca), 21 March 1996, p. 30.
11. "Hassan voudrait privatiser la RAM" (Hasan Would Like to Privatize RAM), La Vie Economique (Casablanca), 28 June 1996, p. 79.
12. "L'Après privatisation: le cas du Sofac Crédit" (After Privatization: the Case of Sofac Crédit), L'Economiste, 22 February 1996, p. 4.
13. L'Economiste, 21 December 1995, p. 10. Even after consolidation through its wholly owned insurance company, Royal Marocaine d'Assurances, the Bin Jallun Group, leading a consortium of hard core shareholders, still maintains only a slim margin of control in BMCE at 23 percent to the state's 20 percent.
14. La Nouvelle Tribune (Casablanca), 24 April 1996, p. 19.
15. It is interesting to note that the Rabat-Casablanca axis dominated the subscriptions of PBs with 64 percent of subscribers and 71 percent of bonds sold originating from this industry-trade epicenter. This regional concentration, combined with no specific ceiling on purchases for individuals, suggests that the PB is not as middle-income oriented as the Ministry of Privatization would like people to believe. Although an overwhelming number of individuals subscribed for between three and 50 bonds, nearly three times as many bonds were allocated to individuals demanding over 50 bonds. See Société de La Bourse Des Valeurs de Casablanca (SBVC), Résultats Techniques Relatifs à L'Opération de Placement de 1,758,455 Bons de Privatisation (Technical Results Related to the Operation of Issuing 1,758,455 Privatization Bonds) (Casablanca: SBVC, 1996) for more details.
16. "L'oignon" (The Onion), L'Economiste, 21 December 1995, p. 1; and "Les Réformes sont renvoyées à plus tard" (The Reforms are Postponed to a Later Date), L'Economiste, 30 November 1995, p. 44.
17. "L'oignon" (The Onion), L'Economiste, 21 December 1995, p. 1; and "Les Réformes sont renvoyées à plus tard" (The Reforms are Postponed to a Later Date), L'Economiste, 30 November 1995, p. 44.
18. "Les bons de privatisation: une passerelle vers les actions" (The Privatization Bonds: A Bridge to Stocks), L'Economiste, 23 November 1995, pp. 42-44.
19. Author's analysis based on concurring opinion in interviews with state officials, academics, business leaders and foreign observers. See also, "Le score à mi-temps" (The Score at Halftime), Enjeux (Casablanca), 12 December 1994.
20. Author's analysis based on anonymous interviews with Moroccan government officials, Rabat, August 1996.
21. The Organismes de Placement Collectif en Valeurs Mobilières (mutual funds), not being on-line for the first PB issuance, deprived the PB of a major tool for pooling potential savings. It is only one in a long list of vital financial reforms that have been promised by the Ministry of Finance to streamline and create incentives for the capital markets to complement the privatization drive. Lack of an adequate regulatory environment is the key obstacle that has prevented the sale of the ten sugar mills and refineries on the privatization list.
22. Anonymous interview at the Ministry of Privatization, February 1996.
23. "L'heure des révisions de procédures" (The Time of Revising Procedures), L'Economiste, 21 March 1996, p. 26.
24. "Le Maroc veut utiliser l'argent des privatisations pour financer des programmes sociaux" (Morocco Wants to Use Revenues from Privatization to Finance Social Programs), Le Monde (Paris), 29 April 1993, p. 17.
25. An article in L'Economiste, cited in the privatization ministry's publication Transfers (Rabat), June 1995, reported on Minister Sa'idi's participation in the British Week conferences held in England in March 1994.
26. An article in L'Economiste, cited in the privatization ministry's publication Transfers (Rabat), June 1995, reported on Minister Sa'idi's participation in the British Week conferences held in England in March 1994.
27. Driss Benali, "Les enjeux de la privatisation" (The Stakes of Privatization), Revue Juridique Politique et Economique du Maroc 23, no. 1 (1993), p. 103.
28. Anonymous interview at Upline Securities, Casablanca, March 1996.
29. Anonymous interview at Casablanca Finance Intermediation, March 1996.
30. Le Temps du Maroc, 21 March 1996, p. 32.
31. The ownership of SNI was eventually consolidated by BCM. ONA is run by Fu'ad Filali, the prime minister's son and the king's son-in-law. Hasan II himself owns about 13 percent of ONA.
