CDG manages saving funds mainly composed of social security funds and postal savings. The company also manages two public retirement and provident funds: CNRA and RCAR. Territorial development has been a key feature of CDG’s strategy in recent years. Here, the group has five core business areas under the umbrella holding company, CDG DEV:

– An integrated urban development and management strategy, including new cities and urban renewal
– Infrastructure in specific economic zones developed by the leading subsidiary, MedZ
– Property development, including the creation of social housing, commercial centres, commercial property and offices, golf courses and holiday resorts
– Services to local municipalities, including the management of car parks and landfill management
– Engineering services and facility Management

As a result of the combination of these operations and initiatives, CDG’s business has grown apace, with a net income reaching $241.6m − a net growth of 160 percent over the previous year. World Finance consulted Anass Houir Alami, the Director General of CDG, on what makes the organisation successful.

How has the company evolved over the years and how has this development reflected changes in the Moroccan economy and business scene?
“Since its inception it has become one of the leading institutional long term investors in the Moroccan economy and has expanded its remit to cover a wide range of high-growth sectors including finance, banking, insurance and territorial development (property development, tourism and infrastructure).”

With approximately $25bn in assets under management, CDG plays an important role in Morocco’s economic and social development.

Today, CDG’s operations can roughly be categorised under three principal businesses: savings mobilisation, banking and insurance; and territorial development. In the former it also holds majority stakes in some of the country’s leading banks and insurance companies.

CDG’s growth in many ways tracks Morocco’s own success story. With an average annual GDP growth of five percent over the last decade (rising from $37bn in 2000 to $88.5bn in 2009), Morocco is defying the economic downturn.

“One visible manifestation of this success is the recent commencement of construction of Morocco’s first financial district, known as Casablanca Financial City.”

The aim of this new development is to both attract foreign investment as well as finance local projects. It is projected that it will also contribute up to two percent of Morocco’s total GDP and create 35,000 new jobs. In a recent interview, the Moroccan minister for finance announced that the hub will be ‘a centre for the whole of Africa.’

The director general of France Telecom has said that Morocco is an extremely attractive place to invest, because of its political and economic environments.

In September 2010, CDG, FinanceCom and France Telecom entered into a strategic partnership through which France Telecom acquired a 40 percent stake in Médi Télécom (Méditel), Morocco’s second largest telecoms operator.

CDG has both the ability to work with overseas institutions and to attract investment from abroad. As testament to this, CDG has formed several partnerships with international groups. “It holds a 47.62 percent shareholding in Renault’s factory in Morocco, located next to Tanger Med Port.” This operation has the capacity to deliver 400,000 cars per year. It also holds 9.7 percent of the total issued share capital in tourism company Club Med and five percent of the travel company TUI.

When it comes to attracting foreign investment, CDG has been equally successful. For example, in 2009, CDG and its Moroccan partner FinanceCom sold 40 percent of the capital of the Moroccan Telecom operator to Orange, in a deal valued at €718m. Furthermore, Club Med has entered into a lease agreement with CDG and investment fund MADAEF, in relation to the six Club Med villages in Morocco, dating back to the 1960s.
These deals are a clear indication of the role that CDG plays as a financial investor, serving as a real catalyst for the country’s continuing economic development.

What are the key things any potential investor in Morocco should know?
“Morocco enjoys free trade agreements (FTA) with both the US and the EU. Off-shoring continues to be a very attractive option for foreign businesses, as companies continually look to Morocco as a gateway to the high-growth central African markets. Investors looking to work with Moroccan businesses or invest in the country as a stepping stone to access wider Africa, should appreciate that the infrastructure of the country is far more developed than many of its neighbours, especially in terms of a railway network, highways and ports.”
Thanks to such a well-developed infrastructure, the Government of Morocco has had the confidence to expand upon its already thriving international import/export agreements.

The US FTA was signed in 2004 and since then the US goods trade surplus with Morocco has risen to $1.2bn in 2009, up from $79m in 2005. At the same time, in 2009, the US exported goods to the value of $1.6bn to Morocco, a rise of 12 percent over the previous year.

What’s the outlook for the Moroccan economy, and the company’s place within it?
According to a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Morocco’s financial sector – which remains one of the most robust in the region – will be a major force for the country to make of the Casablanca stock exchange a regional financial centre. Anass Houir Alami says that the financial hub will expand significantly, “with both western investors and those from emerging markets such as India and China turning to Casablanca Financial City as a platform to launch into the next big emerging market – central Africa.

The report also highlighted the growth of the Moroccan banking sector and the increasing presence of Moroccan banks in African countries such as Mali and Senegal. In short, in terms of financial dynamism, Morocco currently lies in third place behind South Africa and Egypt.

Anass Houir Alami concludes by saying: “CDG is probably the best positioned Moroccan institution to help international investors realise their ambition of gaining a foothold in the central African market.” Thanks to its forthcoming infrastructure developments in the next few years, the firm, as a long term institutional investor, holds potentially lucrative returns for those savvy enough to work with the right partner.