Al sharq al awsat
IMF (Reuters)
Casablanca- Lahssen Moqana
The Moroccan government has asked the parliament to authorize the borrowing of 76.2 billion dirhams ($8.02 billion) to fill the budget deficit for 2019.
According to the proposal submitted by the government to the parliament in the framework of the draft budget, this amount is distributed between the internal debt of 29.2 billion dirhams ($5.18 billion) and external debt worth 27 billion dirhams (about three billion dollars).
Morocco expects to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PPL) by the end of 2018, its economy and finance minister said.
Mohamed Benchaaboun did not specify the amount but said at a news conference that the ministry has already requested the IMF’s PLL with the aim of resorting to it in the case of major external shocks such as a spike in oil prices.
The Minister confirmed a central bank announcement that Morocco was also due to issue an international bond in the beginning of 2019 but said it had not determined its size.
Morocco signed its first agreement with the IMF in 2012 worth $6.21 billion, and it was renewed twice: The first in 2014 worth $6 billion, and the second in 2016 worth $3.42 billion, but Morocco did not withdraw any money from these lines.
Benchaaboun pointed out that the government’s 2019 draft budget was prepared under difficult circumstances, due to many constraints, including high oil and gas prices, increase in social spending and investment credits in addition to financial procedures for the benefit of private sector companies.
Privatization and improving governance of public companies will help Morocco generate eight billion dirhams ($842.85 million) and curb the budget deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP in 2019, he said.
Growth is expected at 3.2 percent in 2019, down from 3.6 this year while inflation is seen below two percent.
Based on a price of 560 dollars per tonne of gas, the draft budget earmarks 18 billion dirhams to subsidies, up five billion dirhams from this year, he said.
The portion of the budget dedicated to education increased 5.4 billion dirhams to 68 billion dirhams while the health budget expanded by 1.6 billion dirhams to 16.3 billion dirhams.
He explained that the government will start next year working on new mechanisms to finance investments.
This is related to public-private partnership agreements, which will enable the completion of investment projects by private sector partners, he stressed.
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Thursday, 25 October, 2018 – 06:45 –
Kholifey: Saudi Won’t Penalize Banks for Boycotting FII
Participants listen at the start of Saudi Arabia’s three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh. AFP Photo
Riyadh – Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey has stressed that transactions between SAMA and international institutions will not be affected by the decision of some to pull out of the Future Investment Initiative summit held in Riyadh.
“No, that’s not the criteria we look at,” he said Wednesday.
“We, at the central bank, deal in complete professional manner whether with local or international banks,” Kholifey told Al Arabiya TV in an interview.
Representatives of several international companies had decided to suspend their participation in the conference after the death of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi.
Kholifey also said there will not be any restrictions imposed on prominent family accounts in the kingdom.