32. Centre Marocain de Conjoncture, Lettre No. 47 (Casablanca: November 1995), p. 14;
33. "Le point sur la privatisation des hôtels" (Making the Point about Privatizing Hotels), L'Economiste, 12 May 1994. Examples include hotels Le Tarik and Les Amandiers de Tafraout, which were both ceded to the previous management of United Moroccan Hotels and Société Floride respectively.
34. "Hard Nuts to Crack," The Economist (London), 15 July 1995, p. 14.
35. Centre Marocain de Conjoncture, Lettre No. 47, p. 13.
36. Anonymous interview at the Ministry of Privatization, Rabat, February 1996.
37. Conversations with Faruq Britel of General Tire Maroc, March 1996.
38. There were accusations, by the Ministry of Privatization itself, that some workers were selling their shares prematurely and would be required to re-reimburse the government for their 15 percent discount if they did not comply with the three year minimum rule. After the SOFAC Crédit privatization, there were allegations that the authorities could not keep track of worker shares subsequent to divestiture because they were bearer shares and difficult to identify; "L'Après privatisation: le cas du Sofac Crédit," p. 4.
39. Alfred Saulnier talks specifically of the benefits to employees from the acquisition of shares, "Conséquences économiques anticipées du programme de privatisation au Maroc" (Expected Consequences of the Privatization Program in Morocco), paper presented at the conference, "La privatisation des entreprises publiques au Maroc: instrument de la compétitivité internationale," Casablanca, 22-23 April 1993, p. 4; In "Le Maroc veut utiliser l'argent des privatisations. . ." worker participation is perceived as a carrot to unions opposed to the privatization law.
40. Al-Bayan (Casablanca), 11 February 1996. The SNEP divestiture has been widely criticized in the Moroccan press as the divestiture of a monopoly to the only other similar concern in the Moroccan market.
41. According to the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, however, Morocco can delay total liberalization until 2009.
42. The Ministry of Privatization likes to claim credit for market gains in capitalization and volume since the Privatization Law was promulgated in 1989. In reality, early gains were not due to privatization activity on the stock exchange (there was none until 1993, four years after the law) despite the credit taken in several Ministry of Privatization publications.
43. "Guide to Morocco's Privatisation Programme," Appendix 6, p. 29.
44. Author's estimate based on figures from the Casablanca stock exchange.
45. Isma'il Douiri and Mouna Lahlou, The Year 1995 in Review (Casablanca: Casablanca Finance Intermediation, 1996), p. 18. If the reader is wondering why these volume figures are significantly lower than those registered by the Casablanca stock exchange itself, it is because the stock exchange, for accounting reasons, records transactions from both the seller and buyer viewpoints thereby doubling actual volume. CFI has adjusted these figures for a more impartial analysis of activity.
46. Market Quarterly Q1-96, Casablanca Finance Intermediation, April 1996, p. 8.
47. Le Temps du Maroc, 26 April 1996, p. 33.
48. Compagnie de Transports au Maroc (CTM), SAMIR and BMCE are examples of irms that are widely held by thousands of individual shareholders contrary to many firms listed on the exchange that trade little and are controlled by tight family management that holds an overwhelming percentage of shares in the firm. It is too early to tell if the privatisables will change this behavior. Several companies including Cimenterie de l'Orientale (CIOR), CTM and Mobil, have changed management techniques significantly since privatization, instituting a longer term investment view. Interviews with officials from CIOR, CTM and Mobil, February-March 1996.
49. La Vie Economique, 28 June 1996, p. 65.
50. "Guide to Morocco's Privatisation Programme," p. 8.
51. Interview with Casablanca Finance Intermediation, March 1996.
52. L'Economiste, 30 May 1996, p. 46.
53. Taking Moroccan per capita income figures in US$ for 1995.
54. " L'événement financier de l'année" (The Financial Event of the Year), L'Economiste, 27 June 1996, p. 1.
55. "Mourad Cherif tire les leçons de la grève à l'OCP" (Mourad Cherif Draws Certain Lessons from the Strike at the OCP), L'Economiste, 28 March 1996, p. 39.